“How smart do I have to be to edit on Wikipedia?”
Although my initial thoughts on Wikipedia involved around skepticism, intimidation, and disinterest, I have developed both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to actively participate after being recruited by someone I respect. By observing others and reviewing its code of conduct, I have learned the general norms of Wikipedia, which regulated and shaped my norm compliance. In addition, experiences and practices such as setting specific deadlines, completing small tasks, and violating regulations[clarification needed] helped me strengthen my editing skills and also encouraged me to actively contribute. Although I still have not become a fully committed Wikipedian, I look forward to discovering my passion and commitment through frequent feedback and active interactions with fellow Wikipedians.
Initial reaction
editWhen Professor Reagle first introduced our class to editing Wikipedia, I was skeptical, intimidated, and uninterested. Wikipedia, to me, had always been like a black hole -- a place where I should not go near and become easily lost after entering. In fact, Professor Reagle was the first person in my entire life who genuinely believes and enthusiastically introduced Wikipedia[needs copy edit] as a constructive and knowledgeable community. I was skeptical that such an open online community can be purposeful, useful, and productive. After learning more about Wikipedia’s strict regulations and governance, in addition, intimidation invaded my thoughts and concerns that I am unqualified or not scholarly enough to contribute to Wikipedia. Most importantly, however, editing Wikipedia seemed unappealing and almost tedious to me.
Motivation
editMy motivation to participate in the editing world of Wikipedia have vastly evolved and grown chronologically. Although I was first requested and recruited by Professor Reagle for this specific course called Online Communities, the basis of my initial motivation was extrinsic that I hoped to achieve an excellent grade afterall[needs copy edit]. In addition to my extrinsic motivation, however, I have also developed intrinsic motivation such as feelings of self-importance and self-confidence, which encouraged me to polish and strengthen my article on BTA (Boston Trinity Academy).
Recruitment
editAlthough joining Wikipedia was a principal requirement for this class, it is reasonable and appropriate to claim that I was originally recruited by Professor Reagle. As I had previously heard good reviews on this class from my friends, I became interested that Professor Reagle, one of my favorite professors, was the instructor. Although my knowledge on Wikipedia was pretty poor at the time, I decided to become a member of Wikipedia because the request came from a person who is familiar to me, in of high status, and has desirable characteristics.[1] I did have a choice to take a class irrelevant to Wikipedia; however, I was persuaded and complied with the request because I liked the requester Professor Reagle.
Extrinsic Motivation
editAfter being recruited by Professor Reagle, I was extrinsically motivated to edit and contribute to Wikipedia because I hoped to receive rewards such as good grades. Although Wikipedia does not explicitly provide me an A for polishing an article, my extrinsic motivation led to searching reliable resources and strengthening my article, as my grade in this class was dependent on this task. Because I value such rewards as grades, I was motivated to make contributions on Wikipedia.[2]
Intrinsic Motivation
editIn addition to extrinsic motivation, my intrinsic motivation has also developed recently. Ever since I began editing the article on Boston Trinity Academy, I neither experienced much active interaction with other Wikipedians nor received any feedback on my work. However, a couple days ago I received two messages from two Wikipedians alarming[needs copy edit] that a photo I uploaded violated copyrights. Even though these feedbacks appeared not so positively, it was pleasant to finally receive some feedback on my performance. As I have become strongly attached and responsible for my article, I became intrinsically motivated to acquire feelings of self-importance and self-confidence. Because I had the intrinsic desire for social standing and approval from others, as Reiss suggested in his sixteen motives, I fulfilled the basic desires by accepting the feedback and creating revisions.[3] Although the feedback was not so positive, it still triggered my intrinsic motivation to actively revise my article.
Learning
editWhat and how have I learned to become a Wikipedian? In order to fully engage in editing Wikipedia, first of all, I have mastered the general norms of Wikipedia by observing others and reviewing code of conduct. After absorbing the norms, I have learned to become a responsible and knowledgeable Wikipedian by accomplishing and experiencing certain processes like setting specific deadlines, completing small tasks, and violating copyrights.
