Content deleted Content added
No edit summary |
|||
Line 10:
After receiving feedback on my first draft I decided to gather more information, and links to more secondary sources, on a word document. I was nervous to edit my draft directly on the site, or even on my sandbox, because I knew I would be making embarrassing mistakes as I was getting to know Wikipedia. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t been so hesitant to edit more directly, because I’m sure outsider’s feedback would have helped me avoid certain problems that I had to discover myself when editing based on the perfect article description. That said, after speaking with a lot of my peers, I was thankful that I didn’t upload my article until the due date. A lot my classmates seemed to be targeted by existing users who viewed our class assignment negatively, and used it as a way to try to target a whole group of articles.
It is often hard for communities to attract and keep newcomers. However, Kraut and Resnick remind us that it is essential for a community to do so to survive and thrive. They say that “every online community must incorporate successive generations of newcomers to survive” (Kraut & Resnick, 2011, p. 179)<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Building Successful Online Communities|last=Kraut & Resnick|first=|publisher=MIT Press|year=2011|isbn=|location=Cambridge, MA|pages=}}</ref>. Kraut and Resnick also explain that online communities must solve five basic problems when dealing with newcomers. The problems are categorized into recruitment, selection, retention, socialization, and protection. It is further explained that “these problems may vary in importance across difference communities” (Kraut & Resnick, 2011, p. 180).<ref name=":0" /> My experience with Wikipedia showed me that although the community places a strong focus on creating quality content, they do not balance their focus to also appreciate the significance of newcomers.
Wikipedia was created as a comprehensive encyclopedia that can be restructured and updated communally. “Wikipedians are supposed to discuss and reason together, making use of verifiable sources and assuming good faith” (Reagle, 2010)<ref>{{Cite book|title=Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Wikipedia|last=Reagle|first=Joseph|publisher=MIT Press|year=2010|isbn=|location=
In our class, recruitment was not really an issue. Our teacher recruited us to create accounts and contribute to Wikipedia, so we were not being pulled to the community in any unique way. We could say, however, that an existent user was persuading us, seeing as our teacher has been a long time Wikipedia user.
| |||