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About removing a mentor

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Ixtal has not edited in a month. I've been answering some of the questions coming in from her mentees, but as it's unfortunately unclear if she will be returning to Wikipedia, the users should probably be reassigned to a different mentor, and Ixtal removed from the list. Let me know if you have any questions. —TechnoSquirrel69 (sigh) 17:05, 23 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Based on other wiki's habits, one month is more than enough to declare a mentor off.
Note: any admin can remove Ixtal, their mentees will be automatically reassigned to other mentors. Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 18:00, 23 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Teahouse#Can_I_be_someone’s_mentee?

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Can someone help this editor? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 18:01, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Replied there. I looked through the archives and I think currently 50% of newcomers get access to the Ask A Question module and thus have access to the mentorship program. Trizek_(WMF) might know if we’re any closer to a higher percentage when they’re back. Perfect4th (talk) 21:00, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I was told at some point that users with the newcomer homepage has (as in sees) a mentor, but that might be incorrect. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 21:43, 27 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
My alt has the question module access so I can’t tell. That would certainly be helpful for this type of case if so (I’ve just been using the {{#mentor:Example}} template to figure out mentors). I’d thought that all users had the homepage but only those with the question module saw their mentors – do some not? Perfect4th (talk) 20:54, 28 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]
All users have the Homepage, we assign a mentor to all of them, but only half of them see the mentor module. The goal is to limit the number of questions each mentor might get. However, this system is not bulletproof: as a mentor, you can be randomly assigned 10 very motivated mentees that will all ask questions, while your fiend will get zero message. Even with the 50% limit, this still can happen.
I think the simplest option would be to provide the mentorship module to every new account, not half of them.
I'm tracking numbers in T323048 every time the question of mentorship assignment is raised. As I write this, we are very close to the "ideal" number of 200 active mentors (based on "one mentor for every batch of 500 new accounts"), as English Wikipedia has 170 enlisted mentors.
Do you think a new campaign to recruit mentors, followed by the final increase to 100%, would be a reasonable move?
Happy new year, Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 14:31, 6 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It makes sense to me. I think it’s been a while since the last Teahouse recruiting ad post at least, so we might get some from there. We could at least consider going to 75% if nothing else. Perfect4th (talk) 15:24, 6 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Done. Perfect4th (talk) 21:36, 7 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Sounds fine to me. I'll cross-post to AN to see if that can drum up a few more experienced folks. -- asilvering (talk) 23:23, 6 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Asilvering, we now have 181 mentors, 11 more than the last time we spoke. Do you think it would be good to ask all mentors if we should increase the coverage to 75% soon, and raise it to a final 100% after a short period of test? Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 14:05, 20 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, and it seems from the reaction to the AN thread I started that existing mentors feel able to handle a significantly higher load. -- asilvering (talk) 15:36, 20 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Removing inactive mentors automatically

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Speaking of, would it be possible at some point to have inactive mentors automatically and temporarily "deactivated"? I see that I can remove individual active mentors, but I think it would be much better if we could simply set it so that at n days since last activity, a mentor stops receiving new mentees until they become active again. -- asilvering (talk) 14:39, 7 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

We've discussed this before and there's a Phabricator task but I'm not versed-enough in Phabricator to figure out what's going on there or if it was finished. KStoller-WMF, do we have an update on this? Perfect4th (talk) 21:36, 7 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]
The task will be discussed during the next Mentorship meeting, as we still need to figure out what it needs to be done, and what could be the impact of this change. (I added a sub-section title to distinguish this topic from the increase one.) Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 15:01, 8 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Providing a mentor to all newcomers?

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Tracked in Phabricator
Task T384505

At the moment, only 50% of newcomers get a mentor to start their journey on Wikipedia.

The history of the number of mentors and this percentage is documented. We have this percentage as, in the past, the number of mentors was lower than the number of new accounts — quite constant but in decline, though.

Our goal is to provide a mentor for each batch of 500 new accounts, a balance we found acceptable based on our experience at all other wikis. Over the last months, on average, 90,000 new accounts were created, meaning that we'd need 180 mentors to handle all questions.

As of today, English Wikipedia has 181 active mentors, plus 49 that could become more active. As the goal is to provide equal chances for all new accounts to get access to an experienced editor, it is time to consider changing the percentage, don't you think?

