Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user

Adopt-a-user Home • Talk || Adoptee's Area • Resources || Adopter's Area • Resources • List of adopters || #wikipedia-en-help on IRC
The Adopt-a-user program is designed to help new and inexperienced users by pairing them with more experienced Wikipedians. These experienced editors (referred to as adopters or mentors) will "adopt" newer users, mentoring them along the way as they learn about Wikipedia and its various aspects. The project aims to inform new users about the ins and outs of Wikipedia and steer them away from making less-than-constructive edits or misplaced test edits. There are currently over a thousand users involved in the program, and, like other Wikipedia areas, it continues to expand. If you're new or inexperienced and would like to: Ask questions about editing, contributing to Wikipedia and creating your first article Learn to navigate processes and policies and guidelines Get help with article creation or image uploads or any other activities on Wikipedia then an adopter should be able to help you. Adoption lasts as long as the adopter and adoptee want to continue, so you can stop any time if you feel you've learned enough, or you'd like to take a break. If you are looking to contribute to Wikipedia but do not intend to remain as an active user well after adoption, then this program is not for you. Adoption is for users who intend to be long-term contributors and members of the community, so if you are simply here to create an article, see this page for help and do not request adoption. Users who are not new or inexperienced – but who would still like some help – might like to consider whether Editor assistance, the Help desk, the Teahouse question forum or a {{Help me}} request (for one-off problems) might be more appropriate than adoption.	Participation Being adopted is easy and fun. Why not select an adopter from the list of adopters and contact them directly to request adoption? If you choose an adopter who shares your interests, they will be more able to assist you while you learn under their tutelage. View the list of adopters! Alternatively, you can simply edit your user page, add the following text, {{subst:dated adoptme}} and save the page. This will put you on a list of adoptees and display the following userbox on your page: However, as with many areas of wikipedia, a pro-active approach is much more likely to get you noticed and simply leaving the adoption request on your userpage can result in a backlog of requests and long delays before your request is answered. For more information, visit the Adoptee's Area and the Adopt-a-user talk page. If you're interested in becoming an adopter, visit the Adopter's Area.
Is adoption right for you? If you're new or inexperienced and would like a single point of contact to: Ask questions about editing, contributing to Wikipedia and creating your first article Learn to navigate processes and policies and guidelines Get help with article creation or image uploads or any other activities on Wikipedia Then an adopter should be able to help you. Adoption lasts as long as the adopter and adoptee want to continue, so you can stop any time if you feel you've learned enough, or you'd like to take a break. Similar Programs The Teahouse An area where friendly Wikipedians will answer your questions. Online Ambassadors A program to help those who want to use Wikipedia in the classroom Counter-Vandalism Unit Academy A training program for those editors who want to focus on reverting vandalism