Wikipedia:Kindness Campaign/General

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[edit] Idea: User of the Month

Allow me to plant the first seed: I would like to begin a User of the Month. Each month, users would be nominated, and then voted on. Those with the most votes would be given a little image. Nothing big, but I think it would be nice. User:ClockworkSoul

  • Hmm, it might work. However we will need to advertise it in order to gain the same degree of participation as, say, the 'Featured article candidates' or the 'Votes for deletion' pages. Otherwise it will just be the same dozen or so people nominating and voting every month. Axl 12:15, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • It's worth a go as long as only support votes are allowed (object votes would lead to personal insults). violet/riga (t) 18:20, 13 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • Violet: That's what I figured. We're here to increase morale after all... and yes, Axl, we could certainly afford some publicity. I was thinking that each month we would have the first 10 days to 2 weeks open for nominations, and the remainder for voting. That way, we avoid the insults problem, and nobody gets the shaft because he was nominated the day before the end of the month. I figure that we could use the rest of this month to design some kind of seal of other pretty image to give to "Users of the Month" and promote our little campaign. – ClockworkSoul 04:20, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • I would not like a competitive award like a User of the Month - I don't think competition between users helps the project, and having a single "User of the Month", esspecially one who was voted on, would, I think, have many more negative morale impacts than positive ones. JesseW 05:41, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)
    • Hmm... in what way do you see this idea as competitive? It seems to me that it would be just a way to publicly recognize continued and excellent contributions (articles and otherwise) to Wikipedia, entirely without competition. – ClockworkSoul 08:52, 14 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • Jesse makes a good point. Some users who are placed second or third may feel aggrieved, especially if they think that the award was given to someone less deserving. Have you noticed how some users become very defensive when their 'Featured article candidates' are criticised? Also, if a few users work very hard during one month, the competition is more intense. During a more relaxed month, a (relatively) moderate user will win. Of course, not all 'losing' users will be upset. However with an award every month, this problem is bound to occur. Axl 10:55, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)
    • It could turn into a popularity contest if not careful. Perhaps a few people from the "Kindness Council" should review the nominations and decide, though that makes it a little elitist. violet/riga (t) 11:48, 15 Jan 2005 (UTC)
  • I think user of the day will be better. There are too many users to award to. Deryck C. 03:46, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
  • I don't think this is a good idea frankly. Some people contribute by saving Vfd and cleanup articles, some by creating amazing FACs, some by COTWs, some by stub-fixing, some by great copyediting. THe thing is, each wikipedians contributions are different, I see no need to rank one above the other. And, if this award ends up with any value, there WILL be conflicts, and there is no way of stopping personal attacks against users (outlawing "opppose" votes won't be enough)Borisblue 00:45, 22 July 2005 (UTC)
  • I don't like ranking users. Period. It's very negative. Covington 09:11, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
  • How about instead of User of the Month, how about Daily Featured Member? So it's not really ranking users, it's just showing of another good one everyday! --PokeOnic (Talk) 17:13, 23 April 2006 (UTC)
  • Silly thought... uh, what about having more than one "User of the Month/Day"? Do you have to limit it to one person? ~Kylu (u|t) 03:55, 27 April 2006 (UTC)
  • I think its a great idea and has a wonderful purpose but might be difficult to appease people if there is a wikipedian of month because I'm afraid it'd turn into who has the most friends on wikipedia and might cause unwanted competition that could become very unpleasant, a user of day would be too difficult to have enough people vote per day for months at end and multiple ones as well would be difficult. Lastly there are so many wonderful wikipedians and its not fair that some would be awarded and others not because of the sheer number of how many superior and friendly users there are. - Patman2648 06:30, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] A proposal for "Wikigrams" or "WikiGrams"

Wikigrams are messages of thanks or appreciation posted on a random user's talk page, or a WikiProject talk page. It should recognize active contributions made to Wikipedia, and should also recognize passive acts of leadership, such as "leadership by example". It should also recognize random acts of kindness, such as spontaneous translation of text, extensive wikification of an article, a major rewrite, or anything of the sort. There need not be precise definitions of these contributions, as the idea is to simply give thanks. Someone adding a witty sentence to an article would be a good recipient for a Wikigram, for example.

We send this user or group a Wikigram, and mark on a dedicated page something like "Number of Wikigrams delivered to date: XYZ and counting...". This page would list the recipients of a Wikigram, and a summary of why the Wikigram was awarded, if appropriate.

Users can also request Wikigrams to be sent to a particular recipient. Perhaps Wikipedian A feels that B made a great contribution. A would post a message somewhere on a dedicated Wikigram page something like "I think B's efforts in article XYZ have gone unnoticed. I really appreciated B's contributions - could you send B a Wikigram?"

