Wikipedia:Newbies aren't always clueless

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It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

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This page in a nutshell: Just because someone is new does not mean they have no idea what they are doing.

Why is it that new users are expected to know nothing about Wikipedia, our policies, and how we work? Why is it when a new user seems to have a clue, we accuse them of sock puppetry, ask them how they know what they are doing? Or even, when time goes by, and it comes down to their RFA, we vote oppose and criticize them for knowing how to edit from the beginning!

Newbies aren't always clueless.

What about those huge, intricate, and exciting looking templates we throw on new user talk pages. The user may actually read that, yes it is possible! There are many ways a user can figure out Wikipedia before editing.

Just because someone shows that they know what they are doing from their first edit, does not mean they are a sockpuppet, and we should not go around looking for a checkuser so this person can be indefinitely blocked. If they have done nothing wrong what-so-ever except knowing what they are doing, then leave them alone. They will probably turn out to be a net positive to the encyclopedia anyway, no harm done.

We should just

assume good faith

and go back to improving the encyclopedia – the reason we came here in the first place.

See also