User talk:MartinPoulter
Welcome[change source]
Hello! I am assuming you have come over from the English Wikipedia, so you are probably familiar with the way this wiki works. I hope you like it here and decide to stay. Here are a few links to help you adjust:
- An English Wikipedian's guide
- Writing in Simple English
- Simple talk: our help desk, reference desk and village pump- in one page
- How to copy from English Wikipedia
There is much to do here. For example, there are a lot of articles that do not exist yet, which you can bring over from the English Wikipedia and simplify. Do have a look around and see what you would like to do. Thank you for joining us! If you need any help, be sure to visit Simple Talk or contact an administrator. Happy changing! MathXplore (talk) 14:07, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
Writing for Simple wiki[change source]
I think it is more difficult to write for this wiki than En wiki. Think about how ignorant almost all school kids are about science. Then think about their limited writing skills... (which inevitably reflects their general education). It's not so much the technical content which make pages difficult (though that is indeed an issue), but the language combined with the general ignorance of the readers. For example, at school in most countries there is either no genetics taught at all, or absolutely the bare minimum. And the biology teachers themselves may just gloss over it. This applies rather unevenly. Get on to dinosaurs, and some kids will genuinely know quite a lot.
Generally, editors who are schoolteachers are more likely to understand this than editors who are, shall we say, more distant from the rough-and-tumble...Macdonald-ross (talk) 14:51, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
- @Macdonald-ross: I've no doubt this is true! And I understand we have to consider not just school kids but all the potential users of Simple English, including learners of English and people who have been turned off English Wikipedia by its excessive difficulty. I'm optimistic that good (accessible and informative) scientific explanations can occur on this wiki, but I don't presume that this is easily or quickly done. The more input, the merrier! Speaking of which, could we continue this discussion on the Talk page where I started it? Thanks, MartinPoulter (talk) 15:09, 28 July 2023 (UTC)