A month after my recent RfA was declined, I said to myself "There is no doubt that I am a good editor here, but even great editors have moments when they say 'What can I do to make my editing skills even better than they already are?'"
Because of this. I was inspired to make a blog (this is my first blog so please no negative responses) regarding my daily wiki editing. With the creation of a 'user chart', I will ensure that the number of daily editing mistakes I make and the basic rules that I may forget from time to time will be reduced, and I will master the ropes that I am currently learning.
New Tactics
Yessir these are my latest and greatest set of tactics. Only came into mind one third into November.
- I know use the preview button before I hit publish - a very nice rope that came into mind. I never bothered to use this button until recently because I underestimated the advantage I'd receive. No wonder I used to make so many mistakes. But I can't and won't let my care down.
- Work some more on some of the other wikis that I contribute to - The Wikipedia and C.Syde's Test Wiki - my very own test wiki - so I can take a break from this wiki and avoid making those avoidable mistakes. Another big advantage.
A list of all the ropes that I have learned or am learning:
| Avoiding those 'avoidable mistakes' |
|---|
| Not make false assumptions regarding a certain user and their sockpuppets |
| Not be so quick to hit the 'publish' button |
| Assume good faith |
| Use a descriptive edit summary |
| Take care not to make rash decisions |
| Not use Rollback on good faith edits, even if they are clearly pointless |
| Keep a level head |
| Improve my daily punctuation |
| Take the time to make sure I say everything I want to say the first time round |
| Think things through carefully |
| Create draft templates in the sandbox before publishing them as serious content |
| Not use Rollback in Sandbox, unless I am reverting my own edits. |
| Avoid triggering an avoidable edit conflict. |
| Not add rumours, opinions, or off-topic discussions to talk pages. |
| Not be so pre-cautious. |
| Not issue level 2 warnings to users unless they are clearly acting in bad faith. |
| Not overuse links, especially not in talk and forum namespaces. |
| Not openly engage in actions on unconfirmed sockpuppets, as it counters good faith. |
If you think I'm missing something, don't hesitate to tell me!
Also if you notice me make a certain mistake or forget to follow a basic rule, you should tell me!
I really don't want to have to repeat the same mistake or forget to follow the same basic rule, however slippery or un-slippery my mind is.
Even if I don't usually make a certain mistake more than once.
We'll see if I don't change my patterns and become the good user that I'm entitled to be.