Grants:Programs/Wikimedia Research Fund/Codifying Digital Behavior Around the World: A Socio-Legal Study of the Wikimedia Universal Code of Conduct
 | This is a funded Wikimedia Research Fund application. Review the full proposal. |
Overview[edit]
Applicant(s)
- Florian Grisel and Giovanni De Gregorio
Affiliation or grant type
- University of Oxford; Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Author(s)
- Florian Grisel and Giovanni De Gregorio
Wikimedia username(s)
- Florian Grisel - Wikimedia username: FlorianGrisel
Giovanni De Gregorio - Wikimedia username: GDeGregorio
Project title
- Codifying Digital Behavior Around the World: A Socio-Legal Study of the Wikimedia Universal Code of Conduct
Research proposal[edit]
Description[edit]
Description of the proposed project, including aims and approach. Be sure to clearly state the problem, why it is important, why previous approaches (if any) have been insufficient, and your methods to address it.
The spread of harmful behaviour such as hate speech and misinformation online has raised questions concerning the online protection of user rights and community values. These challenges have led online providers and networks to produce standards and rules on which they can rely when regulating conduct that could affect the values of their communities.
The emergence of the Wikimedia Universal Code of Conduct (the “UCoC”) is a significant development in this regard. The UCoC seeks to “provide a universal baseline of acceptable behavior for the entire movement without tolerance for harassment.”[1] This set of guidelines is “being developed in consultation with the Wikimedia community with respect to context, existing local policies, as well as enforcement and conflict resolution structures”.[2]
The proposed project aims to examine the codification process of the UCoC and its enforcement guidelines. By examining this codification process, we hope to explore two key questions. The first question is to examine how the drafters of the UCoC identify universal values across Wikimedia projects, despite significant differences among these projects. The second question is to understand how the inclusive values of the UCoC interact with the existing “enforcement and conflict resolution structures” of the Wikimedia projects, which are often criticized for being non-inclusive.[3]
We will gather empirical data to address the research questions of this project. Firstly, the research team will conduct a series of interviews with the members of the UCoC drafting committees, revisions committee and coordinating committee. Secondly, the team will track the ongoing discussions of the Wikimedia communities relating to the codification of the UCoC such as in content and discussion pages, as well as in email lists.
By looking into the debates that led to the formulation of the UCoC and its enforcement guidelines, we hope to identify salient points in the resistance/acceptance of the UCoC on Wikimedia. This research will be a pilot study leading to a broader project on the interpretation and application of the UCoC across different Wikimedia projects and spaces.
[1] See <https://meta.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=Universal_%20Code_of_Conduct&oldid=20931352> (last checked Dec 5, 2022, emphasis added).
[2] Ibid. (last checked Dec 5, 2022, emphasis added).
[3] See, eg, Zachary McDowell & Matthew A. Vetter, Wikipedia and the Representation of Reality, Routledge, 2021.
Personnel[edit]
N/A
Budget[edit]
Approximate amount requested in USD.
- 49,402.77 USD
Budget Description
Briefly describe what you expect to spend money on (specific budgets and details are not necessary at this time).
This budget covers (i) 0.15FTE of each applicant’s time for 9 months, (ii) recruiting a research assistant for 0.2FTE for 9 months to support the applicants in the data collection (interviews and collection of archival data concerning the codification process of UCoC) and to document progress of the project on MetaWiki:Research, (iii) transcription services for 25 interviews, (iv) costs relating to travel and subsistence for the applicants to participate in Wikimania 2024, and (v) 15% overheads.
Impact[edit]
Address the impact and relevance to the Wikimedia projects, including the degree to which the research will address the 2030 Wikimedia Strategic Direction and/or support the work of Wikimedia user groups, affiliates, and developer communities. If your work relates to knowledge gaps, please directly relate it to the knowledge gaps taxonomy.
The project will help understand the ways in which Wikimedia communities are coping with and monitoring harmful behavior and harassment. The UCoC is the most significant and recent development in these ongoing efforts. In this context, documenting the ways in which the UCoC and its enforcement guidelines are codified will contribute to the 2030 Wikimedia Strategic Direction (from which the UCoC is derived) of “creat[ing] a culture of hospitality where contributing is enjoyable and rewarding.” This research will support the enforcement process of the UCoC in ways that are compatible with the diversity of values of the Wikimedia projects, particularly by examining the articulation of the UCoC with Wikimedia’s governance structures.
Dissemination[edit]
Plans for dissemination.