Proposal: change the percentage of newcomers that get a mentor from 50% to 75% on January 31, and then to 100% on February 14. Two steps for a smooth change. The proposal is mostly for mentors, as they will be impacted directly.

Thoughts? :) Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 19:42, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

A quick message to inform you that as of now 75% of newcomers get a mentor. The next step will start on Feb 17, to reach 100%. Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 13:36, 4 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Dear mentors, how are you since the last treshold change?
As of today, 187 mentors have signed-up as active mentors (+6 in a month), 51 claim mentees manually (+2). (Comparison with last month signups.) More mentors ! I think we are still good to provide a mentor to 100% of new accounts on February 17!
It would be nice to drop a note in the Signpost about this future milestone, don't you think?
Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 13:24, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
So far so good for me! Are you thinking of a Signpost write-up prior to the 100% milestone, or after it takes effect? Perfect4th (talk) 19:10, 12 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Well, I wasn't considering writing it myself, as the important thing would be to share your experience as mentors. But I can assist it. I think the 100% milestone would be reached by the time we would finish writing it. :D Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 11:16, 13 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I've had questions from 6 mentees since Feb 3, so it's manageable. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:00, 15 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It is now official: 100% of new accounts now get a mentor at English Wikipedia! You are now at the same pace as all other wikis. :) Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 14:27, 17 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Teahouse#Change of the mentor

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Hi there! Could someone please answer this user's question? I don't see the answer at Wikipedia:Growth Team features/Mentor list. Thanks! GoingBatty (talk) 19:11, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

done https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User_talk:Applefruitlife&diff=prev&oldid=1277968343--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 19:28, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Ozzie10aaaa It's 100% now, see above thread. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 19:47, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Awesome!...(to be frank I get about the same number of questions), thanks Ozzie--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 19:50, 27 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks everyone, I also added this to the related FAQ: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Growth/FAQ#newmentor -- KStoller-WMF (talk) 18:53, 28 February 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Question about mentor process

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Tracked in Phabricator
Task T391695

