Wikipedia: The Missing Manual

For Experienced Editors

The previous sections discussed pages where extensive experience at Wikipedia isn’t a requirement for helping out (although more experience is always better). In the two places described in this section, which involve mentoring, experience matters a lot.

If you haven’t spent at least 6 to 12 months doing editing at Wikipedia, and if you haven’t accumulated a couple of thousand edits, then refrain from offering your help at these two places until you have more experience:

• Wikipedia:Adopt-a-User (shortcut: WP:ADOPT). A program where experienced editors take new, inexperienced editors under their wings and help as requested. The two editors decide what that help entails. For example, the adoptee may ask questions on the adopter’s user talk page. Or they come up with a more elaborate arrangement—the adopter may suggest working on a new area of editing every week, or do a weekly review of the adoptee’s edits.

• Wikipedia:Admin coaching (shortcut: WP:ADCO). A program for editors who know the basics of editing articles, but need help in learning new roles, such as vandal-fighting. The requesting editor can specify the type of help he wants, or the coaching editor can review the requesting editor’s experience to date and suggest areas to broaden that experience.

If you’re an experienced editor, you may find these two programs a change of pace from editing or vandal-fighting or whatever most occupies your time at Wikipedia.