report of the results author-survey “welcome-culture for ...€¦ · report of the results...

ReportoftheresultsAuthor-Survey

“Welcome-cultureforneweditorsatWikipedia”

JanaWerg,SvenjaWilhelm&Dr.DirkSchefflere-fectdialogevalua>onconsul>ngeG

www.e-fect.de

OnthebehalfofWikimediaGermanye.V.

Thereport“Welcome-cultureforneweditorsatWikipedia“bye-fectdialogevaluaDonconsulDngeG,JanaWergislicensedunderaCreaDveCommonsNamensnennung-WeitergabeuntergleichenBedingungen4.0InternaDonalLizenz.

Overview

2

•  BACKGROUNDANDAIMS 3

•  METHODOLOGY 4

•  RESULTS–DESCRIPITIVE •  Profilessurveypar>cipants 5

•  Gender&Age•  AcDvity:SincewhenandhowoQen•  TypeofacDviDes

•  Neweditors 8•  StatementsonmoDvaDonofneweditors•  Impactsofhavingmoreeditors•  Barriersforneweditors

•  Commitmenttosupportneweditors 13•  Willingnesstosupportneweditors•  Typesofsupport•  BarrierstosupporDngneweditors•  AssessmentofsupportopDons

•  Culturetowardsneweditors 18•  ReasonsfordeleDngandmajorchanges•  InteracDonwithneweditors

•  FemalesatWikipedia 22•  ConsequencesoflowfemaleparDcipaDon•  SuggesDonsforincreasingfemaleparDcipaDon•  Resultssplitaccordingtogender

•  Communica>on 28•  UseofcommunicaDonchannels•  PersonalmeeDngs

RESULTS–ANALYTIC 30–splitaccordingtowillingnesstocommittosupport •  Profilessurveypar>cipants•  Communica>onandpersonalmee>ngs

COMMENTSABOUTTHESURVEY 42

CONCLUSIONS 44

Background&AimsMethodologyResultsConclusions

Wikipedianeedsmoreneweditors

A\rac>ngneweditorsforWikipediaisonethethemaingoalsofWikimediaGermanyfor2016

Surveyamongeditorsaimsatgaininginsightsinto:(atleast5Edits,acDvewithin30daysbeforesurvey):•  UnderstandingcurrentcommitmentofacDvecommunitytosupportneweditors•  GatheringexperiencesandopinionsofacDveeditors•  Improvingtheplannedmeasurestoa]ractneweditors•  Increasingunderstandingof(perceived)welcome-culture/cultureofopenness•  InformaDonregardingcommitmenttosupportneweditors

BACKGROUND&AIMSMethodologyResultsConclusions

3

Methodology

Approach•  CreaDnglistofquesDonsinclosecollaboraDonwithWikimediaGermany–Based

onexisDngWM-surveys•  TesDngphaseofquesDonnaireforamendmentofquesDonnaireandensuring

usability•  InvitaDonforparDcipaDoninthesurveyviabanner•  Anonymousonline-survey•  AnalysisquanDtaDvedata:descripDveandanalyDc•  AnalysisqualitaDvedata:exploraDve

Ques>onnaire•  LengthofquesDonnaire:19quesDons(17closed,2openquesDons)•  Timeofsurvey:January2016•  NumberofparDcipants=686

4

Background&AimsMETHODOLOGYResultsConclusions

Profilesofsurveypar>cipants

5

Median=4,Meanvalue=3,57

Background&AimsMethodologyRESULTSConclusions

MaleFemaleOther

Profilesofsurveypar>cipantsWikipedia-AcDvity(Q2&Q3)

6

Onaverage,howodendoyoucontributetoWikipediaorotherWikimediaprojects?(n=685)

Themajorityofsurveypar2cipants(71%)areac2veseveral2mesaweekoralmostdaily.Agoodthirdfightvandalism.Agreatmajority(95%)writeoreditar2cles,whereasapprox.10%organiseprojectsforfreeknowledgeand/orcatertoadministra2vetasks.


almostdailyseveralDmesaweekseveralDmesamonthless

Profilesofsurveypar>cipantsWikipediaacDvity(Q3):other(opentextfield)

7

n=68


Statementsregardingneweditors(Q4)

8

Avastmajorityofthepar2cipantsthinkthatgainingneweditorsisveryimportant.62%findthatneweditorsareinsufficientlysupported.Aratherlargegroup(47%)didnotfeelwelcomedwhenjoiningWikipediathemselves.9%assumethatneweditorsdonotwantthebestforWikipedia.


Consequencesofgainingmoreeditors(Q5)

9

16%ofthepar2cipantsassumenega2veconsequencesregardingtheatmosphereofanincreasednumberofneweditors;47%assumeahigherworkloadforexperiencededitors.Posi2veconsequencesarebroadlyassumedforthediversityoftopicscovered.


