User:Wikistudent2002/Report

The reputation of Wikipedia is frequently harmed by inaccurate perceptions about its reliability. Many people, including myself and most of my teachers, have been unwilling to use it as a reliable source because of doubts over accuracy and verifiability, even though it comes up frequently through Google searches and has an enormous amount of information. This mistrust in Wikipedia's content stems from the site's open editing model, which allows anyone to contribute or revise the information. Allowing anyone to contribute to Wikipedia is excellent for expanding the distribution of information, but it also brings skepticism to the reliability of the content on the website.

In this reflection, I will discuss the perceived and actual credibility of Wikipedia, offer methods for improving the user experience, and relate these ideas to class concepts. I will focus on how institutionalized socialization can be used to improve Wikipedia's reputation, the challenges faced by newcomers and discuss creating a greater sense of community through bonds based commitment.

The first suggestion for improvement regards Wikipedia's reputation management and user interface. Wikipedia's reputation and ease of use can be improved by redesigning the website format and marketing the credibility of the site. As an individual with a background in business, I find the current appearance and formatting of Wikipedia's homepage somewhat lacking in professionalism compared to other reputable information platforms, such as prominent journals and university library pages. The presentation of information on Wikipedia often gives off an impression of being amateurish and lacking in verifiability. This perception contributes to the platform's unfavorable reputation, which is further exacerbated by widespread misconceptions about its reliability. Even though the site appears disorganized and uncredible, it's surprisingly reliable and could be way more helpful if this credibility was more known. The bots and editors on wikipedia do a thorough job of verifying information and fixing errors. Wikipedia's poor reputation connects with the concept of socialization. According to page 180 of "Building Successful Online Communities: Evidence-Based Social Design," socialization refers to the group's need to teach newcomers on what to believe and how to behave. By redesigning Wikipedia's website to a more seemingly reliable format, such as marketing or showcasing the verifiability measures of the information to educators and the general public, Wikipedia can use the concept of socialization to improve its reputation. This reputation has been tarnished by the perceptions conveyed to students and researchers by their mentors, who often deem Wikipedia as lacking credibility due to its openly editable nature, making it challenging to ascertain the accuracy of its content.

Ways to improve the newcomer experience is a big part of our course, and there are some areas for improvement in the newcomer experience on Wikipedia. One thing we learned when dealing with newcomers is to solve the problem of retention. According to page 180 of “Building Successful Online Communities: Evidence-Based Social Design”, retention is the idea that newcomers have low loyalty to the community, and therefore the community should use strategies that retain newcomers and lead to their development of community ties and knowledge. One thing that can be improved regarding newcomer retention is learning how to create a sandbox page. Most of the training modules intail lots of paragraphs and not many bulleted instructions or examples of what an article should be looking like, and this unclarity can easily decrease retention. An example module that should be modeled to increase retention is the peer review page of the training in week 4 of our class timeline, because this page is structured in a way that is bulleted with easy to understand titles and what to look for when writing. The peer review checklist should be used as an example in the training modules for what to look for when drafting your article. An instance that could reduce retention is encountered in the module for drafting articles. During the drafting process, we lacked an easily comprehensible and actionable bulleted list. Integrating elements from the peer review page, which offers bulleted, clear suggestions for edits, into the sandbox drafting training would greatly aid in identifying areas for improvement. Also, providing an example of an exemplary article would be highly beneficial in guiding the drafting process.

Another recommendation stemming from the concept of bonds based commitment involves producing a greater sense of community and belonging within the Wikipedia platform. Bonds based commitment, as elucidated by Dr. Benjamin Mako Hill in the "Commitment Part 1 (2/3)" lecture video, revolves around individuals feeling connected and loyal to a community, organization, or group due to the relationships they have forged within that context; their loyalty is due to these relationships and not necessarily the content itself. It is rooted in the interpersonal connections and emotional attachments people develop with others on the medium. By leveraging bonds based commitment, Wikipedia can enhance the user experience through incorporating a comment and review section at the bottom of article pages or in an easily accessible space, facilitating user exchange of thoughts, feedback, and related questions. This format could resemble a hybrid of a review section found at the bottom of a recipe blog page and a Reddit-like format with questions and opportunities for users to provide answers and opinions. This section could build a sense of community and improve engagement and user experience.

In conclusion, there are a few strategies I have to enhance Wikipedia's appeal and functionality. Firstly, drawing upon the concept of socialization, I suggest improving the platform's reputation by reshaping its image through enhancements to site formatting and heightened awareness of its credibility. Secondly, to address the challenges faced by newcomers I suggest bettering the newcomer experience through clearer, bulleted modules with article examples. Lastly, leveraging the concept of bonds based commitment, I recommend cultivating a stronger sense of community and belonging among users through a review and comment page. Overall, my experiences with Wikipedia have exceeded my expectations, and I believe that implementing these changes would improve the platform and attract a broader audience to join and contribute.