Wikimedia Product/Perspectives/Experience/Customization

Summary
Customized and Personalized user experiences are the new norm in consumer products, but are they appropriate for Wikipedia? A Personalization-focused strategy would conflict with Wikipedia privacy policy, product principles and Movement equity goals, but Customization would contribute to usability for readers, communities and editors and for this reason must be considered as part of product modernization overall.

In terms of the reading experience, the platform should support a set of user-modifiable customization options and a set of community-modifiable customization options (to allow for language-specific and culture-specific preferences). In terms of the editing experience, the platform should support customization based on common usage patterns and contributor activities at scale, and across groups of wiki projects.

By making mass-customization options part of the platform, it is possible to serve a more diverse set of needs and preferences without forking the main product. This approach will make scaling much more achievable, and the process of integrating new customization features less problematic for regional community tech volunteers to enable.

Resources
One-to-One Personalization in the Age of Machine Learning

Consumer Attitudes Toward Online Mass Customization

Personalization versus Customization: the Importance of Agency, Privacy, and Power Usage

Exploring the Relationship between Reading Habits and Aesthetic Preferences in Different Cultural Contexts and Design Practices