User:Siobhanmdowling/Reflections

When I first joined Wikipedia for this class I had never considered editing any articles before. From my point of view, I believed that all of the writers and editors were highly qualified scholars and very knowledgeable about everything that they were writing about. Therefore, I was extremely nervous about joining; I felt as if the community would not be welcoming and I was afraid that I would receive negative feedback. I did not want to do anything wrong.

The biggest thing that I learned, and took away, from those first few days on Wikipedia was that there was a massive amount of information that I needed to learn, but I also needed to accept that I was not going to be able to learn everything. I learned about a bulk of this information, which was somewhat overwhelming, from the Student Orientation/Training as well as the Wikipedia Adventure. I liked the Wikipedia Adventure better than the student training though because it gave me something to work for and it helped me measure my progress. With each mission, I was awarded a “badge” which was an extrinsic form of motivation. However, once I moved on from tutorials I believe I gained a wealth of knowledge by actually using the skills that I had learned.

On Wikipedia I feel like I successfully learned how to make a well-written, but unbiased, article that establishes notability as well as upholds Wikipedia’s standards concerning copyright and plagiarism. Though I was anxious about starting out my own article, once I began I had an intrinsic motivation to continue editing. I wanted to make my Food Lifeline article represent the organization holistically. By actually starting, and eventually completing, the article I felt less like a "newbie" and more like an active member of the community.

From all of the things that I learned by actively editing within Wikipedia and then attending lecture, I believe there are two main concepts that connect to my experience; one is what type of commitment I have to Wikipedia, and then secondly my status within the community.

Even though I have now successfully created an article, I believe I am still lacking any identity-based or bonds-based commitment to Wikipedia. I did not have a great deal of interaction with any other Wikipedians, so I did not connect or bond with any specific individual people. Therefore, I have no bonds which would make me want to stay and continue to edit on Wikipedia. Furthermore, there is no group that I came into contact with that I identify with. A large part of this might have been due to the fact that I did not actively put myself into the position where I would be talking to other editors, but at the same time. being a newcomer and all, I was afraid to do something wrong.

Concerning my status, as I mentioned before the "badges" that the Wikipedia Adventure game put on my profile made me feel as if I was being included in the community. Also the badges were reward/incentive based and lent me an extrinsic reason to continue to actively want to participate in Wikipedia. However at the same time these badges clearly marked me as a student and somebody new to the community. In class we discussed how there is a stigma against new members who come into communities. Many newcomers disrupt and go against the "norms" that are within a community, even if they are not intentionally causing chaos. Even when "newbies" come into communities and have good intent and mean well, they do not always participate in the way the community thinks they should. Therefore, the badges on my profile also made me somewhat nervous because I felt as if they made me a target and thus I was more vulnerable to being attacked (which is why the term "don't bite the newbie" was coined).

I think something that we discussed in class that Wikipedia lacks is a clear establishment of norms. Yes, there are various rules and guidelines that members are supposed to adhere to, but at the same time there are unwritten rules and expectations, many of which hinder the activity of a newcomer within the community. I believe that the TeaHouse is something Wikipedia should invest more time and energy into in order to solve this problem many newbies face. Furthermore, by including a clear and concise code of conduct, I believe Wikipedia would improve its overall community and atmosphere and it would help establish norms.