In cases such as these, someone working on Wikigrams would simply look at the edit history of B, do so general research, and award a Wikigram for the particular and specific actions indicated by A. A recipient of a Wikigram should not depend on their past behaviour or edit history - as Wikipedians, I think we should strive to assume good faith, regardless of whether past behaviour was questionable or not. If a particular contribution was positive, it should be recognized!!

In addition to this, one can request to be sent a Wikigram to oneself!! The idea behind this is to get others to recognize the efforts of an individual or group. Sometimes, we need to be advocates of our own efforts, and this could be a mechanism for this in Wikipedia. It's also nice to get some good feedback. Of course, we would need to set up a separate page for "self requests for Wikigrams" if necessary, to reduce the potential for conflicts of interest, and the appearance of "egocentrism". The idea is that someone would research the edits of the particular user, and come up with a statement of thanks which would be appropriate. We can challenge ourselves to do this, as in the spirit of "good faith", there is optimism that any editor can contribute to Wikipedia in a positive way. Correcting a punctuation mark, spelling, wording, dates, anything of the sort. Of course, we might make the exception for known vandals, trolls, and the like.

A Wikigram citation could be something like this: "We at the WikiProject Kindness Campaign would like to send you a Wikigram in recognition of your edits on page XYZ. Your contributions make Wikipedia a valuable resource, and we would like to thank you for your efforts. In particular, your edits to ABC and DEF are very much appreciated. Thank you!"

Well, that is just the idea. Essentially, the Wikigram should contain (not all of these are present in the example above)

  • Statement that it is sent by the WikiProject Kindness Campaign;
  • Statement that it is sent on behalf of someone, if applicable;
  • Statement of recognition
  • Statement of sincere thanks, appreciation, and valuation
  • Statement of encouragement
  • Statement of promotion of Wikigrams

The Wikigrams are set up in this manner so that the amount of Wikigrams awarded do not diminish their value. However, for practical reasons, we should limit the number of Wikigrams sent to a recipient to say, X per month, so that this does not become a "popularity contest". Alternatively, we can edit the Wikigram citation so that it reflects an updated contribution of kindness on the part of the user. That way, at most one Wikigram is awarded per user, or per WikiProject.

We could, for example, recognize groups who are involved with stub sorting. Sysops who diligently remove speedy deletes. Those who archived a long page. People who reorganized a page for clarity. Someone who backed out of a heated debate to cool off. Et cetera, et cetera...essentially anything that benefitted Wikipedia in some way, or encouraged positive behaviour on its participants.

Well, this is a very rough sketch of an idea...I proposed these Wikigrams, since I think we need to have a mechanism where we can give recognition to others without limitation, and also implicitly give recognition to ourselves that we have made Wikipedia a better place without limitation. Note that Wikigrams are not intended to be used in the same way as Barnstars. Wikigrams are meant to be given and distributed in much, much larger quantities. Provided of course, that there is enthusiasm and support for such an endeavour. What are your thoughts on this? --HappyCamper 13:34, 5 May 2005 (UTC)

  • Just one question. Who controls the giving out of wikigrams? (the current awards can be given out by anybody) Deryck C. 02:45, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
    • I don't think it really matters who gives them out. The idea is just to make Wikipedia a more friendly place and to encourage positive behaviour and dialogue. Actually, I just found out that there are "WikiThanks", so perhaps having "WikiGrams" is somewhat redundant. --HappyCamper 16:37, 15 July 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Templates and Userboxes

[edit] Kindness Campaign template

{{User:FireFox/Kindness}} and {{User:FireFox/Kindshort}}

I've gone ahead and created a Kindness Campaign template that people can pop on their user pages if they wish. Just type in {{User:FireFox/Kindness}} to your userpage. The template should appear like this:

This user is a member of the Kindness Campaign

Some Wikipedians have formed a project to better the quality of life at the Wikipedia through Kindness and Recognition of Users. It is hoped that this project will help to focus the efforts of other Wikipedians. All too often we get too wrapped up in our own tasks to recognize the hard work and determination of others. This WikiProject aims to correct that injustice, even if only a little bit, by making a conscious effort to acknowledge exceptional effort, skill, and commitment. It is motivated by the belief that a little kindness goes a long way, and in the end results in a better Wikipedia experience for everybody.

I've also created a "smaller" version of this template - type: {{User:FireFox/Kindshort}} - which looks like:

This user is a member of the Kindness Campaign

All too often we get too wrapped up in our own tasks to recognize the hard work and determination of others. This WikiProject aims to correct that injustice, even if only a little bit, by making a conscious effort to acknowledge exceptional effort, skill, and commitment.

