User:Anabellakb/reflection

Reflection
While navigating and immersing myself in the online community of Wikipedia, it has been nothing but fascinating. I always had an image of what Wikipedia was. That image was that the older generation was the one "in charge" of the platform and because of that it was never of interest. I had always been told not to use Wikipedia as a source on a paper since anyone can edit it, and after experiencing it myself I now understand why. When starting this course I honestly was a bit afraid of Wikipedia. Since I was a newcomer, I was worried if I was going to be able to follow all of the rules Wikipedia had, especially when it came to writing my article. Being a newcomer to this online platform is not easy. There are many rules and regulations one must adhere to, but aren't the majority of platforms like this as well? There is definitely something unique about Wikipedia. One can find very skilled well known Wikipedians and maybe even some inexperienced individuals as well, and at the end of the day those who are inexperienced could even be teenagers sitting behind a screen. It is a pretty diverse platform, but the interesting thing is usually there is no description whether that age, gender, or demographic of who might be editing or taking a look at one's article. The strength of Wikipedia's community is undeniable, yet the established culture of the platform can present obstacles for newcomers, emphasizing the necessity for transparent guidelines and efficient moderation to ensure equal and inclusive participation.

As Kraut (2012) mentions, “every online community must incorporate successive generations of newcomers to survive” (p. 179). Wikipedia among many other platforms must have newcomers in order for the platform to endure into the future. Kraut continues to discuss how newcomers may not act in the way they are supposed to in the beginning since they are getting used to the rules and regulations of platforms. He continues to say how there are five different types of basic problems that online communities must tackle which are: recruitment, selection, retention, socialization and protection. Speaking about my experience, the socialization aspect of the issues mentioned previously is something I encountered with a WikiGnome. The Wikipedian user “Onel5969” fixed things in my article and I decided to express my gratitude on their talk page. His response demonstrated the importance of the community's socialization efforts and highlights Kraut’s point on teaching newcomers or even just showing appreciation to them, and that is exactly what Onel5969 did to me. This initial positive reaction definitely motivated me to keep editing my articles and try to build other connections within Wikipedia. It is proof of Kraut's (2012) Design Claim 18 that “when newcomers have friendly interactions with existing community members soon after joining a community, they are more likely to stay longer and contribute more” (p. 208).

Wikipedia has a very particular set of rules and suggestions when it comes to publishing an article or editing. This is the area where I struggled with the most since I am used to journalism writing and tend to use flamboyant descriptions. That is when Professor Reagle suggested that I was using “peacock prose,” which are words that exaggerate and are not neutral. This was definitely a challenge, but with the guide entitled “Editing Wikipedia,” by Wiki Education, it became easier. Something from the guide that I would often tell myself when writing my article was that “Wikipedia uses a different style of writing. Keep to the facts, and let your writing be clear, formal, and impersonal. You aren't trying to convince readers to agree with you.” This specifically was an added challenge since the article I wrote about was on L.A. Burdick and it is a cafe that I frequently visit and enjoy. However, since it is a Wikipedia article I could not express my opinion and it had to be completely impersonal since these are specific rules that correspond to Wikipedia. When I began writing my article I would use words such as “extravagant chocolate” and that went against the Wikipedia norms since I had to keep in check the writing style of keeping everything neutral. Even when my article was published I still had left some of that peacock prose, but thankfully my peers, specifically User:NoahConstrictor edited a specific part and took that phrase out that could be considered an opinion. However, as I kept working it facilitated the process and made it easy as a newcomer since I was starting to grasp the concept.

Slowly making myself comfortable within the Wikipedia community, I could not help but refer to our very first reading on the sense of belonging to a community. I recalled the four types of criteria for a definition and theory of sense of community. There are two that I find appropriate to tie into my experience which are Membership and Integration and Fulfillment of Needs. Membership is defined as “a feeling that one has invested part of oneself to become a member and therefore has a right to belong” (Aronson & Mills, 1959; Buss & Portnoy, 1967). This is the way I felt as I made my way into the Wikipedia community. Being able to make my own article, especially about a place that I frequently visit here in Boston, felt rewarding and made me feel a sense of belonging and that I was contributing to something greater. It made me feel content to know that my article can ultimately be edited and have new information put in the years to come by other Wikipedians and is something I find exciting. The other criterion was Integration and Fulfillment of Needs, which can be explained as reinforcement. As mentioned previously, my interaction with a WikiGnome created that sense of positive reinforcement. But as I got more feedback from my peers, it emphasized how Wikipedia creates a sense of togetherness. Throughout the course, it has always been a prominent act to continuously provide feedback whether it be by showing gratitude or just constructive criticism, and at the end of the day that shows how “group association must be rewarding for its members” (McMillan & Chavis, 1986).

Moderation is seen throughout Wikipedia and is what makes the platform work. As Grimmelmann states, “A community’s moderators can promote posts or hide them, honor posters or shame them, recruit users or ban them. Their decisions influence what is seen, what is valued, what is said. When they do their job right, they create the conditions under which cooperation is possible.” This is true however when discussed in class who gets to say what is right and what is wrong. It's a pretty complicated area when it comes to deeming something being appropriate or not. However, I did not experience any sort of flagging of my article, but I did have some Wikipedians edit how my sources were and show the consistency Wikipedia has not only on newcomers, but as the platform as a whole.

Lastly, gratitude is something I value in everything I do. I enjoy showing a token of appreciation, whether that be online or offline. It was interesting to see the ways Wikipedia users shower one another their appreciation. One of the ways that is done is by sending some sort of WikiLove. Editors can share this type of love by sending kittens all the way to food. I did not engage in this type of appreciation, rather I sent thanks. This is done by the click of the button of the literal word “thanks”. In class I expressed how this might not be too personalized and sometimes it loses its meaning, but I think I was wrong. I thanked some of my peers. One of the peers I thanked was User:Nustudent1120 and she texted me saying “Wow, I just got your thanks and it meant a lot.” This showed me that people do appreciate it even if it was done by a click of a button, and I am glad that I was able to prove myself otherwise.

The whole experience with Wikipedia has been far better than what I expected. It took away the impression of what I thought it was and demonstrated to me how great of a platform it is. I am glad that I was able to get some interactions out of it and left an impact by creating a page of a cafe that truly means a lot to me. Even though the course is done, I am excited to be able to look back at my page once in a while and see it develop overtime.