Patrol Recent Changes on DiscoverPsychic

One of the most valuable contributions you can make here at DiscoverPsychic involves patrolling recent changes (otherwise known as RC), the running log where every new article and each new edit passes through its first and most critical screening. Someone needs to review each edit and make very important decisions. You can join in this all important effort by learning a little bit about the duties of patrolling and jumping right in to try it. The more knowledgeable you and other volunteers become, the more successful DiscoverPsychic will be in seeking to maintain quality content and stay true to its mission.

[edit] Steps

1. Read the Writer's Guide. Familiarize yourself with the standards to which DiscoverPsychic articles are held. The Writer's Guide outlines what each section is for, what kinds of articles are not welcomed, how to begin each step, what kinds of verbiage are to be avoided, etc. You will need to have a good grasp of the Guide in order to be sure that all articles are in compliance.
2. Log into DiscoverPsychic and find Recent Changes in one of two ways:
   • Click the link to Recent Changes at the top of the Navigation menu in the left of each DiscoverPsychic page.
3. Look for changes showing a red exclamation point. This symbol indicates that the contribution hasn't been patrolled yet. You will be the first one to see it. Clicking on the "diff" link will show you what changes have been made. Exception: If you are looking at a new article, there will be a capital "N" in front of the title, and the "diff" link won't work; in this case, clicking on the title of the article will permit you to patrol the new article).
4. Click on the "diff" link. You will be brought to a screen which will show the old version of the page on the left and the current version on the right. Specific changes will be highlighted in red. Entirely new paragraphs will show in a new green box and will not be highlighted in red. Entirely deleted paragraphs will be shown in yellow. Pay careful attention to each of these elements.
5. Keep this in mind as you read each new edit: the goal of patrolling recent changes is to ascertain that every edit improves the quality of DiscoverPsychic.
6. Ask yourself whether the edit improved the quality of the page. If so, nothing else is needed. Simply choose "mark as patrolled" by clicking the text under the Current Revision of saying [Mark as patrolled] At this point, you will automatically be taken to the next unpatrolled edit.
7. Decide what action to take if you are unsatisfied with the current edit. At this point, you have four options:
   • Fix the problem by pressing edit and making the needed changes (see step 8 for additional guidance on this). Fixing problems is the preferred option.
   • Skip this edit if you are uncertain how to fix it. Simply click the "Skip" button to move on to the next unpatrolled edit. If in doubt at all, press skip to leave it to next person.
   • Use Page History to edit a previous version of the page. Using this technique can allow you to mix the good and bad elements of a series of edits.
   • Rollback this edit to the previous edit. Do this with reservations and reluctance. Only if: 1) The current version has zero redeeming value and 2) The old version is good. Do not roll the edit back if both edits are bad; this can lead to problems later on.
8. Follow these steps when patrolling all articles:
   • Do the easy fixes. Many edits can be quickly improved by correcting any number of common mistakes. For example, you can quickly fix a spelling error, move language that should be in tips out of the steps section, remove personal references, delete extra wording to make the page more concise or delete low quality external links.
   • Scan for vandalism and spam. Revert any vandalism you find. Vandalism comes in many forms, such as profanity, obscene comments, random characters, nonsense and even the deletion of entire pages or sections. You can also warn the vandal on their talk page by writing {{warning}} on their talk page. Admins can block disruptive users for any period up to 1 month without previous incident or longer in special cases. To report something that needs immediate administrator attention, please post it on our Administrator Notice Board.
   • Remove subtle external links added by people who did not also edit the article as per our external link guidelines. Remember that external links are to be used primarily to reference source material for the article.
   • Decide if an article needs special attention because it violates DiscoverPsychic's deletion policy, is seriously incomplete, very poorly written or inaccurate. If so, you can either take the time to improve the article or apply the appropriate template to bring the article to the attention of admins and other editors. There are many templates used on DiscoverPsychic to help ensure prompt attention to problem articles, e.g., {{copyedit}}, {{format}}, {{accuracy}}, {{nfd}} and many others.
9. Pay attention to these points for all articles, but especially when patrolling new articles. The first check of a new article is especially critical to quality control, preventing vandalism and to ensuring that the article gets the attention it needs from admins or other editors.
   • Check to see if we already have an article on that topic. Search DiscoverPsychic and check for keywords and phrases related to the article and determine if the new article should be merged. If so, write {{merge|title of existing article}} at the very beginning of the article.
   • Determine if the article needs to be tagged with one of our templates for drawing attention to it. Many new articles are incomplete, poorly worded or inaccurate and need additional work before they can become useful articles. Some new articles are inappropriate for DiscoverPsychic or are jokes. Tag the article with the appropriate template when you don't have the time, desire, or ability to improve the page.
   • Check the title. The title should be clear, specific, concise, grammatically correct, and properly capitalized. Generally, every word in the title should be capitalized except articles such as "and," "the," and "a." It's also a good idea to avoid symbols like "&" as well as any other kind of punctuation (no periods, exclamation points, etc.). If you think the title should be changed and you're not an admin, place the new title template to suggest the change.
10. Remember: If you don't feel comfortable addressing any particular edit, feel free to click on "Skip" and return to recent changes. This will leave the page as unpatrolled to be caught by a future editor.

The expetirse shines through. Thanks for taking the time to answer.