User:Lmeyler02/reflection

Reflection
Wikipedia is a resource I have always taken for granted. While I probably use it more than I even realize, I had never given much thought to the users keeping the platform running. It is widely known that anyone can contribute to Wikipedia, but I had never looked more into it or attempted to contribute myself. This class provided a welcome challenge and opportunity to change this. But because of my unfamiliarity with contributing to Wikipedia, I felt some hesitancy to take the first step and make any significant contributions, which was a feeling shared by many of my classmates. Wikipedia is a space that can feel overwhelming to newcomers, but it is not an impossible issue to fix. With more easily accessible guidance and mentor relationships, newcomers could receive much-needed reassurance to share their work and make bold edits. Once newcomers are able to cross this hurdle and receive positive feedback proving that they can do it, they will likely be more motivated to make future edits and become consistent Wikipedia editors, which is beneficial to the entire community. This suggestion is also supported by Kraut and Resnick’s claims relating to handling newcomers. Kraut and Resnick (2012) write, “When oldcomers provide newcomers formal mentorship, the newcomers become more committed to the community, learn how to behave in it, and contribute more.” Based on my own experiences, I will argue that Wikipedia should have a more robust mentorship program to not only help welcome newcomers, but also retain them by developing confidence in their contributions and providing positive feedback that allows them to see how they are making meaningful contributions, which will lead to the growth of intrinsic motivation to contribute more to Wikipedia.

In addition to my lack of knowledge about Wikipedia that contributed to feelings of uncertainty as a newcomer, I also did not have many chances to engage with established Wikipedians. Receiving feedback from more experienced Wikipedians along the way could have helped build my confidence. This was one slight frustration with my Wikipedia experience, as I tried to reach out to other users to encourage more edits and reviews of my own article, but my efforts were not successful. To share my article and try to get other users to provide feedback, I found related pages, like the Fashion History Museum page and left messages explaining that I had recently updated the Fashion museum page and would love any suggestions or edits. I made sure that the pages I commented on had been recently updated, thinking this would provide the best chance of receiving responses. However, from what I could tell, nobody from these pages edited or left comments on my article which was somewhat discouraging.

After reflecting on this, I wish I had reached out to more people more consistently to better my chances of having interactions with other Wikipedians. If I did this again, I would start reaching out earlier and try some different approaches to getting responses from others. This could be another aspect that mentorship programs could help with by instilling the confidence needed to reach out to Wikipedians for help. If newcomers received helpful feedback from experienced contributors, they would certainly feel more motivated to continue adding to Wikipedia.

In fact, this idea is supported by Zhu et al (2013), with their study proving the effects of different types of feedback on user contributions. The authors specifically point to social and positive feedback as types that motivate users to contribute more to a community. Social feedback is defined as “feedback intended to maintain close social relationships, support group cohesion, and develop subordinates’ self-confidence and skills”, while positive feedback is defined as “feedback intended to energize people through acknowledging work and provid[ing] rewards.” Not only does this study prove that feedback directly affects user contribution, but it also identifies newcomers as particularly susceptible to the effect of any type of feedback. As it is now, it is somewhat discouraging to newcomers like me if it feels like other Wikipedians do not care enough to engage with our work, but a mentorship program could help address this issue as well.

While I was disappointed in the fact that I did not have any real interactions with many Wikipedians, this was somewhat made up for by my interactions with other classmates in the form of peer reviews. It is not quite the same as being challenged through interactions with strangers, but I was glad to have meaningful exchanges with my classmates through my own suggestions and edits made, as well as feedback I received from others. I looked at two articles written by classmates, High-protein diet and Body doubling and was able to make small edits directly as well as leave suggestions on the talk page that I hoped would be of use to my peers. Similarly, three classmates made their own edits and left thoughtful feedback on my article talk page. For example, one classmate helped edit the opening paragraph of my article, specifically a sentence I had struggled with and made it flow much better in the current page compared to the previous version. These interactions with classmates were a great way to be exposed to other people’s work and have new sets of eyes on my own.

Apart from edits made by classmates, there were a few minor edits made by unknown Wikipedians as well. One user helped with some formatting issues with the headings, which as a newcomer, I was unaware of, so this was much appreciated. While this was a small edit, it was helpful nonetheless and brought my article one step closer to a “perfect article.” Another user also added an image from the Victoria and Albert Museum fashion collection which helped my article seem more complete. Again, these were essentially the extent of my interactions with other Wikipedians and I wish they had contributed more editing to the actual writing, but I was grateful for these contributions nonetheless and glad some classmates could provide feedback as well.

In addition to writing my own article and peer reviewing others, I also made some smaller but still meaningful contributions throughout the semester. For example, I completed some of the “suitable for all editor” tasks by looking through the list of articles in need of categories and adding some. I successfully did so for the article on John Koontz and Chloe George. While these are basic additions, it is still a task that helps the larger community. This would also be something a mentor could show a newcomer how to do, as it would allow newcomers to start small and still make helpful contributions to become more comfortable with Wikipedia, instead of being immediately overwhelmed with bigger tasks. Finally, the last type of interaction I had on Wikipedia came in the form of WikiLove. I chose one of the recent editors of the fashion page and saw it was another student so decided to leave the vanilla ice cream WikiLove token on their user page. But unfortunately, they did not return the favor, nor did I get random WikiLove or thanks from any other Wikipedians, adding to my general feeling of lacking in interactions with other users.

Welcoming and retaining newcomers is an issue that is not unique to Wikipedia, as all online communities must face this challenge. After being exposed to Wikipedia as a newcomer myself, I see firsthand the possible benefits of a mentorship program. Aside from my own experiences on Wikipedia, this suggestion is also supported by various research studies and class readings, like the importance of positive feedback to promote more engagement and participation among users, especially newcomers. A mentorship program would facilitate helpful feedback which would retain newcomers and ensure they became active participants within the community. When newcomers engage with experienced users, they also become more immediately immersed in the culture of the community and understand how to contribute to it. On top of my own personal experiences and discouragement at the lack of interaction with experienced Wikipedians, these class readings also point to the fact that an established mentorship program would only be beneficial to Wikipedia when it comes to maintaining newcomers and giving them the confidence to flourish into expert Wikipedians.