New editor engagement
This document is a work in progress. Please feel free to add your own thoughts or comment on the talk page.
This is the portal page for New Editor Engagement Projects. This set of projects is focused on reversing the trend of editor decline by increasing new editor participation and retention. This is an umbrella project; many projects are contained within its scope.
Wikipedia also has an Editor engagement portal page.
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Purpose [edit]
The New Editor Engagement project has two main goals:
- Retain new editors: Encourage new editors to continue editing.
- Increase engagement of new editors: Encourage new editors to contribute more.
As with any project around participation, we need to make sure we attract and retain the right kind of editors, i.e., editors that contribute in a positive manner to our projects.
Rationale [edit]
Since peaking in 2007, the number of active editors on Wikipedia projects has been declining. The Editor Trends Study identified one of the main drivers of decline as the decrease in retention rate of new editors. The declining number of New Wikipedians is another cause of the decline. As a results of this research, Sue posted the March 2011 Update describing these trends and their implications for the Wikimedia communities. Subsequent to the March 2011 Update, Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees passed the Openness Resolution (April 8, 2011). This resolution recognizes that for the Foundation's goals to succeed, a more stable editing community is critical to the long-term sustainability and quality of the movement and its projects. Accordingly, the Executive Director has been charged with reversing the editor decline top priority for the upcoming year.
Recent Activity [edit]
- Article feedback: Monthly status updates
- Page Curation: Monthly status updates
- Editor engagement experiments: Monthly status updates
- Teahouse: Phase 2 plan (June-October 2012)
Projects [edit]
Planned, active, and inactive projects in New Editor Engagement include:
- Article creation workflow, a redesign of the landing pages and workflow for creating new articles in Wikipedia.
- Article Feedback Tool, a tool designed to encourage readers to provide feedback on articles.
- Echo (Notifications), a redesign of the notifications system in Wikipedia.
- Editor engagement experiments, testing ways to attract and retain new Wikipedia editors.
- Flow, the design of a new interface for user-to-user communication.
- GlobalProfile, a system designed to ease difficulty for page patrol, reduce "bite", and encourage identity within the projects.
- MoodBar, a tool designed to encourage feedback from new users, with Feedback Dashboard supporting review by experienced members.
- New Page Triage, redesigning the New Page Patrol experience.
- Teahouse, an on-Wiki support center promoting one-to-one cooperation between experienced users & new users.
- Template A/B testing, a data-driven approach to improving the templates used in communication on User Talk pages.
- Timestamp Position Modification, a small experiment in encouraging readers to notice that pages are frequently updated and that there is a revision history.
- WikiLove, a tool designed to encourage community health and reduce "bite".
There is also a list of smaller issues related to the new editor experience that deserve attention. Please amend and comment on the issue list if you want to add your input.
Lifecycle Terminology [edit]
Please see Participant Lifecycle for a description of the terms being used to describe the new editor lifecycle.
