User:Finlay McWalter/Gently handling newbie autobiographies
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One of the most common mistakes made by newcomers is making an autobiographical page in the main encyclopedia. Sometimes this is cynical self-aggrandisement, but mostly it's a genuine mistake. Usually, the first thing such a newbie sees is a VfD notice, which has proven to be a discouraging and antagonising experience. This article suggests how more experienced wikipedians might like to delicately handle this situation.
Boilerplates for apparent autobiographies
Boilerplate for signed-in users
Leave this on the Talk page of the appropriate user.
''Hi. I noticed you made [[ARTICLENAME]]. Is this about yourself? In general, Wikipedia strongly discourages autobiographies in the main encyclopedia (see [[Wikipedia:Auto-biography]]). It's quite okay, however, to have this kind of information on your [[User:USER|user]] page. Could I ask you to leave a message for me on my [[User talk:ME|talk]] page to clarify things? Thanks! -- ~~~~ ''
If the user doesn't respond within seven days, you might like to consider nominating the page on Votes for deletion.
Boilerplate for anon users
Leave this on the page itself
''This may be an autobiographical article, created by an anonymous visitor. In general, wikipedia strongly discourages autobiographies in the main encyclopedia (see [[Wikipedia:Auto-biography]]).
If you are the author of this article, please create an account (it's really easy) and we can discuss whether this article should be moved to your own special "user" page, where autobiographies are positively encouraged! Could I ask you to leave a message for me on my [[User talk:ME|talk]] page to clarify things? Thanks! -- ~~~~ ''
If the user doesn't respond within seven days, you might like to consider nominating the page on Votes for deletion.