User:Isdewell/Report
The biggest challenge that I dealt with throughout this process was the Wikipedia user interface. As someone who is not particularly tech-savvy, I found that I was often confused and frustrated by the nature of the platform. Eventually, I got the hang of it, but it does not feel practical to me. I see this issue as a barrier to entry, a detriment to the new user experience. People are motivated to participate in online forums and communities when the interface experience is seamless. Take Instagram, for example; it’s very user-friendly, so everyone is on it. You don’t have to struggle with the interface to engage with the content and community. On the flip side, I could see this barrier to entry being used as a “weed out” tactic. If people are not willing to navigate the platform, learn the rules, and adopt the vernacular, perhaps they are not qualified to contribute information to the page. This barrier prevents casual trolls from running rampant on Wikipedia.
In addition to the challenges posed by the user interface, I find that the risks involved in publishing a page could be a deterrent for new users. Information surrounding copyright, plagiarism, and attribution are a bit confusing. Many people don't fully understand these rules and how they apply to Wikipedia specifically. Because of this, I was incredibly surprised that I was able to publish my brand new page with little to no oversight. I suppose that the community of Wikipedia users is there as a safety net to help newer users and prevent errors.
In my limited experience with the website, most people seem to be motivated to contribute to Wikipedia for intrinsic reasons. Whether it is for the love of the platform or the investment in a particular topic, they do so without any monetary or professional incentives. This means that they most likely have an affective commitment to Wikipedia. Affective commitment means that the user has an emotional connection to the platform and will use this attachment to fuel their future contributions. Over time, users who have established themselves as serious Wikipedia editors (or Wikipedians) will likely develop normative commitment as well. There are several users who have reviewed my page since its posting who have amassed thousands of edits and Wikipedia accolades. I can imagine that achieving this kind of status requires a user to maintain a very high standard of work. I considered these motivations when I was creating my own page and thinking about what Wikipedia could do better.
If I could suggest two things to the Wikimedia Foundation, it would be to overhaul the user interface in order to make it more accessible to new and old users alike and create a trial run publishing exercise to prevent new users from making serious mistakes. Changing the interface will greatly benefit the new user experience and create a more inviting environment. When people don’t find the interface to be intuitive, they are less likely to participate. People will also be less prone to publishing mistakes if they are comfortable with the platform. In my own personal experience, I really struggled with this barrier. Although we completed training modules beforehand, I believe that most people learn by doing. This leads me to my next point. I think that if Wikipedia wants to invite new users and also maintain well-curated content, they should create an interactive training module that allows users to learn the interface and practice “going live” before they publish. It would be a “gamified” module to motivate users to complete different tasks and “learn by doing.”
Overall, I do feel very proud that I was able to contribute an entirely new page to Wikipedia. It is a cool thing to see my images and writing in a public setting like that. I will be interested to check on it after a year to see how it has evolved.