Would it be possible to include a line about checking for duplicates (and what is considered a duplicate) before creating an article when you hit the Write an Article button? I just hate to see all of this effort go to waste when people write blatant duplicate articles.
When checking the Write an Article
button I would like to see a page pop up that instructs the editor to read the Writer’s Guide and view the Tutor before getting the option to open the Create Page. This way people would know what is expected in an article, and what a duplicate is. As far as the checking for duplicates is concerned, I clicked on the Write an Article
button, and in the Create Page I put (How to) Walk with a Dog for my title. When I clicked Submit
the following was returned: Hey! We think we might already have an article with a duplicate title as Walk with a Dog
. How to Walk a DogHow to Become a Professional Dog WalkerHow to Stop a Dog from Pulling on His LeashHow to Walk Two Dogs with One LeashHow to Train Your Dog to Walk or Heel Without a Choke Chain
Shows ya how many articles I write.
What is deleted as a duplicate should be explained more clearly then, because people will just write, “How to Walk a Dog Better” every single time.
system
4
Articles deleted as a duplicate through the NFD Guardian are automatically redirected to the duplicated article. If someone types in to create an article on that topic again they will receive a message similar to this:
In my view, if authors are directed to Writer’s Guide and Tutorial, they will read through Editing Basics, and an overview of some of our more oft used policies, the Deletion policy being one. There’s a chart there that gives many examples of what constitutes a duplicate.
@Eric
Yes, I know that, but people spend an absolutely staggering amount of time writing all of these articles that then get deleted and redirected to an article that someone else wrote. This suggestion is not for how to improve wikiHow but for how to spare new writers the time and heartache of deleted articles. NOBODY likes their articles deleted or even merged.
@Davjohn
That would be ideal of course, but that much required reading may turn off new contributors.
