talking is (virtual) work -supporting online argumentation--2013-09-18 malta virtual work
DESCRIPTION
In open collaboration systems, work gets done through talking. We support a particular kind of talk-based work -- deletion discussions in Wikipedia -- by categorizing and summarizing discussions. In a user test, 84% find benefit from this. This talk about my thesis was given 2013-09-18 in Malta at the Virtual Work training school: http://dynamicsofvirtualwork.com/malta-training-school/ part of the COST action on Virtual Work http://cost.eu/domains_actions/isch/Actions/IS1202TRANSCRIPT
Copyright 2011 Digital Enterprise Research Institute. All rights reserved.
Digital Enterprise Research Institute www.deri.ie
Enabling Networked Knowledge
Talking is (virtual) work: Supporting online argumentation
Jodi Schneider
Weds 18th September 2013
1
Dynamics of Virtual Work Training SchoolValletta, Malta
Ph.D. student
o Information Management on the Web
o Open collaboration systems
o Multidisciplinary, mixed methods
@jschneider jodischneider.com
Open Collaboration Systems
o Wikipediao OpenStreetMapo Project Gutenberg – Distributed Proofreaderso Apache projects, Mozilla Firefox, …
In these Open Collaboration Systems“people form ties with others & create things together” (Forte and Lampe 2013)
How do we learn the “talk”?
Online “talk” for decisions
What’s an Open Collaboration System?
“An online environment that (1)supports the collective production of an
artifact (2)through a technologically mediated
collaboration platform(3) that presents a low barrier to entry and
exit, and(4)supports the emergence of
persistent but malleable social structures.”
(Forte and Lampe 2013)
What’s an Open Collaboration System?
“An online environment that (1)supports the collective production of an
artifact (2)through a technologically mediated
collaboration platform(3) that presents a low barrier to entry and
exit, and(4)supports the emergence of
persistent but malleable social structures.”
(Forte and Lampe 2013)
“Group” collaborating continually
changes
What’s an Open Collaboration System?
“An online environment that (1)supports the collective production of an
artifact (2)through a technologically mediated
collaboration platform(3) that presents a low barrier to entry and
exit, and(4)supports the emergence of
persistent but malleable social structures.”
(Forte and Lampe 2013)
How things get done Norms, rules,
leaders
OBSERVATIONS
“Group” collaborating continually
changesMake explicit how things get done.Norms, rules,
leaders
Support Newcomers by Making Rules Explicit
o Investigate Wikipedia discussionso Provide semantic supporto Evaluate the impact on the community
Deletion threatens Wikipedia
o 1 in 4 new Wikipedia articles is deleted – within minutes or hours
o Demotivating! • 1 in 3 newcomers start by writing a new article• 7X less likely to stay if their article is deleted!
o Can we support editor retention?
Article creators
o Misunderstand policy• “I do understand that articles on wikipedia need to
be sourced… it is due to have two [sources] once [our website goes] live”
o Express high levels of emotion• “To be honest it's been a real turn off adding
articles to WP and I don't think I will add articles again. So smile and enjoy.”
o Learn from discussions• “much as it would break my heart … it is perhaps
sensible that the piece is deleted.”
Jodi Schneider, Alexandre Passant, and Stefan Decker. “Deletion Discussions in Wikipedia: Decision Factors and Outcomes.” In WikiSym2012.
Novices’ arguments
o Structurally different to experts’ argumentso More problematic arguments from novices
• Personal preference• Requesting a favor• Analogy to other cases• No harm in keeping an article• Large number of search engine hits
Jodi Schneider, Krystian Samp, Alexandre Passant, Stefan Decker. “Arguments about Deletion: How Experience Improves the Acceptability of Arguments in Ad-hoc Online Task Groups”. In CSCW 2013.
Articulate criteria
4 Factors cover• 91% of
comments• 70% of
discussions
Factor Example (used to justify `keep')
Notability Anyone covered by another encyclopedic reference is considered notable enough for inclusion in Wikipedia.
Sources Basic information about this album at a minimum is certainly verifiable, it's a major label release, and a highly notable band.
Maintenance
…this article is savable but at its current state, needs a lot of improvement.
Bias It is by no means spam (it does not promote the products).
Other I'm advocating a blanket "hangon" for all articles on newly-drafted players
Jodi Schneider, Alexandre Passant, and Stefan Decker. “Deletion Discussions in Wikipedia: Decision Factors and Outcomes.” In WikiSym2012.
Add semantic structure
Implementation based on Jodi Schneider and Krystian Samp “Alternative Interfaces for Deletion Discussions in Wikipedia: Some Proposals Using Decision Factors. [Demo]” In WikiSym2012.
84% prefer our system
“Information is structured and I can quickly get an overview of the key arguments.”
“The ability to navigate the comments made it a bit easier to filter my mind set and to come to a conclusion.”
“It offers the structure needed to consider each factor separately, thus making the decision easier. Also, the number of comments per factor offers a quick indication of the relevance and the deepness of the decision.”
Acknowledgements
o Thanks to collaborators!• Krystian Samp• Maciej Dabrowski
o Overall Ph.D. funding, Science Foundation Ireland Grant No. SFI/08/CE/I1380 (Líon-2), advised by Alexandre Passant, John Breslin & Stefan Decker
image credit: Alexandre Passant
Goals
Walton & Krabbe. D. N. Walton. Commitment in dialogue. State University of New York Press, Albany, 1995.