Consequencesofgainingmoreeditors–opentextfield(Q5)Centralissues(n=103)

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•  Higherqualityofar>cles:Qualitywillbeimproved,contenteasiertounderstand,higherobjecDvity,strongerscience-basedbackupofinformaDon

•  Higherdiversityoftopics/ar>cles:Diversityoftopicswouldincrease,topicsof“thenewgeneraDon“willbemoreincluded,fosteringoftopicsthatbecamelessrelevantoverDme.

•  Shakingupofoldpa\erns:Moreopennessandpluralism,fighDngofoldboys’clubmentality/structure.

•  Be\eratmosphere:Increaseinfriendlymanners,thoughkulness•  Changeinworkloadforeditors:ReducedworkloadaQerfamiliarizaDonofneweditors

vs.increaseinedit-warsanddiscussionsduetoincreaseineditors•  GuaranteeingWikipedia’sfuture:ForconDnuingtheWikipediaproject,itwillneednew

editors,“biologicalconDnuity”


Assumedbarrieresforneweditors(Q6)

11

Dele2ngofone’scontribu2onandtheconflictswithinWikipediaareassumedbarriersforneweditorsbymanypar2cipants–moresothantechnicalbarriers.Accordingtothis,thewayeditorstreateachotherisassumedthemainbarrierinjoiningWikipedia.


•  Atmosphere/discussion-culture:Unpunisheda]acks,coarsecommunicaDon,arrogance,despoDsm,block-leader(Blockwart)mentality,high-handedness,fixaDononrules,lackofsupportforneweditorsbyexperiencededitors

•  Technicalbarriersforneweditors:AccesstoediDngconfusing,banningofstubs,weakediDng-help,outdatedsoQware,problemswithreferencing

•  Relevancecriteria:Toomanyandnotuptodate•  Cultureofdele>ng:DeleDon-buzz,arbitrarydeleDngofarDcles•  Resourceproblem:LackofDme,nointerestincontribuDng(correlatedwithprevailing

consumerculture)•  Gendertopic:LanguagewithinGermanWikipedianotgenderedcorrectly,forceseditors

touseold-fashionedgenderlanguage

Assumedbarriersforneweditors–opentextfield(Q6)Centralissues(n=173)

12

Themajorityofassumedbarriersrelatetothenega2veatmosphereanddiscussion-culture,thecoarseandarrogantwayofcommunica2ng,especiallyby“oldtop-dogs“.


Willingnesstosupportneweditors(Q7)

13

Thelargestgroup(42%)iswillingtosupportneweditors–onethirdisyetundecided.

Areyouwillingtosupportneweditorsin2016?(n=686)


Yes

No

Don‘tknow

WillingnesstosupportneweditorsTypeofsupport(Q8–ifQ7=yes)

14

Alargemajorityofthosewillingtosupportneweditors,wouldliketoanswerques2onsaskedbyneweditors.Onethirdwouldbewillingtoofferindividualsupport.


Barrierstosupport(Q9–ifQ7=no/don‘tknow)

15

Alargegroupseethe2meconflictwithotherWikipediaac2vi2esandalackofknowledgeonhowtosupportneweditorsasbarrierstoofferingsupport.


Barrierstosupport–opentextfield(Q9)Centralissues(n=156)

•  Resourceproblem:NotenoughDme,othercommitments,conDnuousavailabilityisdifficult

•  Lackofexperience:Toonew,tooinexperiencedmyself•  Lackofmo>va>on:ConDnuanceofestablished/singulareditorsmoreimportant;no

desiretoengagewithWikipedia’ssystemofrules,nopersonaladvantage•  Reputa>onofWikipedia/GermanWikimedia:WMDEnotworthbeingsupported,

otherlanguageversionaremoretolerant,badreputaDonofWikipedia(editorsandcontents),lackofsustainablestructures(moneyforunofficialeditors)

•  Offline-supportpreferred:Supportofregional/localcontacts•  Atmosphere:Manners,conflicts,oldmaletop-dogs,lackofsocialcompetenceinsome

admins•  Ques>onablemo>va>onofneweditors:Singlepageaccounts,self-depicDon•  Lackoffounda>onatWikipedia:EasytounderstandFAQsecDon,goodtutorials,lackof

guidelines,editsbyneweditorshardtoidenDfy

16


Helpfulnessofsupportop>ons(Q10)

17

Halfofthepar2cipantsfindamentoringprogramhelpful,amajorityfindtheques2on-formatsasratherhelpful.


