Wikipedia:Please do not bite the newcomers is not a suicide pact
 | This is an essay on the conduct policy. 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. |
 | This page in a nutshell: Our expectation that new editors be treated with extraordinary kindness and patience does not mean that new editors do not have to get better. Experienced editors' patience should not be extended to a new user who does not improve despite best efforts. |
One of Wikipedia's most important guidelines is our expectation that experienced users must not bite the newcomers. That is, new users must be treated with exceptional kindness and patience, particularly when they make mistakes, because anything less runs the risk of losing editors who otherwise would have become positive members of this community. But veteran editors should not comply with this guideline to the point of making it a suicide pact. New users must have leeway to make mistakes, even violating policies, but they also must follow a path, one where experienced users serve as guides, towards improvement. If a new user is not learning or improving despite others' repeated efforts to guide and help, WP:BITE becomes non-workable and leniency must give way to prevention of disruption.