Wikipedia:New users

For the log of new user accounts, see Special:Log/newusers.

This is a proposal to extend the restrictions on newly registered users.

Existing restriction

Currently, users must wait 4 days to edit semi-protected pages. This is done to prevent vandals from setting up an account to bypass a semi-protection.

Proposed restrictions

Restriction

This page proposes that the 4-day restriction on new users also be applied to page creation. This would only apply to pages in the main, Wikipedia, image, and Help namespaces to allow to new users to create a userpage and start discussions.

Reasoning

Most of the nonsense, attack, and other pages that are marked for speedy deletion are made by newly registered users who either do not know about policies like WP:BIO and WP:CSD or users who created accounts only to create these types of pages. Also, many new pages that are created by new users, even articles that belong in Wikipedia, require extensive cleanup (often a complete rewrite) and are not cited. This can be attributed to a lack of editing experience and not being familiar with the Manual of Style.

Benefits

A restriction on page creation would have the following benefits:

1. Reduce the number of nonsense, attack, and other pages requiring speedy deletion.
2. Reduced workload for admins speedy deleting nonsense.
3. Reduce backlog in Category:All pages needing cleanup and Category:All pages needing to be wikified.
4. Create a sort of learning curve so that new editors can gain experience with how articles are formatted, set up, etc. and what deserves inclusion in Wikipedia before they can start new pages.