I am not sure where to ask this question as I cannot locate a mentor program email or the like, and hope this is the right spot. I have been serving as a mentor for a few months and think this is a valuable experience. I normally get a few new mentees every day or two, though have not received a new one in over 3 days in my dashboard, and wonder if there is a system issue? I believe new ones are being assigned as I just had outreach from one who I do not see in my mentor dashboard. Can somebody please help with this? Thank you. FULBERT (talk) 23:51, 14 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I think I should have pinged @Trizek_(WMF) and @KStoller-WMF on this. FULBERT (talk) 11:38, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Fulbert
This is the right spot! :)
Your name is randomly assigned to new accounts, and we can't predict what these users will do. You can have days where no one will contact you as these newcomers don't plan to edit. I'm a mentor myself (at French Wikipedia) and I see huge variations from one week to the other.
The mentor dashboard is updated twice a day, sometimes after a mentee reaches at you.
Let me know if you have any other question! Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 12:30, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Trizek (WMF) Thank you for your reply, though I do not think I may have been clear. I have been assigned new mentees, as some of them have reached out to me with questions. However, none of my new mentees have appeared in my Mentor dashboard since last week. The Mentor dashboard does not seem to be updating correctly. FULBERT (talk) 15:16, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Ha, it is quite different!
I checked my list at French Wikipedia, and it hasn't been updated since 4 days either. I filled a bug ticket so that engineers will have a look.
Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 18:19, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I'm having this same problem too. My mentor dashboard just says that none of my mentees have been active in the last four days even though 1. I know at least one of them has been, 2. I've been getting assigned new mentees, and 3. They have been editing. mwwv converse∫edits 15:48, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Huh, I just checked and mine also says I've had no active mentees for the last four days, although I am admittedly currently 'Away' and thus might not be the best test case. Perfect4th (talk) 15:49, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
  • I just sent a dashboard refresh request in, please check after an hour. If you still have none, let us know the name of one of your "missing" mentees. — xaosflux Talk 15:52, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
    Doesn't seem to have worked, dashboard still isn't indicating any activity newer than 4 days. Two examples are "Noplaydadon" and "ScaffoldingtheSkibidi" (deliberately not linking to avoid ping). The former asked a question two days ago on the 13th, the latter has been making edits today according to recent changes filtered by my mentees, but both can't be found in my dashboard list even though I've confirmed that they're my mentees using the {{#mentor:Foo}} magic word (and the fact that at least the latter had showed up in the filtered recent changes list, of course). Liu1126 (talk) 17:12, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
my mentor list seems to have same issue(as this mentee is not on list)--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 17:14, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Xaosflux Thanks for looking into this. It has been about 90 minutes and still nothing. One of my mentees who I received a question from is User:Aefv2025, which shows up in my filtered view of recent changes but still does not appear in my Mentor dashboard. There are many more such as that one. FULBERT (talk) 17:17, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Xaosflux, what do you mean by "send a dashboard refresh"? Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 18:20, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I ran the manual api request to action=growthmentordashboardupdatedata, this has occasionally helped with some things. — xaosflux Talk 18:47, 15 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Ha, these kind of superpowers! :) Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 15:31, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Been about 9 hours and still no update to my mentor list. One of my mentees, ArtFacts3000, has edited a lot lately but still shows as active since 4 days ago mwwv converse∫edits 00:43, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
For info: the Growth script which was supposed to do this scanned hundreds of millions of rows, which caused partial outages at a great scale (about 10% of traffic) on April 9 (see WP:VPT#Wikipedia_down?), so it was disabled until its get fixed (which is in progress, see phab:T391695). — Alien  3
3 3 05:11, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Alien333 Thanks for the update. So it seems this has been worked on for a few days, and while I do not understand much of what was said related to the issue or proposed fix, it does seem that it is being addressed. Still not working on my end, but at least the issue is acknowledged @Trizek (WMF) so hoping it will be solved soon. In another way, that several others here noticed this and have commented gives me hope that this Mentor initiative is being taken seriously with a hoped-for positive impact. I post a Welcome message to all my mentees, in the hopes at least some of them will see it and feel some support at the other end of systems that can be overwhelming for people who are new. FULBERT (talk) 12:41, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
I know, and though there isn't such a thing as mentorship where I'm active, I like to try and support new users too.
On the technical side: it should start up again soon! After a Growth dev fixed the script, it was reenabled with change r1136970. (WMF is keeping an eye on it to make sure it doesn't cause outages again, but it probably won't.) — Alien  3
3 3 12:50, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
It should be back on tracks now; at least it is at French WIkipeida. :D Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 15:31, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Mine is back as well. Thanks to the team that worked on this! Perfect4th (talk) 16:12, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Apologies, everyone — I should’ve shared this earlier when I first found out. I was hoping the fix would go out quickly enough that Mentors wouldn’t even notice the disruption.
That said, I’m genuinely glad to see we have such an engaged and proactive group of Mentors who did notice!
There may still be a few lingering quirks as the new script continues to run, but it looks like the issue is now almost entirely resolved. -- KStoller-WMF (talk) 17:04, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
thanks its working--Ozzie10aaaa (talk) 18:27, 16 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@KStoller-WMF Thanks! It is working again. FULBERT (talk) 14:45, 17 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Yup. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:49, 17 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
This seems to be working partly now, and while I have new mentees listed in my dashboard, there are many people in the past 3 days, such as new Users Mukesh25dhasmana, Asmani111, and Eleonar1979 who were assigned me as mentor but who did not appear on the Dashboard. I saw them only through the Filtered view of recent changes. Pinging @Trizek (WMF) on this again. Has anybody else noticed this if you compare the two? FULBERT (talk) 14:36, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Not seeing anything unusual on my dashboard. Have you checked your dashboard filters? The three editors you've listed here all have 0 edits at the time of writing, while IIRC the dashboard filter has a default filter range from 1 to 500 edits. Liu1126 (talk) 15:08, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
@Liu1126 Ahh, so the dashboard is based on new editors doing at least something that will count as an edit? FULBERT (talk) 15:20, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
Yeah, same criteria as normal edit counters (so log actions like account creation don't count). You can change the filter settings using the Filter dropdown above the mentees list to set the minimum to 0 edits, then all mentees should appear. Liu1126 (talk) 15:26, 19 April 2025 (UTC)[reply]
(Sorry for the lack of replies, I was on vacation.)
The issue has been fixed. Have you noticed the improvements? Trizek_(WMF) (talk) 15:16, 6 May 2025 (UTC)[reply]
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