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In the wonderful world of wikiHow, New Article Boosters (also known as "NABers" or "boosters") take a closer look at new articles on the site. Think of them like a second pair of eyes on all of wikiHow’s content—they help get good articles out to readers and demote articles that need a little more work before they can be promoted to fully-published status. Boosters also play an important role in helping newer writers get adjusted to wikiHow and providing them with advice that will help get their articles fully published. Since boosters need to be familiar with wikiHow’s policies and be good at coaching others, contributors need to take a test before they can start any boosting activities. Ready to get started? Read on for a step-by-step guide on taking the NAB exam and becoming the latest NABer in the wikiHow community.
Things You Should Know
- Make sure that you have:
- a wikiHow account that is at least 30 days old
- 300+ contributions on that account
- a working email address
- Complete the first part of the NAB exam here . You need a score of 85% or higher to progress to the second and third portions of the test.
- Wait to receive an email with the second portion of the NAB exam.
- Boost articles on a trial basis as the third portion of the test. If you perform well, you’ll become a full-time NABer.
Steps
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1Ensure that you meet all of the requirements for being a NABer. All NABers need to have a wikiHow account that is 30+ days old with at least 300 total contributions. You will also need to provide a valid email address. If you don’t meet these requirements, you won’t be able to take the NAB exam just yet.
- To see how many contributions you have, visit your user page and scroll to the bottom. It will say " (Your Name) has made (number of) contributions to wikiHow ."
- You need a valid working email address to complete the NAB exam—it’s the only way to receive any tests and/or responses.
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2Review wikiHow’s policies so you understand them well. During the NAB exam, you’ll be asked a variety of questions, such as whether certain titles should be changed or merged, and how an article should be edited based on these policies. Don’t worry, though—you’re free to double-check these policies while you’re taking any portion of the test. Before you begin, make sure to look over the wikiHow:
- Title policy
- Merge policy
- External links policy
- How to Handle Recipes on wikiHow
- Formatting guidelines
- Writer's Guide
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3Sharpen your copyediting, formatting, and article cleanup skills. If you become a booster, some articles you’ll come across will need copyediting, formatting, and general cleaning up before they’re ready to go live on the site. Use the Copyedit, Format, or Cleanup Greenhouses to automatically help you find articles based on your interests.
- You can also try patrolling and editing some new articles at Special:NewPages. Make your best judgment about whether the articles should be promoted or demoted. If you think that the article should be promoted, you can help polish it up so it’s ready to go. If you think that the article should be demoted, you don’t have to edit it.
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4Learn how to be a friendly and welcoming team member in the wikiHow community. As a booster, you’ll be asked to leave notes for authors after looking over and editing new articles. Here are a few resources to help you boost your conversational skills with different community members:
- How to Welcome New wikiHow Users (boosting outreach is a little different from welcoming, but you'll want to be supportive and friendly to good-faith contributors, as well)
- How to Resist Criticizing New Contributors on wikiHow
- How to Coach Someone on wikiHow
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5Review how to use the New Article Boost app . The NAB app is an essential part of successfully completing your duties as a booster. Understanding how the NAB app works not only allows you to gain a deeper understanding of New Article Boost, but it’ll also prepare you in advance for part 3 of the NAB exam.
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6Hone your boosting skills with new pages patrol. Look at the new pages at Special:NewPages, and determine whether each new article needs cleanup or whether it violates the deletion policy. This is one of the best ways to practice and get ready for the NAB test.
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Take the first part of the NAB test here . Answer the multiple-choice questions, which are based on the merge policy. Double-check your work before submitting it—you need to score at least 85% to pass.- How do I know if I didn’t pass? You won’t receive a follow-up email, and you’ll need to wait 2 weeks (or 1 month if you didn’t pass multiple times) before taking the test again.
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2Wait up to 1 week to get the second part of your test. You’ll receive a follow-up email with part two of the NAB test—it’ll include a selection of title policy questions, some more detailed multiple choice Qs, short answer Qs on boosting/editing scenarios, and a question on how you’d reach out to an author while boosting an article they started.
- If you don't get part two of the NAB test after five days, please email jayne@wikihow.com .
- What if I don’t pass this portion of the test? You can repeat it after 90 days (or longer if you fail the second part at least 2 times, or if staff have doubts about your abilities to boost effectively).
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3Complete the third part of the test. For this part, expect to receive provisional boosting rights so you can boost a certain number of articles to demonstrate your boosting abilities. You'll get an email that tells you exactly how many to boost.
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4Complete several rounds of trial boosting before getting approved. During this trial portion of the test, you'll be able to carry out all the regular boosting activities (promotion, demotion, title changes, etc), except for voting in the NFD Guardian. You'll receive feedback based on your edits, actions, and messages as you go, or after you complete the batch as asked. After you get that feedback, you will generally be asked to continue trial boosting for several other rounds of boosting, each time tackling up to the assigned batch quantity. Be sure to check in for feedback when you reach each limit, and to use the feedback to help you hone your skills as you go. Also, feel free to ask questions!
- As long as you stay reasonably active and continue to do trial boosts when you can, there's no set time limit to how long you can take for your batches of boosting. However, if you go inactive during your trial, you'll get some follow-up reminders and check-ins about the status of your trial. If you still are active over a longer period of time and just aren't doing any trial boosting, your trial may be put on hold and your provisional rights removed until you can devote more time to the task.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat if I want to take a wikiBreak during Part 3 of a quiz?Top AnswererIf you're gone for quite a while, your trial may be stopped until you show you're ready to put more time into it.
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QuestionHow do I know if I have 300 contributions?Community AnswerGo to your user page and scroll down. This page lists the number of contributions you've made.
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QuestionDo New Article Boosters have forum rights?EricTop AnswererAll registered users are able to access and post in the forums. New Article Boosters do not have any additional rights in the forums that a non-New Article Booster would not also have.
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Tips
- Don't rush the test. Feel free to type the test up somewhere and go back each day, changing your answers as needed. That way, you'll have plenty of time to review and submit the best possible answers.Thanks
- Boosters receive access to the NFD Guardian tool after one month of consistent boosting. The NFD Guardian tool is similar to Quality Guardian. It displays articles that have been nominated for deletion. Admins and New Article Boosters then vote on whether to keep or delete that article. If you have been a New Article Booster for a month or more and have continuously boosted articles during that time, contact Jayne to ask about NFD Guardian.Thanks
- If you've come across a wikiHow user who has shown exceptional work editing and improving articles and isn't a New Article Booster yet, feel free to post {{Recruit Boost}} on their user talk page.Thanks
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Warnings
- Misusing your new article boost rights could result in them being removed, even after you pass the trial period.Thanks
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