Introduction
editI never realized how much time, thought and energy goes into maintaining Wikipedia until I became part of it for this class. As we began to learn more about it, I did not know where to start when we were told to choose a topic. I already assumed everything had been written about. I was naïve to say the least. And I was also nervous to create an article on a website that services millions of people. That in of itself is intimidating. For this project I chose to write my article on John D. O'Bryant because it was a suggested article.
Experiences and Class Material
editAt times I was nervous to contribute to Wikipedia because it was such foreign territory for me. I do not have any computer science background or know anything about coding so I had to gain motivation on my own to understand this environment. Along with being nervous I was also curious as to what was out there in the Wikipedia community. There are sixteen motivations that are cited in Kraut & Resnick and curiosity is one of them.[1] Because this is such a large online community I was curious to how it actually worked and the different people involved in these articles would contribute. To my surprise so much work occurs without even realizing it.[clarification needed] On the contrary I was also nervous to contribute to Wikipedia with the fear I would be told to RTFM. Online communities can be intimidating to join when you are not completely sure how to use them and do not know the people you are working with. Especially with my lack of understanding how to use Wikipedia I would have been devastated if a user was unfriendly towards me. Rather than having negative behavior I felt I was enculturating[further explanation needed] myself to the community [2]. For me there were a lot of technical and social knowledge aspects of Wikipedia to become accustomed. Because I had never worked on a platform like this I had to work my way through some technical things to become part of the community. For example, the training program that I completed and even sorting through how to put an article together[needs copy edit]. I was able to continue the enculturation progress of working on my Wikipedia article and eventually felt more part of the community.
The part of using Wikipedia that I enjoyed the most was writing the QICs. Having feedback on these QICs made it more enticing to be part of the class community. And similar to design claim 18, “Performance feedback--- especially positive feedback--- can enhance motivation to perform tasks”[1]. Receiving feedback from the professor and other members of the class have helped me want to contribute more. It has made me want my own article to be useful to people because other people were taking the time to look at and respond to what I was writing. It helps give a sense of community when you understand your peers are going to help improve your work. Not only did the feedback help me personally but I also think it inspired more of the class to willingly participate because we were all trying something new.
Final Reflection
editAs such a new user of Wikipedia I wish this semester was not over! There is so much to be learned about and from Wikipedia I do not think we even got to the core. When I first began working on Wikipedia I was overwhelmed with everything that was going on and did not want to break a rule or potentially plagiarize something without knowing. What I have learned is that others in the community will help you if you make a mistake. They will let you know when something does not fit the correct vision of Wikipedia and are willing to help you if you have a question. And every time I felt myself confused on a topic I would simply look it up in Wikipedia. There are endless help pages that step by step walk you through how to cite things and what certain color links mean. These were all helpful when I was working through issues of my article. I have learned a lot from working within the confines of Wikipedia about how so many people in this large community are able to work together, even when the door is constantly opening and closing with members. A community this large has been able to successfully function and now I am understanding of all the effort that goes into the high standard of articles and making them the best they can be.
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editReferences
edit- ^ a b Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul (March 2012). Building Successful Online Communities. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. pp. 41–47. ISBN 9780262016575.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ Reagle, Joseph. "The Obligation to Know: From FAQ to Feminism 101". Reagle. Retrieved 21 November 2015.