User:Quinobi/Questionaire

Questionaire[edit]

This is a copy of the questionaire you can copy into your user space. The original is at Talk:Research/Wikipedia_as_a_learning_community

Have you had a conflict of opinion/belief with anyone on Wikipedia? Describe the nature, process and outcome of it, and your feelings on the matter.

Not any thing out of the ordinary, aside from the normal theist/atheist argument. (I'm a theist). I have taken some critisism, but most of it was constructive. Mostly, It seems I have trouble writing clearly at times. If I had not been challenged, I wouldn't be aware of the problem.

Have you ever left or considered leaving Wikipedia? Why? Did anyone influence your decision to stay/leave?

Heavens, no. Wikipedia has become an important part of my online activities. I get a sense of community and purpose from participating and it's a great resource for other work. I plan on staying around.

What motivates/motivated you to work on Wikipedia?

The access to a massive repository of knowledge is something I had been expecting from the Internet for a long time, and the MediaWiki interface finally made it practical. I'm driven by my own need to participate and grow within a development community. I like to share.

Comment on interpersonal dynamics in Wikipedia.

Working through a web interface, you have to really dig to even see interpersonal dynamics. Of course, peoples' character comes through on discussion pages and every now and then, lively dicussions take place. I think some folks want to interact and some would rather work alone. There seems to be on one hand a clique mentality and some elitism in some spots. On the other hand there also exists an open framework for community learning and high-level collaboration. I'm seeing more people that are willing to improve and participate in a more intentional community dynamic.

Have you made (m)any friends or enemies in Wikipedia? Elaborate

I have been here for nine months now and made a few friends, maybe four or five. I have a couple of critics, also but I don't consider them enemies at all. In fact, come to think it, they could potentially become friends, too. Friendship via the Internet is a stange thing.

Comment on power relations and structure within Wikipedia.

The foundation appears to be well formed and in charge in terms of the legal and infrastructural matters. I really don't have a clear picture of the structure and power as it goes through the rank and file, though. It seems like there is a lot of unecessary enphasis on adminships and some rather childish quibbling over nothing. It seems to me that each Wikipedian's "power" whether it's in terms of access or some kind of position in a burocracy is basically irrelevant nonsense. The power to do good work and get along in the community is all you need and is equally available to all.

What are Wikipedia’s greatest challenges, and how do you see them being addressed?

In my view, Wikipedia's greatest challenge is one of authority and neutrality in terms of the quality of its content. Wikipedia's open structure has opened the door to those who would post their point of view, unbacked or irrelevant content, but the understanding of what an encyclopedia should be is growing with each individual. I think the structures are in place for "hardening" the Wikipedia toward an increasingly higher standard of excellence. This can be addressed only through vigilance.

Right below that is the challenge to its integrity as an open community. The world now sees the Wikipedia community as a leader in a vast array of online communities. Wikipedians should see it that way too and respond accordingly. Individual members of Wikipedia - the metacommunity - who are passionate about and knowledgable of the aspects of community must step into their appropriate roles. This community always has been and should remain self-organized, dynamic and adaptable to its Global environment. Wikipedia is a community of communities of action, interest and practice.

Is one more important than the other between content and community in Wikipedia? Give reasons and/or examples.

You cannot separate content and community as far as I know. A real community can't exist without a set of goals and building the world's finest knowlege base is a gargantuan task. The process of entering, organizing and refining all of that content can't really happen without all of those people organizing themselves. For this reason I think the WikiProject way is a fine example of how topics, contexts, content, articles and people can self-organize into "entities" that place themselves appropriately into Wikipedia - the encyclopedia, and into Wikipedia - the community.

To what extent are minority views held or listened to in Wikipedia?

I perceive that Systemic bias is a major concern for many Wikipedians. While extremism is disdained by the vast majority, the collective mind of Wikpedia is for the most part open to minority views - as long as they are presented in an encyclopedic way. It is really up to those who hold minority views, and those who are sympathetic to them, to get together and do that. I think this will win support from the majority. For Wikipedia to advance, minority views must have a place.

To what extent are criticisms absorbed by Wikipedia/Wikipedians?

A Wikipedian who can't receive critisism will have a hard time. I've been told that things I wrote and projects I tried were utter nonsense. And thanks to those who called me on it, I understand that they were, and better than that, I have a better understand of why my entries were unuseful and irrelevant. The more experienced Wikipedians should not hold back tactful and constructive critism from anyone who needs it. I think this is how we all grow into better Wikipedians.

Can you summarise your experience of Wikipedia in terms of your personal background and how it has affected you?

I am a middle aged person with very little formal education. I have only two years of tech school and a bit of community college. My connection to Wikipedia has given me something I can use in the "real" world, everyday. I am now a semi-professional web developer and do tech support for small businesses and a couple of community-based network operations centers. I'm always turning to Wikipedia for information and I find myself continually recommending Wikipedia to folks I encounter. I think Wikipedia fills a large gap in online resources and working on it has helped me to grow, both socially and intellectually.

Thank you for providing this survey. Charley Quinton 19:32, 30 July 2005 (UTC)