Reasonsfordele>on&majorchanges(Q11)

18

Whendele>ngorapplyingmajorchangestoanar>clebyaneweditor–whatarecommonreasonsfordoingso?(n=680)


Reasonsfordele>on&majorchanges(Q11)–opentextfield

19

n=70

Formalstandards:e.g.,style,language,quality,noencyclopaedicstyleContentdeficits:e.g.,quality,incompletetext


Communica>onwithneweditors(Q12)

20

Howwouldyoudescribethecommunica>onwithneweditorswithintheGermanWikpedia?(n=672)

Thecommunica2onwithneweditorsisassessedasrathernega2ve(scep2c,patronising,impa2ent,unfriendly).Atthesame2me,about25%ofthepar2cipantsfindthecommunica2onwithneweditorssuppor2ve.


21

n=126

„80%posi2ve,20%nega2ve–enoughtoscarethemoff.“

Communica>onwithneweditors(Q12)–opentextfieldBackground&AimsMethodologyRESULTSConclusions

Consequencesoflowfemalepar>cipa>on(Q13&Q14)

22

Manypar2cipantsassumenega2veconsequencesforthediversityoftopicsandtheatmosphere.


Sugges>onsfemalepar>cipa>on–openques>on(Q14)Centralissues(answersn=293)

•  SpecificadsonWikipediawebsite:Femalesrecruitfemales,everyeditorrecruitsintheircircleoffriends,banners(lookingforfemaleeditors),promoDngfemaleeditors/rolemodels

•  Targetedpersonalcommunica>on:UniversiDes,highschools,websitesfrequentedbyfemales,femaleknowledge-basedprofessions,…

•  Addresswomenviacontenttopics,notviagendertopic•  Reducetechnicalbarriers:MakeediDngeasier(e.g.,WYSIWYG),offerregional

(personal)introducDons,...•  Improveatmosphere:Improvemanners/atmosphere,increasedpunishmentof

machismo&sexism•  Easerelevancecriteria•  Refusalofques>on:ThequesDoninitselfisdiscriminatory;higherfemale

parDcipaDonnotnecessary;ifmorefemaleswantedtoparDcipate,theywould;itisnotpossible(towinmorefemales);itisnotimportant

23


Consequencesoflowfemalepar>cipa>on(Q13)Answerssplitaccordingtogender–Diversityoftopics

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InmostlanguageversionsofWikipedia,femaleparDcipaDonisverylow.Whichconsequencesdoyouassumefor...


25



Consequencesoflowfemalepar>cipa>on(Q13)Answerssplitaccordingtogender–QualityofarDcles

26


Consequencesoflowfemalepar>cipa>on(Q13)Answerssplitaccordingtogender–Atmosphere


27


Consequencesoflowfemalepar>cipa>on(Q13)Answerssplitaccordingtogender–ReputaDonassourceofinfo


Useofcommunica>onchannels(Q15)

28


Personalmee>ngs(Q16)FilterquesDon:Q16onlyifQ15included“personal“

29


Resultsanaly>c–splitaccordingtowillingnesstosupportneweditorsin2016

30

Whatweretheanswerstoothersurveyques>onsfrompar>cipantswith/without/undecidedwillingnesstosupportneweditorsin2016?•  Profile

•  Gender(Q18),•  Age(Q17)

•  Wikipedia-ac>vity•  NumberofacDveyears(Q1),•  FrequencyofWikipediaacDvity(Q2),•  TypeofacDvity(Q3)

•  Communica>onwithothereditors•  UseofcommunicaDonchannels(Q15),•  PersonalmeeDngs


Willingnesstosupportneweditorsin2016(n=686)

Yes

NoDon‘tknow

Willingsnesstosupportneweditorsin2016-ProfileGender(Q7&Q18)

31


Are you willing to support new editors in 2016? (n=675)

Male(595)

Female(67)

Other(13)

Gen

der

Don‘tknow

No

Yes

Percentageofanswerssplitaccordingtogender

32

Willingnesstosupportneweditorsin2016-ProfileAge(Q7&Q17)

Willingness/ Age (n) Yes No Don‘t know

20 years or younger (n=60) 47% 13% 40%

21-30 (n=99) 43% 24% 32%

31-40 (n=110) 44% 29% 27%

41-50 (n=175) 44% 30% 26%

51-60 (n=144) 40% 23% 38%

61-70 (n=61) 43% 23% 34%

70 years or older (n=28) 25% 36% 39%

Are you willing to support new editors in 2016? (n=677)


33

Willingnesstosupportneweditorsin2016–Ac>vityNumberofacDveyears(Q7&Q1)Background&AimsMethodologyRESULTSConclusions

34

Willingnesstosupportneweditorsin2016–Ac>vityFrequencyofacDvity(Q7&Q2)

78%ofthosewillingtosupportneweditorsareac2veatWikipediaseveral2mesaweekordaily–butalsotwothirdsofthosenotwillingtosupportandthosewhoareundecided.


