Wikipedia:Who is a newcomer?
Essay on conduct in Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newcomers do not magically become seasoned editors instantaneously; it's a gradual process that can take days, weeks, months or even years. Wikipedia policies and guidelines are exhaustive - interpretations of them even more so. As a community, we must do out very best to support inexperienced, good faith editors while they learn and adapt to Wikipedia and its rules. At its core, that's what Wikipedia:Bite is all about.
 | This is an information page. It is not one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines; rather, its purpose is to explain certain aspects of Wikipedia's norms or practices. It may reflect varying levels of consensus. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Users with significant contributions can still be newcomers, and should be treated as such. |
We must be empathetic to the fact that people learn in many different ways. Some newcomers will thoroughly read through the policies and guidelines before making an edit. Others will jump right into adding new information to articles and only consult the rules when their changes are quickly reverted. Both types of newcomers, and any type of newcomer in-between, will inevitably make mistakes. It's harmful to assume that just because a user cites WP:Bite, creates a decent article, or completes any other arbitrary task, that they should no longer be treated with the patience a user with no edits would be treated with.
Additionally, we must keep in mind that the rules are not learnt uniformly. Imagine a user with over a thousand edits, all of which are copyedits or categorization edits. Their first article that they make is quickly deleted for not meeting notability guidelines. While they are certainly an experienced editor, when it came to article creation, they were an absolute newcomer! Just because an editor has experience with Wikipedia, it doesn't mean they have experience with all parts of wikipedia.
Any user that is still learning the rules of Wikipedia is a newcomer. They should be treated as such when informing them of a rule they might be unaware of. Of course, after a certain point, it's reasonable to assume that they know the rules, or at least should know to check the relevant rules.
So what's the solution? How do we know who's a newcomer and who's not? Simple, assume ignorance! If there's any reasonable doubt at all regarding their knowledge as it relates to a specific policy, treat them with the same grace, kindness and courtesy that you would treat a absolute newcomer with. There's nothing to lose from treating editors with respect.
Of course, after a while, it gets to a point where we have to put our foot down when it comes to repeated mistakes, but these instances are in the minority.
What WP:Bite is not
Despite many attempts to use it as such, bite is NOT a shield from criticism. If any editor, including a newcomer, makes a mistake, there should be no hesitation to point out the mistake, albeit in a clear and polite manner. In fact, this is one of the best things you can do for a new user! All editors should help newcomers understand the nature of their mistake(s) and how to avoid making the same mistakes again, ideally by citing or quoting policies and guidelines in a way that explains that their mistake is more than a matter of opinion. It is one of the best ways that a newcomer can learn. It's what makes Wikipedia:Be bold work. Attempts to use bite solely to refute criticism are harmful.