Question of the week/Archives/2009-12-07
Every week, this page highlights interesting data in Wikimedia-pedia as a way of focusing the strategic discussion. On Monday of each week, some data and a question will be posted. Please discuss on the talk page, or join the IRC office hours to discuss in real-time. On Wednesday, there will be a number of possible solutions posted based on the discussion, and participants will be asked to prioritize them.
- Question of the week/Archives (past questions and discussions)
- Question of the week/Ideas (propose and discuss new data and questions for this page)
Question of the week (7 December 2009)
Last week's Question of the week focused on the perception that the Wikimedia projects are becoming a less friendly and welcoming place, particularly for newcomers. Data from a survey assessing what would make non-contributors more likely to contribute to Wikipedia, meanwhile, highlight key problems that technology changes could help solve.
Interviews and discussion on this wiki have suggested that some technology changes could play an important role in increasing contribution, particularly from non-techies.
Some ideas that have surfaced:
- Introduce social networking elements (a la Facebook) to enable users to better interact with one another and understand one another's backgrounds
- This might help users to be more friendly to one another
- This might also enable users to self-organize and identify common interests
- Introduce reputation ratings (a la eBay or Amazon) for editors to allow visitors to the Wikimedia projects to rate the quality of contributions
- Have a stronger training module/support network for new users
What changes to Wikimedia's technology would enable a friendlier and more welcoming environment?
Please discuss on the Talk:Question of the week page.