35

Wikipediaac>vityin2016TypeofacDvityandwillingnesstosupportneweditors(Q7&Q3)

Thosewillingtosupportneweditors,showaboveaveragepar2cipa2oninprojectdiscussionsandpersonalmee2ngs.


36

Willingnesstosupportin2016Yes–Communica>onFrequencyofuseofcommunicaDonchannels(Q7&Q15)

Thosewillingtosupportneweditors,communicatewithothersmostfrequently,especiallyviadiscussionsites.


37

Thosenotwillingtosupportneweditors,communicatelessfrequent–andwhencommunica2ng,theydosoondiscussionsites.


Willingnesstosupportin2016No–Communica>onFrequencyofuseofcommunicaDonchannels(Q7&Q15)

38

Thoseundecidedregardingtheirsuppor2ngofneweditors,communicatemoreo`enthanthosewhoarenotwillingtooffertheirsupport.


Willingnesstosupportin2016Don’tknow–Communica>onFrequencyofuseofcommunicaDonchannels(Q7&Q15)

39

Thosewillingtosupportneweditors,meetatregulars‘tablesandprojectmee2ngs;alloover,theymeetpersonallymoreo`enthanthanthoseundecidedorunwillingtooffersupport.


Willingnesstosupportin2016Yes–Communica>onPersonalmeeDngs(Q7&Q16)

40

Willingnesstosupportin2016No–Communica>onPersonalmeeDngs(Q7&Q16)Background&AimsMethodologyRESULTSConclusions

41


Willingnesstosupportin2016Don’tknow–Communica>onPersonalmeeDngs(Q7&Q16)

Othercomments/sugges>ons–openques>on(Q19)Vitalissues(n=330)

•  Technicalaspects:MakeediDngeasier:ProvidesamplearDcles;VisualEditor;soQwareout-dated;toomanytemplates(reducesclarity);introducebu]onforediDngonmainpage;overalllayoutshouldbesystemaDsedandsimplified;…

•  Atmosphere/culture:OverallatmosphereisverynegaDveandarrogantàdiscouraging;registraDonforacDveediDngasrequirement;goeasyonneweditors(puppyprotecDon);blockingofeditorsandtougherpunishmentforbreakingrules(e.g.,edit-wars,offenses);establishcodeofethics;professionalconflictmanagement;...

•  Dele>ngar>cles:ExtremelyfrustraDng;considerrelevancecriteriaascriteriaofinclusion,notexclusion;slowdownform-freaksinfavourofcontent;...

•  Publicity:MakethetopicofediDngvisible–atschools(e.g.,classprojects),tothereader/withinthearDcle

•  Denialoftopic:Therearelesseditorsduetodecreaseintopic/knowledgegapswithinWikipedia

•  Rejec>onofthephrase:„Welcome-culture“as„Unwort“

42

Background&AimsMethodologyResultsCONCLUSIONS

Commentsaboutthesurvey–openques>on(Q19)Quotes

Wikipediawiththerulesofofficialdom:It’salwaysbeenlikethis.It’sneverbeenlikethis.

Well,that’swhattheyallsay.

Theexis2ngoffersaremorethansufficient.Peoplewhodon‘tknowhowtomakeuseofthem,wedonotneedaseditors.

Thetoneofcommunica2on,alsowithintoughdiscussions,needstobemorerespeccul.–Thefeudbetweeninclusionistsandexclusionistsneedstobe

confined.

Improvingthewelcome-culturecannolongerbeundertakenattheexpenseoftheWikifants,whobuiltuptheproject.

43


Conclusions

44

•  Highnumberofpar>cipants(n=686)despiteshortsurveyDme:topicseemsveryrelevant

•  HighnumberofcommentsprovidesmanyanddiversesuggesDonsandremarks•  Resultsconfirmthenecessitytoimprovethecommunica>oncultureandthe

supportofferedtoneweditorswithintheGermanWikipedia.

•  Challenge:CommunicaDonculturecanbesignificantlydisturbedbyasmallbutacDvenumberofeditors(8-10%)–aslongastheyareallowedtodominate.


Conclusions

45

•  Poten>al:42%oftheparDcipantsarewillingtocommittosupportneweditors-thisposesagreatpotenDalforofferingspecialsupporttoneweditors.The42%arethosewhoareveryacDve,communicaDveeditorsthatalsomeetothereditorspersonally.

•  Gender:ImprovementinaddressingfemalesandneweditorsingeneralcallsforanoverallimprovementofthecommunicaDontowardsacultureofopennesswithintheGermanWikipedia.

•  Openques>ons:ahighnumberofhelpfulsuggesDonsandcomments,i.a.otherWikipediacommuniDes(e.g.,English)arelessdestrucDve(àlearningfromthem?);lackofenforcementofrulesregardingdisrupters;recognisabilityofneweditorsvs.vandals,etc.


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