Wikipedia:Mentorship

Mentorship is an arrangement in which one user assists another user, the protégé. Depending on the nature of the mentorship agreement, the mentor may give the protégé advice on more effective editing habits and help the protégé resolve disputes. The purpose of mentorship is to help the protégé adjust to Wikipedian site processes and standards. Mentors are not advocates. Mentors may terminate the relationship if it proves ineffective and (in extreme cases) endorse dispute resolution or other proceedings regarding a former mentoree, although mentors may also speak up for a protégé who is making good progress or smooth over difficult situations that might otherwise end in administrative intervention.

When mentorship is related to disputes an effective mentor often plans conflict management strategies with the protégé; this conflict management is most effective when other Wikipedians interface with the mentor about developing issues and potential solutions. When mentorship arises as an outcome of the dispute resolution process, the mentor occasionally accepts formal supervisory powers over the protégé. When mentorship is effective, however, it functions in an atmosphere of mutual respect.

Voluntary mentorship

Sometimes one or more experienced editors will take a newer user under their wing. In some cases, this might arise due to difficulties the new user is having with other users or with Wikipedia policies and guidelines. In other cases, the protégé simply feels he or she would benefit from the help of a more seasoned Wikipedia editor. Voluntary mentorship often arises spontaneously, as two or more editors naturally develop a mentorship-like relationship. A good place for new editors to receive voluntary mentorship is Wikipedia:Adopt-a-user. In Adopt-a-user, adoption, a specific form of voluntary mentorship for new or inexperienced users, is practiced.

Among experienced users in difficult situations, mentorship often requires a substantial investment of time and effort. No formal mechanism exists for recruiting mentors in such scenarios, so it is best to seek a willing mentor and the agreement of the potential mentoree before putting forth mentorship as a serious alternative. Bear in mind that it is uncivil to attempt to volunteer other people's time and effort for work they have not agreed to perform. In other words, editors in good standing who think a mentorship might solve a problem should first consider undertaking the responsibilities themselves.

Involuntary mentorship

In dispute resolution, involuntary mentorship is a remedy in which one or more editors are assigned supervisory powers over another editor. They may also have discretionary powers to modify or annul sanctions against the editor made by administrators under the terms of the decision. The precise terms of the mentorship, as well as the identity of the mentors, are usually spelled out explicitly in the decision that creates the mentorship, but may include delegation of the arbitration committee's banning powers to the mentors.

Such mentorships may be agreed to as an alternative to more serious remedies, such as bans or paroles. Or they may be an end result of the dispute resolution process itself. Users may be placed under mentorship by a ruling of the community, Arbitration Committee, or Jimbo Wales.

Involuntary mentorship does not have a successful track record and is not recommended.

Unintended consequences

A caveat from a New York Times chess column acknowledges unanticipated consequences as a prospective element in any strategic plan. The heading of a 1989 column warned, "Beware the shortsighted quick fix that can lead to worse problems."

A mudra ( मुद्रा ) and a gesture of remembering.

Among lessons learned the hard way, Chess Grandmaster Robert Byrne warned:

"The close-at-hand problem is always the one the defender must take care of before anything else, but the solution should include what you are committing yourself to over the long haul.

"It is altogether too easy to let the burden of the immediate problem obliterate other considerations from your thinking and to jump at what promises to be a quick fix. What often happens is that you have not achieved a long-range success but only converted one difficulty into another perhaps less obvious but no less onerous one."

The gravamen of "mentor" and "mentorship" is mirrored in the newspaper columns written by Bridge expert Philip Adler, arguing that "the imponderables ... keep us thinking." The heading of a 2005 column explained, "Older Players Have an Edge: They've Seen All the Tricks.":

"Why are there child prodigies in chess but not in bridge? Why do the elderly compete so much better against their younger rivals in bridge than they do in chess?"

"We could debate these questions for some time, but there are two clear answers. In chess, all the information is always available. (This is why computer programs are so good at chess; it is purely a computational exercise.) Youngsters have very quick brains that can compute great numbers of moves much more quickly than the elderly can."

"In bridge, though, there are the hidden cards that often make perfect computation impossible. (This is why computer programs do no compete successfully against experts.) Also, you have to work with, not against, your partner. And there is a psychological element to the game: an expert will make a particular call against one opponent but not against another. A teenager does not comprehend this side of the game."

"Our powers diminish as we leave our 30's. We run slower, we hit a golf ball shorter, we pedal a bicycle less energetically. Our brains slow down, too, but the elderly have the advantage of experience. They have seen the themes before and can draw on this database to find the best bids and plays."

The mentor's usefulness is demonstrated in an ability to recognize "hidden cards" and "a psychological element" in themes which have been seen before, as equally well-illustrated by the bridge term finesse and by the more conventional finesse a wiki-mentor may hope to encourage.

See also

• Wikipedia:WikiProject User Rehab