Wikipedia talk:Reach out

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This page was nominated for deletion on 12 January 2007. The result of the discussion was Keep.

Contents 1 New Project 2 Alerting supporters 3 New guideline proposal 4 some overlap with WP:ALERT? 5 Cuddle fest

[edit] New Project

Well, how should we proceed? --Elaragirl^Talk|Count 02:06, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Were there changes you had in mind? -- Natalya 02:25, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Well, Natalya, I'm not .. sure. I think this is perhaps the best of the programs to save, but I would like some help in running it since my own life is kind of ... screwed at the moment. Mainly -- should there be a tag like {{helpme}}? A notice board? What? --Elaragirl^Talk|Count 04:34, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Noticeboard seems like the most "clean" solution, helpme-like template might work but it sort of invalidates the point of this page (I assume all help would be on the user's talk page). In addition, when support is on a talk page rather than in one place, useful support that might be beneficial to others might be left unseen, which is..bad. I think this is a good concept and one that should be extensively expanded and made known. --Wooty Woot? contribs 08:06, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

That's a really good point about keeping all the information on this page, and allowing everyone to benefit from it. Perhaps we should emphasize that? (if it isn't already)-- Natalya 23:49, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

Edit mercilessly, then. I certainly respect any contribution you make, and I think this is the best way for you to carry on the real goal of helping people, isn't it? --Elaragirl^Talk|Count 00:15, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

As always, Elaragirl, you are far too kind. I've added another guideline about posting responses on this page. Yours and Wooty's idea of a noticeboard would be pretty nice... just not sure how to implement it. -- Natalya 04:19, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Alerting supporters

Alright, I've been thinking about the best way to alert others of current requests and keep the support concise and helpful for all. I think the best solution is to have a template for "supporters" userspace which keeps track of new posts, similar to the template opentask or the related task pages. Essentially, you'd add {{currentsupport}} or something on your user page, and it would update with either all the "new" posts on the Wikipedia:Reach out board, or would simply say "There are new messages at WP:REACH. I have no idea how this would work without a separate page though, and I've never created a template that worked this way before, so I don't know if this is possible. As for supportees, they can just come here and edit the page we have now. In the future, and if this takes off, we could divide it down into specific sections as necessary with subpages, but..we'll see. --Wooty Woot? contribs 01:18, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

I found out that when a user posts {{helpme}} on his/her page, that user is added to the category Category:Wikipedians looking for help. I don't know yet how precisely this is done, but this suggests that it can be done. I suppose that people who are willing to offer support would just have to add that category to their watchlists. --Kyoko 08:59, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

(ec; the colon was also added by someone else) I've added a colon to the start of your category link. It added your comment to Category:Wikipedians looking for help, which set off a script (User:ais523/catwatch.js) that I've set to alert me with an extra watchlist entry whenever anything's added to that category. (The addition to the category is done by <noinclude>ing a category into the {{helpme}} template.) --ais523 09:18, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New guideline proposal

"No names"!!!

It might not be good if User X talks about problems he had with User Y (edit war), and then User Y happens to come here and we stir up a pot of trouble. I think another guideline should be that if the conflict is related to WP, that names are kept out of it, and the problem should be phrased in terms of the supportee's feelings. Essentially, we need to make sure people won't come here and hijack valid emotional support for their own devices by using this page as a neo-Mediation Cabal. This is for emotional support - conflicts go elsewhere. Just my thoughts. --Wooty Woot? contribs 06:32, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

This is a good idea, this page shouldn't be turned into a roundabout way of attacking each other. Perhaps the page should also mention WP:NPA, regardless of the circumstances. --Kyoko 07:37, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Yep, that's a very good point. -- Natalya 13:24, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

In order to get some feedback, I have added the relevant section and my guideline proposal to my sandbox. (it's number 7) --Wooty Woot? contribs 05:06, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

In addition, I feel that we should keep a disclaimer or guideline here making sure that if people are genuinely suicidal or are in fear of their life/mental health, they should call the authorities or get some sort of psychiatric help immediately, and that this page is a complementary support mechanism, not a substitute for counseling or medical help. --Wooty Woot? contribs 05:10, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] some overlap with WP:ALERT?

It occurred to me that there is some overlap in intent with Wikipedia:Stress alerts, though with that project, support is left on the individual user's talk page instead. I personally think that there's room for both of these pages, because the Reach out page can work as a sounding board of sorts for different people to provide feedback on a specific problem, whereas the Stress alerts page can allow interested people to learn of stressed users and provide them with individual messages of support. If this makes any sense. --Kyoko 07:46, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Excellent idea, Kyoko. Let's also consider email - just plain taking sensitive stuff off-wiki, but showing more generic support on the talk page. Also, I would encourage users to remove extremely sensitive information of their talk page, gently.

I understand that's controversial, but (for example) I've seen everything put up on a user page - on down to a plea for money with a paypal set up to help a family (no lie - absolute truth). If we can support in a confidential way, then we can support more effectively at times. It's a matter of protecting people when they are vulnerable and perhaps might be posting something they will regret later.

I know I wasn't a member of Esperanza, but I'm a peer counselor in real life, as well as running a small non-profit dedicated to the power of friendship as means of empowerment. I plan on watching this page, but I'll probably not contribute any further. I just wanted to say that I'm available in whatever capacity for any incarnation of this project. Thanks for doing this. Nina Odell 12:01, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cuddle fest

To be honest, I don't see why we need this page. It looks like a big cuddle fest that doesn't accomplish anything at all. Gandoman 18:22, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

What it does is help users deal with stress, which in turn helps them become better editors. It builds a sense of community support, and encourages users to be civil and assume good faith. Everyone needs a "cuddle fest" every once and awhile, anyway :-) -- P.B. Pilhet / Talk 20:07, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

I'd be more likely to take what you said into account, Gandoman, if you had been at Wikipedia for mor than, oh, a few hours. However, since you haven't, I'd recommend you edit some article and get involved in some conflicts before stating ths page is useless. --Elaragirl^Talk|Count 22:27, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

You speak as if a cuddle fest is a bad thing. .V. (talk) 09:03, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

I would like to see advice that's on practical terms going forward. Something that's practical both on-Wiki and off. NinaOdell | Talk 16:44, 13 January 2007 (UTC)

That's tricky. It's one thing if people ask for help to be given off wiki and someone chooses to do so...but some people can end up doing more harm than good. --Elaragirl^Talk|Count 18:06, 13 January 2007 (UTC)