A neighbor up in Seattle has published a story about his experiences as a Wikipedia contributor. Apparently he worked to get the Seattle, Washington article up to Featured status, among other projects.
This is a great window into the mind of a regular Wikipedia editor. Also nice news to me — I often wonder why there aren’t more Washingtonians working on Wikipedia (or at least, organized in any way I can recognize). So it’s great to see that they’re out there. Maybe some day we’ll find better ways to build some virtual “bridges” across the Columbia, and work together more effectively.
One unfortunate thing, though — this article is one of many where the author exposes some of the cool stuff about Wikipedia, but also explains how he ultimately got frustrated and mostly left the project. I’m always sad to hear about this, and also sad that the frustration gets so much play in the media. Not to deny Benjamin his point of view — I’m sure his reasons were perfectly legitimate. But I also wonder how many content Wikipedia editors are just too busy writing Wikipedia articles, to write up articles for the mainstream media about their more positive experiences.
Their (our) point of view is an important one too…hopefully that perspective will get a little more play through blogs like this one.
Hat tip to Kari Chisholm of Mandate Media and BlueOregon.com, thanks for pointing this article out!
June 20, 2008 at 2:20 pm
It’s cool whenever the media pays attention to Wikipedia. But the winding story of how he ended up on the site and his personal reasons for leaving really don’t interest me, as a NW reader or a Wikipedian. The “my Wikipedia story” feature provides such a small sample of experience that it usually leads readers unfamiliar with the site to draw some general conclusions that don’t usually hold true for editors as a whole.
June 20, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I did forget to mention however, that your question about Washingtonian editors and organization is one that’s always puzzled me too. I grew up in SW WA, and actually joined the WA WikiProject first. But there was so little cohesion, I eventually drifted out of it.
June 22, 2008 at 10:24 pm
Thanks for the link to my article, Pete! As far as virtual bridges go, perhaps it’s time for a Pacific Northwest–wide meetup. How often do you hold them in Oregon?
Your point on Wikipedia editors with positive experiences simply being too busy to write is well-taken. “Too busy” is indeed part of the reason I contribute so much less. But perhaps writing positive articles about Wikipedia should be considered part of these editors’ contribution to the project, and they could carve out some time for that purpose? I’d love to see an article-length piece from you, or Steven, on the subject.
Steven, sorry my “winding” story didn’t interest you. It wasn’t really meant to be a story on Wikipedia itself — there are many of those out there — but one which touched on the project, my experience with Seattle history, why in fact I still remain a fan of Wikipedia … sorry if the negative overshadowed the positive for you.
I do encourage all readers of pieces such as mine to actually check out the site and see what I’m talking about for themselves.
Keep up the good work Pete.
June 23, 2008 at 9:55 pm
Thanks for the thoughts, Benjamin. We have monthly meetups at the WikiWednesday meetings, and are planning the North American RecentChangesCamp event for 2009 to be in Portland (I think it’s February). We’ve had a few Seattle folks down, but it would be good to have a better connection!
Of course, both events reach out to various wiki communities, not just Wikipedia. But we’ve never found that to be a bad thing!