Submissions/Sustaining Veteran Editors, or Why I left Wikipedia

From Wikimania 2012 • Washington, D.C., USA

This is a rejected submission for Wikimania 2012.

Submission no.

41

Title of the submission
Sustaining Veteran Editors, or Why I left Wikipedia
Type of submission (workshop, tutorial, panel, presentation)
presentation
Author of the submission
Jeff Schneider
E-mail address
Username
Country of origin
USA
Affiliation, if any (organization, company etc.)
n/a
Personal homepage or blog
n/a
Abstract (at least 300 words to describe your proposal)

I was a very active Wikipedia editor from 2008-2011. While there were many reasons I am no longer very active with the project, I feel that a lack of support for experienced contributors was a major factor. My presentation will take an objective look on how the experience for veteran editors can be improved.

There is clearly an emphasis on outreach and welcoming of new editors. It seems that most current coverage of the Wikimedia Foundation in the media relates to the welcome campaign for new editors. Also, it can be argued that Wikipedia's administrators have an inherit collaborative and supportive foundation - most of their work involves contributions from other administrators in highly visible efforts.

Experienced Wikipedia editors come in many forms: An editor working on taking his or her article from "Good" to "Featured", gnomes who are constantly removing unsourced additions to articles, categorizers developing hierarchical trees. How does Wikipedia give the tools and support to develop and retain these editors?

First I would like to look at why these editors may become frustrated, while touching on my experience. Then I would like to explore ways that the experience can be improved. What tools can be provided to help editors trying to locate scarce references? What should editors do when they are sick of vandalism? How can administrators contribute to this effort?

Track
WikiCulture and Community; Research, Analysis, and Education
Length of presentation/talk
25 Minutes
Will you attend Wikimania if your submission is not accepted?
Yes
Slides or further information (optional)
Not yet
Special request as to time of presentations
None - I plan to attend all three days


Interested attendees

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  1. CyrielB (talk) 21:47, 12 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
  2. Amir E. Aharoni (talk)
  3. Zellfaze (talk) 19:47, 19 March 2012 (UTC)[reply]
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