Wikipedia Task Force: Reader Conversion

[netmouse]

I have been selected to participate in the Wikipedia task force to increase contributions from readers and under-represented groups. In other words, to convert wikipedia readers to editors.

I have posted a few of my pet theories as to why people are discouraged from or disinterested in editing wikipedia on my wikipedia strategic planning user page. I welcome discussion there or here about why you or people you know choose not to edit wikipedia.

Comments

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

Hee. That right there is a wonderful point. When I invited people to discuss, my assumption was that people would come to the user page, click on the "Discussion" tab, either join or start a new topic, and write their comments in some sort of hierarchical (indented) list.

I have seen this problem come already in one of the other pages, where discussion is a mix of numbered topics and bulleted lists and comments that are just indented without numbers or bullets.

It gave me the same issue with not being able to use my wikimedia username even though it says you should be able to. You'd think they'd have those sorts of details smoothed out by now. After all, they've had some practice!

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

The discussion tab gets me a page strangely different from the page you linked to, starting with a welcome post that seems to be from somebody else. All confusing!

And I've been somewhat active at Wikipedia for quite a long time; I think longer than you (I also think less active). I'm not a complete stranger. (In fact the time may be part of why I get confused so easily, they change things out from under me.)

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

Huh, unification seems to have worked for me, and I *can* log in with that username to the strategy discussion you link. Without even waiting more than a few seconds (I don't mean it failed and when I waited seconds longer it worked; it worked right away, and I didn't delay so it was only seconds later). So that part at least is working for me.

[nwhyte]

Yes, there is no way I am going to try and work out how to contribute to the discussion on that page; I will stick with a threading format that I can understand!!!