What does everybody think? FireFox 20:23, 7 October 2005 (UTC)

  • I love it! :) I put the smaller version on my user page. Sango123 (talk) 20:54, 15 October 2005 (UTC)
    • I like this idea very much: is there a much smaller version, about the size of the babel templates, maybe? – ClockworkSoul 01:13, 19 November 2005 (UTC)



This user is a member of the Kindness Campaign.
The Kindness Campaign is a program on Wikipedia where Wikipedians are equal and promote good faith. The kindness campaign is a dedicated group of users who are kind to each other and treat others with the same respect that they would want to be treated with. You can join, too!


{{Kindness Campaign Member}}

'KC' This user is a member of the Kindness Campaign


Kindness Campaign This user is a member of the Kindness Campaign


Now there are. ;-) What do you think? Sango123 (talk) 01:45, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

  • Heh - I already made a nearly exact cloe as the second one for my user page! Great minds, eh? – ClockworkSoul 01:54, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
    • Indeed. And by the way, does that vandalism userbox seem familiar? :) Sango123 (talk) 02:13, 19 November 2005 (UTC)
I've turned the above userboxes into a template to save space. {{User:FireFox/KC}} and {{User:FireFox/KC2}}. FireFox 13:00, 20 November 2005 (UTC)
I've reproduced that to the template namespace: {{user KC}} Deryck C. 08:53, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
I think they're just amazing! So pretty, friendly and colorful, I'm so happy to have it on my userpage, thank you so much for making them. - Patman2648 06:31, 16 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Category?

How about we have a category for members of the campaign, by adding the code for inclusion in the category to all the userboxes and templates, and just offering users the choice of adding raw category code to their userpage? --Draicone (talk) 09:42, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

  • I think we should, I'd say it would help with the campaign activeness. --Storm Horizon 12:09, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
I've added this to the userbox template, I'll add it to any other templates I see. Use the category Kindness Campaign member if you see any uncategorised templates. --Draicone (talk) 09:11, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Userboxes

With current feelings about userboxes, I'm not sure what people think of this, but perhaps, as well as the standard award template, perhaps something along the lines of this for users who prefer userboxes to words. Plus, if someone is given one these and would prefer a normal barnstar or vice-versa, it should be easy to swap (same fields, just different name). So {{Boxstar|image=Raok barnstar.png|text=I, Smurrayinchester, award this Barnstar to X on behalf of the [[WP:KC|Kindness Campaign]].}} could become {{Award|image=Raok barnstar.png|text=I, Smurrayinchester, award this Barnstar to X on behalf of the [[WP:KC|Kindness Campaign]].}} .

smurrayinchester(User), (Talk) 16:52, 11 January 2006 (UTC)

  • It's an interesting indea, and I've seen it used in a couple of places already (I can't remember where though). Also, try posting this at Wikipedia:Barnstar and award proposals, and see what the feeling is over there. – ClockworkSoul 13:20, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Template:Award

Please see the talk page of this tempalte relating to recent changes. xaosflux Talk/CVU 16:56, 18 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Guidelines

[edit] Good stuff happening over at Wikipedia talk:Barnstars on Wikipedia

For anybody that's interested, there is a great deal of good discussion and debate about barnstars and awards going on at Wikipedia talk:Barnstars on Wikipedia, including a poll regarding the acceptance of some new award guidelines. If you have a moment, why not drop by and lend a hand? – ClockworkSoul 06:22, 28 Feb 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Is this project inactive or not???

I'm just looking for any Wikipedian who still checks on this page. Is the Kindness Campaign still alive??--Ed 17:08, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Well.... er.... I guess. I think it might just me more of a viewpoint rather than a project.. might be better to move out of wikiprojects. --The Prophet Wizard of the Crayon Cake 21:16, 27 July 2006 (UTC)
Actually, it's still quite active, it's just that there's not a lot of get-together about it, since its members tend to do a lot of their own thing unless something rouses them. ~Kylu (u|t) 01:43, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Cooperation with Esperanza??

Remember that old discussion about this?. I still think that it's a great idea. Maybe we should try it again. Unless nobody checks this page!!!!--Ed 15:13, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Feel free to use or modify these templates

JamieJones talk 02:05, 28 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Smiles

I would like to ask all of you fellow wikipedians to go around giving smiles to people because it promotes wikilove. Template:Smile2

  • The way I find people to smile at is going on other peoples talk pages and smiling at the people there. You can really smile to a lot of people this way. Another way is to go to wikiprojects and smile to the members. Another way of course is to smile to those who leave comments on your talk page. God bless.--§Sir James Paul<<--wikiholic§ 22:04, 23 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Purple Barnstar promotion

I've proposed that your Purple Barnstar be promoted to be a regular barnstar. For some reason the link is not rendering properly, but this proposal is at Wikipedia:Barnstar and award proposals/New Proposals in the section "Purple Barnstar -> Purple Heart Barnstar?". Herostratus 02:37, 26 December 2006 (UTC)