Wikipedia:Competence is acquired
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 | This is an essay. 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. |
 | Be very liberal in referencing this page to rebut "CIR" claims that may be a little too enthusiastic. |
People learn at different rates. Moreover, some people throw themselves into the midst of the fray that is Wikipedia, and have to learn in several areas at once, for example:
- Social skills or netiquette or both
- Standard practice
- English language skills
- Manual of Style
- Subject matter
- Wiki-markup
- Wikipedia policy and guidelines.
In a moral sense, it is not necessarily wrong for newbies to assume initially that:
- Disputants are taking it personally
- They are right and the editor or editors disagreeing with them are wrong
- They are facing content ownership behaviour
- When several editors take the same stance against them they are socks
Indeed while it is unlikely, all of these things have happened (especially content ownership behaviour, where some WikiProjects in the past have been very active).
Therefore, take note, once the initial "hump" is passed, if the editor is amenable to suggestion, to changing the way they do things and to resolving difficulties. If so, WP:Competence is required probably does not apply. Additionally, implicitly calling an editor incompetent is uncivil.