Norms
editNorms reinforce compliance and govern participation. Before starting to edit my article, I first tried to become familiar with the norms of Wikipedia in two ways: observing other people and seeing instructive generalizations.[4] As soon as I decided to edit the article on BTA, I searched for articles on similar topics and observed other Wikipedians’ participation and contributions. Reading various articles and their writing styles, I learned the norm of neutrality that focuses on neutral presentation of what is commonly understood about the topic.[5] This allowed me to avoid conflict of interests and instead advocate no single point of view, as my article topic is on my high school.[6] Furthermore, through class discussions about Wikipedia’s code of conduct, I successfully managed to avoid personal attacks and instead find consensus when Wikipedians pointed out my copyright violation.[7]
Setting specific deadlines and completing small tasks
editAlthough Wikipedia itself does not establish deadlines for editing, specific deadlines and small “Wikipedia tasks” that Professor Reagle assigned were extremely helpful in organizing and developing my editing skills on Wikipedia.[8] By accomplishing the small challenges with specific deadlines, I have become more comfortable and confident in sharing my knowledge and resources, thus increasing my contributions on Wikipedia.
Violations
editIn addition to learning norms through observing others and learning codes of conduct, I also acquired a crucial regulation of Wikipedia[needs copy edit]: copyright violations. As I have mentioned previously, the logo picture of BTA I uploaded violated copyrights, and the photo was deleted immediately. Because the violation was brought to public attention on Wikipedia, I was much more willing to discontinue the bad behavior and correct previous errors.[9] By providing me the option of undoing the offending action, not only did Wikipedia help me save my face but also successfully directed and controlled my online behavior.[10] Furthermore, although my username does not explicitly involve my actual name or my personal information, the thought of such an easy access to my online identity also regulated my behavior and participation because we humans are sensitive to the public impression we present to others.[11] Negative feedback such as my copyright violation experience could potentially drive away newcomers especially; however, its face-saving methods corrected and shaped my norm compliance.
Commitment
editI have become a responsible Wikipedian, but am I a committed one? I don’t know. Although I have acquired rudimentary and fundamental norms and regulations of Wikipedia, I am afraid to say that my commitment to Wikipedia is strong. This is because, I believe, I have not established any type of strong connection or commitment such as identity-based, bonds-based, normative, and needs-based commitment. Editing Wikipedia was an interesting and exciting experience particularly because the article was on my high school. I am, of course, well-aware of conflicts of interests, but the particular topic did influence my contributions as well as my first participation on Wikipedia. After acknowledging my level of commitment, my next or future participation on Wikipedia seems to heavily depend on cultivating my commitment, whether bonds-based or needs-based, as commitment to an online community increases willingness to contribute to it.[12]
Frequent feedback and active interactions with other Wikipedians may be helpful in increasing my commitment to Wikipedia. Although the only feedback or interaction I have experienced was not so positive, it surprisingly implanted my intrinsic motivations and further encouraged my participation. As Kraut and Resnick strongly suggest that positive feedback increases contributions, I hope to receive more positive feedback on my performance frequently and experience more lively interactions with others.
Conclusion
editDespite my initial intimidation and skepticism in Wikipedia, I have successfully developed extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to make contributions. I have learned the general norms of Wikipedia such as the norm of neutrality by observing others and reviewing its code of conduct. In addition, practices and experiences like completing small tasks with specific deadlines and violating copyrights not only regulated my norm compliance but also encouraged my participation. In order to maximize my commitment to Wikipedia, I hope to discover my passion and dedication through receiving positive feedback and interacting with diverse Wikipedians.
References
edit- ^ Cialdini, Robert. "The science of persuasion" (PDF). Scientific American. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul (March 2012). Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780262016575.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 41. ISBN 9780262297394.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 141. ISBN 9780262297394.
- ^ Reagle, Joseph. "Good Faith Collaboration". MIT Press. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Reagle, Joseph. "Good Faith Collaboration". Good Faith Collaboration. MIT Press. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Reagle, Joseph. "Good Faith Collaboration". Good Faith Collaboration. MIT Press. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 40. ISBN 9780262297394.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 152. ISBN 9780262297394.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIP Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780262297394.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 155. ISBN 9780262297394.
- ^ Kraut, Robert; Resnick, Paul. Building Successful Online Communities. MIT Press. p. 63. ISBN 9780262297394.