Wikipedia:Growth Team features/Mentor list

This is the list of mentors for the Growth Team features. If you would like to be available to help new users, please read the Q&A below, and visit Special:EnrollAsMentor to add your name to the list.

Why mentorship?

When you arrive at a new place, it is always better to have a guide. Wikipedia is a complicated ecosystem, with its own set of technical subtleties, cultural habits, and social interactions. Having a mentor you can contact directly when you arrive helps create better first steps.

Who can become a mentor?

You need to have at least 500 edits and have had an account for at least 90 days to sign up as a mentor. It is also expected that a significant proportion of those 500 edits will have been made in the mainspace. If you don't yet meet this key requirement, please gain a bit more experience before signing up.

If you meet the requirements above and are sufficiently experienced to answer basic editing questions from new users and enjoy helping people in a friendly and supportive manner, then you are an ideal person to be a mentor. Thank you!

How do I sign up?

Visit Special:EnrollAsMentor to sign up. You will need to specify a short welcome message. Avoid mentioning your own subject interests in your welcome message, as you will appear as a mentor to new users with many different backgrounds. Full instructions are at Growth/Communities/How to introduce yourself as a mentor.

(If you wish, you may add the userbox {{User mentor}}, the topicon {{User mentor topicon}}, or Category:Wikipedians who mentor new users to your own user page.)

What happens next?

Once you have signed up here, you will start to be randomly assigned users as 'mentees'. Their names will begin to appear in your new 'Mentor dashboard' after a few hours. You can reach it via a new link in your personal user menu at the top of every page. Each mentee assigned to you will see your welcome message in a 'Your mentor' box on their own 'Homepage' tab.

You do not need to proactively welcome your mentees – your invitation message simply invites them to ask you questions should they ever encounter difficulties and need help. However, if you wish to welcome your mentees anyway, you can use the {{Mentor welcome}} or {{Mentor welcome-autosign}} templates.

How will I know if a question comes from one of my mentees?

When someone clicks the "Ask your mentor a question" button on their 'Homepage', their question will appear on your talk page. It will always appear with the following subject heading:

"Question from [username]"

That username will always be hyperlinked, and the edit will be tagged in your page history as a 'Mentorship module edit' or 'Mentorship panel question'. (For further information see this FAQ)

Will I be swamped with questions?

This is unlikely to happen. A mentor is given to each new account, but about 1 user over 500 new accounts contact their mentor (based on the average number of questions asked by newcomers at wikis where Mentorship is deployed). However, it is not yet the case at English Wikipedia, where only 50% of new accounts get a mentor (as of October 2023), due to a lack of mentors.

Bear in mind, the majority of new users will make just one edit. Of the remainder, most will be fine as they are. Of those needing help, some will find their way to the Teahouse or get solutions elsewhere. Only a small number will ever seek your help as a mentor, and we hope you will be there for them when they do. They might ask for things that are written on a policy or help page: don't forget that the vast majority of the world has no clue of how Wikipedia works.

• For a list of every question asked of all mentors over the last 14 days, click here.
• For a list of currently unanswered questions over the last 30 days, click here.

I respond to questions, and then the mentee doesn't return. It is quite unpleasant.

Unlike mentors, most newcomers may not visit Wikipedia often. Some will return the day later, some the week after, some months after, and some even never. Consider this when you curate your talk page: some mentees won't contact you again if they can't find your archived response.

Can I set myself as Away from mentorship for a few days?

Yes: please visit your Mentor Dashboard and change your "Mentor status" in the "Settings" module to 'Away'. You will be asked to fill the length of your time off. You will be resumed as 'Active' automatically when the period of time you defined is over. You can return as active, or either shorten or extend this time off anytime by visiting your dashboard.

No new mentee will be assigned to you during your time off. Your current mentees will be informed of your absence and redirected to a different mentor if they try to contact you. However, newcomers who have already started a conversation with you or have contacted you directly on your user talk page may still leave you a message.

If you plan to be off for more than a few weeks, please consider leaving mentorship instead (and return!).

How are newcomers filtered at my mentor dashboard?

By default, the Dashboard filter only displays users who've made at least one edit. Choosing a time period to show only those who've edited in the last day shortens it further.

Can I choose who I want to be a mentor to?

In general, no. However, you can claim a mentee using Special:ClaimMentee (see How To Claim A Mentee). This tool can be used if you find a mentee who works on similar topics to you whom you wish to assist.

If you only want to act as mentor to a few specific users (e.g. course participants or editathon attendees), you can sign up as a mentor following the above process, then visit Special:MentorDashboard and set the "Number of mentees assigned to me" dropdown to "None". You can still use Special:ClaimMentee but no new accounts will automatically be assigned to you.

How can I leave mentorship?

If you want to leave mentorship for good and stop receiving new messages from your mentees, please visit Special:QuitMentorship. If you plan to return after a short absence, consider pausing mentorship instead.

Administrators may manage the list of mentors and their settings at Special:ManageMentors.

Where can I leave feedback? Where can I learn more about mentorship and Growth features?

You may leave comments about the Mentor list at Wikipedia talk:Growth Team features/Mentor list, or give broader feedback and suggestions at Wikipedia talk:Growth Team features. You can also visit Growth's FAQ.