What could be done to increase the number of active contributors to the projects?

Ok .. so you make a good point ... what do you propose ... having a bot adding welcome messages is something that we do.. Making sure that the text is welcoming and not too long is another, having people willing to baby sit newbies is yet another ... working on the rules .. remember they are typical compromises ... Again, what do YOU propose ??

GerardM11:42, 25 November 2009

"...having people willing to baby sit newbies "

I will tell you something that I propose and that is always trying to be helpful, non-aggressive, and mannerable to others. I once left a wiki area because these things did not exist. I was new then and knew only a little about some rules yet I had created many articles and cited my sources. Sometime I came back and with an alias instead of my real name. I encountered a polite administrator who didn't act like a poster's cop looking for anything done wrong. His name is Billingshurst. He helped instead of condeming so quickly. He took that time and helped me and he used excellent manners and I stayed. Since then I have posted many articles on Wikipedia, uploaded images on Wiki Commons, and I have placed several books on WikiSource. He assisted me when I needed him amd always with excellent manners. He and his methods made the difference to me. Had he been without good manners and especially ill mannered I would have quit permanently. There are a few administrators that like to think to highly of themselves even though they themselves might do quality work on articles. Billingshurst is high quality all the way. Believe me, good manners make a world of difference. Brother Officer 07:35, 26 November 2009 (UTC)

Brother Officer07:35, 26 November 2009

They do. Good manners, a willingness to help is what we should encourage and promote... Having positive stories helps to slowly move things in a more positive direction because in the end it is a mind set. Thanks,

GerardM13:32, 26 November 2009
 

If there is a bot posting welcoming messages, then it's broken. Having people "willing" to babysit newbies, is not the same as having an obvious way that a newbie can ask for assistance especially against perceived abuse. I already suggested we add to the sidebar something like "Report Abuse" or "Help! Help!" or whatever. Trying to teach newbies how to get to AN/I is a non-starter imho.

Wjhonson05:36, 30 November 2009

Wjhonson,

I think this should be reworded because "babysit a newbie" might appear offensive to any ADULT who is new and wandering around. I note your link connects to your busine$$ where you can make more money. I was told this is not allowed. Maybe I am wrong? If it is okay then many people could place their personal business ads like yours on each part of each system like wikipedia, here, and all other sections connected to or related to wikipedia. That would be a lot of ads for your personal busine$$--Bowman 23:09, 30 November 2009 (UTC)

See my main research website at Countyhistorian.com I am a professional genealogist and freelance biographer. I have been doing genealogy as my sole profession, since 2004, but was doing it as a hobby for 30 years prior to that. I am available for hire. If you would like to hire me, you can email me at wjhonson@aol.com

Bowman23:09, 30 November 2009

For now, I have no issue with links to peoples' employement, even if it's self-employment. If it gets out of hand, we'll reconsider. We've got real decisions to make here, let's not let the cosmetic things get in the way, okay?

~Philippe (WMF)23:26, 30 November 2009