User talk:Xando/New User Information

Heya, when you leave a message, please have it contain @Xando in it, so then I can see it on my notifications when I log in. I'd really appreciate it, because it helps the process of feedback to possible article integration go a lot smoother. Thanks yall

Some input

Hi...I saw this page linked on the Ink Pump and I think it's a good idea to have a page like this! However, I wanted to point out a few things about I think could be improved:

• There's a couple typos/spelling errors on the page which should be fixed. (I was tempted to go in and fix them myself, but I figured it would be rude to do so without asking since this is in your userspace, so I'm just letting you know about them instead...) Namely:
  • "Acutual footage" in the image caption at the start should be "Actual footage"
  • "people right down stories" in the user page section should be "people write down stories"
• There's a few general formatting issues with random line breaks and occasional slightly-run-on sentences, though it seems like you're still in the middle of writing this so I won't fault it for that too much. It would still be good to fix these so that the page can set a reasonably good example for new users though.
• I'm not sure I like the idea of copying signatures from other users directly and offering them for new users to use, it seems like a bit of a weird thing to encourage. I think it might be better to create new example signatures from scratch for new users to use as starting points. It would also be a good idea to link to the signature policy page.
• Also, it's possible to include source code in the normal contents of a page by wrapping it in <nowiki> tags, so including that might be easier for users new to MediaWiki to understand (and less intimidating) than asking them to go into the source editor just to copy paste something. Like this, for example: -[[User:Xando|{{Username}}]] ([[User talk:Xando|talk]]) (This example is also wrapped in <code> tags to look nicer)
• In general this page seems to be rather focused on explaining user content at the moment, but that's understandable as it seems to still be under construction so you couldn't have written everything at once. It would be nice though if it explained some more introductory things about MediaWiki editing for those unfamiliar, or at least linked to and encouraged people to check things like the manual of style. It would also be good to more specifically explain the limits of the user content policy, or at least link to the page about it, rather than the slightly vague way it's referred to at the moment.

I do think a more personable page like this with basic information all in one place would be good to have for new users! With some more work put in it could be a good starting point for people to start becoming familiar with MediaWiki and the wiki's policy, since these things might be intimidating for someone really new to wikis in general. (And if you'd like help with some of the formatting things I've mentioned, I would be willing to help with editing it a bit myself...I know this is still technically your own user page though so no worries if you're not interested, I just thought I would offer.) Pringlesfan2002 (talk) 12:17, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

I think there is no need to mention custom signatures to new users. The default signature is perfectly fine, and the only thing new users need to know is how to sign their talk page comments (using 4 tildes). Heddy (talk) 16:47, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

I'll take all of the ideas into mind, especially your idea, Heddy. People don't really need sig stuff, and I'll fix the runons. Also, I said it in Ink Pump, but I'm gonna focus on more editing stuff. Thank you all so much for the criticism! -Xando (talk) 13:29, 10 April 2023 (UTC)