The project will take place from September 2023 until May 2024. At the end of the 9-month period, we will issue a report (around 5,000 words) that will be advertised for comments on MetaWiki:Research. We will subsequently work on a scientific paper (around 10,000-15,000 words) that will be submitted to an international journal of socio-legal studies. Besides, research outcomes will be documented every month on the project page on MetaWiki:Research, and will be presented at Wikimania 2024.
Past Contributions[edit]
Prior contributions to related academic and/or research projects and/or the Wikimedia and free culture communities. If you do not have prior experience, please explain your planned contributions.
The project combines the expertise and disciplinary traditions of two scholars based in different institutions. Florian Grisel is a socio-legal scholar based at the University of Oxford whose recent work explores the functioning of the Arbitration Committee and the place of law on English Wikipedia based on interviews and quantitative data. He was a member of Facebook’s Data Transparency Advisory Group in 2018/2019. Giovanni De Gregorio is a constitutional and digital law scholar based at Católica Global School of Law in Lisbon who authored the monograph Digital Constitutionalism in Europe: Reframing Rights and Powers in the Algorithmic Society (CUP 2022) and numerous influential articles in the field of digital governance.
First Research Report[edit]
Progress to date
Empirical data: we started interviewing participants in September 2023 and, to date, we conducted 8 interviews in total. We are expecting to interview additional participants over the winter break (December 2023-January 2024) and are well underway to reach Milestone 1 on time.
Transcription: we subscribed to an AI transcription software called Otter.ai, and we are exploring various options for the interviews that we conducted in French. Team: we recruited our bilingual research assistant during the summer to avoid any delays due to internal hiring procedures at the University of Oxford. She started her transcription / translation work on September 1st, 2023. To date, she has transcribed 5 out of the 8 interviews we conducted between June and October 2023. We are well underway to reach Milestone 2 on time.
Deliverable: in light of our current progress and of this first interim report, we feel confident that we will be able to deliver the second interim report as well as the final report on time.
Preliminary findings
During the first phase of this project, we have gathered useful information concerning the codification of the UCoC and its enforcement guidelines. We have been able to interview several stakeholders who were involved in this codification process. We have also started interviewing French Wikipedia editors, who have given interesting insights into the ways in which the UCoC is accepted in this community. We are hoping to review the transcripts of the first interviewees in the coming weeks in order to identify general themes that we will further analyse in subsequent interviews.
Expected output
Milestone 1: Gather a critical mass of empirical data (25 interviews in two languages and content analysis of multiple Wikipedia pages, between September 2023 and May 2024).
Milestone 2: Finalize the transcripts of 25 interviews (between September 2023 and May 2024).
Deliverable: Issue two interim reports (in November 2023 and February 2024) and a final report (in May 2024).
Second Research Report[edit]
Progress to date
Empirical data we started interviewing participants in September 2023 and, to date, we conducted more than 20 interviews in total. We are expecting to interview additional participants over the Easter break (March-April 2024) and are well underway to reach Milestone 1 on time.
Transcription we subscribed to an AI transcription software called Otter.ai, and resorted to human transcription for the interviews that we have conducted in French, depending on the quality of the recording.
Team our bilingual research assistant started her transcription / translation work on September 1st, 2023. To date, she has transcribed the interviews we conducted between June 2023 and January 2024. We are well underway to reach Milestone 2 on time.
Deliverable 1 in light of our current progress and of this first interim report, we feel confident that we will be able to deliver the final report on time.
Preliminary findings
As mentioned earlier, we are conducting interviews with members of the Universal Code of Conduct (UCoC) drafting committees and various Wikipedia communities. Our goal is to gather a range of opinions on how the UCoC is created and enforced. We are giving special attention to the impact of the UCoC on the French Wikipedia to understand how it is perceived and applied within that community. Additionally, we are examining the online records of Wikipedia to study the discussions, edits, and decisions made during the UCoC drafting process.
Our research will result in a report for the Wikimedia Foundation and an article to be presented at conferences. For instance, we are planning to attend Wikimania in Krakow in August 2024, and the Law and Society Association Annual Meetings in Chicago in May 2025.
We have observed two main groups, which we cast as the "traditionalists" and the "modernists." Traditionalists, mostly educated men with conservative views, tend to be skeptical of the UCoC. They highly value the freedom and autonomy they see in Wikipedia. In contrast, modernists, often women advocating for gender equality, view the UCoC as a means to address issues that can arise from unchecked freedom.
Regardless of their group affiliation, we've noticed that both groups are starting to reference the UCoC rules in their interactions. This suggests an evolving trend towards a “legalization” of Wikipedia and a growing collective awareness of these rules, irrespective of individuals' affiliations.
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- Yes