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Learning patterns/Use an article nursery garden for each new editor

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A learning pattern foroutreach
Use an article nursery garden for each new editor
problemNew editors are discouraged by old users' interventions and (secondary) cannot organize their work with ease. Less computer-literated people have a hard time trying to contribute.
solutionProtection of new users' work with organized multiple user sandboxes. Usage of predifined template articles.
creator• ManosHacker
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created on29 August, 2015


What problem does this solve?

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  • New users are discouraged by reverts, template marking or delete of non-sandboxed article pages they start.
  • New users do not know they can create a sandboxed article, or how to.
  • One user sandbox is not enough to work with multiple subjects.
  • New users cannot easily find their custom user sandboxes to work on them.
  • New users are confused and make mistakes trying to move sandboxed articles to main space from their user space.
  • Empty article pages to begin with, are a big deal for a beginner.
  • Program leaders have to deal with different article structure each guided contributor creates for similar category items (no easy way to provide custom article templates for their program in the hands of the trainee or contributor).
  • Advanced users cannot automatically organize their own custom templates for article creation.
  • Publishing a translation (using the translation tool) directly to article space does not always give enough time to enhance the article without intervention.
  • VisualEditor does not provide functionality to create bibliography.

What is the solution?

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The solution is to use main user sandbox as a nursery garden for articles.

  • User sandbox can been enhanced by putting {{user sand box}} instead of {{user sandbox}} code, in user's sandbox.
  • Sub-sandboxes are easily created with no errors from inside main user sandbox and are automatically marked as sandboxes, too.
  • All sub-sandboxes created are automatically displayed in a list inside the main user sandbox.
  • Sandbox template behavior inside a user's sub-sandbox is different. Instead of creating a sub-template it allows the foolproof move of the sandbox to article space, after which it disappears from the list of the main sandbox "nursery garden".
  • Sub-sandbox page creation is based on a predefined aticle structure create mechanism. There are global, and custom article templates.
    • Global article templates affect all users.
    • Custom User article templates affect a specific user, who has control on the content. These templates are first declared and then created by the user.
    • Custom Program article templates affect users who select which templates to use but do not control their content. These templates are only declared by the user.
  • User has control over which of the available custom templates appear in his/her list.
  • The ability to translate (publish) directly to a sandbox is provided, too. After publishing to a sandbox, {{user sand box}} must be put on top of the article code until it is moved to article space.

Things to consider

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  • New users using article nursery garden still need guidance. Sandboxing just gives time to the educator to teach the student before being bitten.
  • Only 4 global templates are filled in (thus functional), the biographies and the generic article. Medical condition is also a working Custom Program template.
  • Keep a bibliography item handy (empty) for copy/paste, in the generic article template.
  • Account needs to be more than three days old to be able to move a sandbox to an article.

When to use

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  • Training of beginners under guidance, especially those who are less computer-literated.
  • Editathons where inexperienced editors participate.
  • Organization of custom article templates (experienced users).
  • Translation of articles that need to be changed dramatically before publishing to article space.

See also

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References

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