Editing team/Community Conversations

Welcome! The Editing Team uses this page to document the outcomes of the conversations we host to better understand the needs and challenges people experience when they begin contributing to Wikipedia.

Between October 2022 and January 2023, the Editing Team hosted seven community conversations with volunteers living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

These conversations were held with two key objectives in mind:


 * Learn what contributing to Wikipedia has been like for people living in and from Sub-Saharan Africa so that we, the Editing Team, can make improvements to the visual editor that hopefully make this process easier for future newcomers from the region.
 * Verify whether the conclusions the Editing Team is drawing from the initial set of conversations they hosted align with what volunteers in Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced contributing to Wikipedia.

What follows is a summary of what surfaced in these conversations and what the Editing Team is planning to do in response.

''Note: we anticipate learning new information in the future that could cause us to see themes in the conversations that we hadn't noticed at initial time of writing or to see themes we did document differently. Should something like this occur, we'll update the below accordingly.''

Meeting Information

 * Date: Friday, 3 March 2023: 17:00 - 18:30 UTC
 * Video conference link: meet.google.com/ska-sivy-vth
 * Meeting Language: English
 * Subject: Edit Check

Meeting Objectives

 * 1) Equip Wikipedia volunteers with the context they need to evaluate and participate in the ongoing development of Edit check
 * 2) Understand what gadget and script authors have learned, through developing a series of related features, that could increase the impact of Edit check
 * 3) Define how the Editing Team and volunteers will collaborate on the underlying rules/logic/heuristics that will determine when the initial reference check will be triggered

Project Overview
A set of features for the visual editor to help new volunteers make changes to Wikipedia that align with project policies.

The Editing Team sees this project being helpful to:


 * Patrollers/Reviewers interested in solutions designed to increase the quality of edits and as a result, increase their capacity to think about more complex/high impact moderation challenges
 * Newcomers and Junior Contributors arriving on the wikis motivated to add content about topics they are interested in and in ways that other volunteers are likely to consider useful
 * Gadget and Script Authors interested in helping to shape a new tool being designed to proactively educate and guide newcomers to make changes they feel proud of and changes that improve Wikipedia

Sign up (optional)

 * PPelberg (WMF) (talk) 23:21, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * User:Whatamidoing (WMF)
 * User:Playlikeastar

February 2023
The Editing Team has been hosting conference calls with volunteers. In February 2023, we also began a series of discussions on wiki with experienced volunteers. At the start of this project, we are centering experienced volunteers at the English and French Wikipedias who are:


 * familiar with existing project policies and conventions, and
 * practiced with applying project policies and conventions in a reviewing/patrolling role.

The Editing Team is approaching these conversations seeking to learn things such as:


 * 1) How could this general approach go wrong? What fundamental assumptions/constraints might this project be at risk of "running up against"?
 * 2) What actions should trigger the reference check?
 * 3) What aspects of the initial reference check experience can you imagine projects wanting to configure? How do you think we ought to configure them initially?
 * 4) Whom do you think the reference check should be enabled for?
 * 5) It might be possible for you to evaluate/audit how Edit Check is performing and the impact it is having.  Would that be useful to you?  In what ways?
 * 6) The current project will encourage inline references.  What other kinds of checks can you imagine being useful/valuable?

Once complete, the Editing Team will share a synthesis of what we learned through these conversations in the Findings section above.

Meeting Information

 * Date: 
 * Video conference link: https://wikimedia.zoom.us/j/89237904445?pwd=dk5xdDE0VVlGbE5HWXRmLzBIT2lNdz09 Passcode 234152 (please install and test Zoom in advance)
 * Meeting language: English and French
 * Subject: Edit check
 * Notes: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Editing_community_meeting_2023-01-20

Project Overview
A set of features for the visual editor to help new volunteers make constructive changes to Wikipedia.

The Editing Team sees this project being helpful to:


 * Campaign Organizers interested in helping event participants make edits they are proud of and projects value
 * Newcomers and Junior Contributors arriving on the wikis motivated to add content about topics they are interested in
 * Senior Contributors motivated to ensure the content newcomers and Junior Contributors are adding is verifiable

Objectives
This meeting will be an opportunity for new and experienced volunteers, especially those from Sub-Saharan Africa, to:


 * review and share feedback about the design concepts the Editing Team is considering to improve the visual editor as part of their upcoming project, and
 * verify that the needs the Editing Team is working to address reflect needs they experience/have experienced.

Sign up (optional)

 * 1) User:PPelberg (WMF)
 * 2) User;;MMunyoki(WMF)
 * 3) User:Yaw tuba
 * 4) User:Joris Darlington Quarshie

Meeting Information

 * Date: 
 * Video Conference Link: meet.google.com/krq-tonw-quz
 * Meeting Language: English
 * Notes: https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Editing_community_meeting_2022-12-16

Project Overview
A set of features for the visual editor to help new volunteers understand and follow the policies and guidelines necessary to make constructive changes to Wikipedia projects.

The Editing Team sees this project being helpful to:


 * Campaign Organizers interested in helping event participants make edits they are proud of and projects value
 * Newcomers and Junior Contributors arriving on the wikis motivated to add content about topics they are interested in
 * Senior Contributors motivated to ensure the content newcomers and Junior Contributors are adding is verifiable

Objectives

 * This meeting will be an opportunity for new and experienced volunteers from Sub-Saharan Africa to:
 * Review, and share feedback about, the features/design concepts the Editing Team is considering to improve the visual editor as part of their upcoming project
 * Verify the needs the Editing Team is working to address reflect needs they experience/have experienced
 * Learn about opportunities to contribute to this project
 * This meeting will be an opportunity for members of the Editing Team to:
 * Verify that the conclusions they are drawing from the initial set of conversations they hosted align with what volunteers in Sub-Saharan Africa have experienced contributing to Wikipedia.
 * Learn what – if any – issues volunteers can foresee with the features/design concepts we are considering building

Signup (Optional)

 * 1) Whatamidoing (WMF)
 * 2) NAyoub (WMF)
 * 3) PPelberg (WMF)
 * 4) NRodriguez (WMF)
 * 5) EAkinloose (WMF)
 * 6) RYasmeen (WMF)
 * 7) STei (WMF)
 * 8) User:VPuffetMichel (WMF)
 * 9) User:PWaigi-WMF
 * 10) User:Geugeor
 * 11) User:Dyolf77 (WMF)
 * 12) User:MNeisler (WMF)
 * 13) Bachounda
 * 14) Ngoudechi
 * 15) Obedmakolo
 * 16) Joris Darlington Quarshie
 * 17) Timzy D'Great
 * 18) Jemima2019
 * 19) Zeemahgan
 * 20) Prince1g4
 * 21) Yaw tuba
 * 22) Bukky658 (talk) 04:39, 14 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 23) Charity00 (talk) 09:29, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 24) Agbalagba (talk) 13:28, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 25) AC Krah (talk) 14:36, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 26) Mbaidoo (talk) 14:43, 15 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 27) Macocobovi(talk)
 * 28) Kumi Haymondabutu
 * 29) Bolanle Adeleye:(talk)
 * 30) Olugold (talk)
 * 31) Dera xoxo (talk)
 * 32) Iwuala Lucy (talk) 10:19, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 33) Senator Choko
 * 34) Lotinoh 3:33pm, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 35) Spadeex
 * 36) Valentine_Badu (talk) 15:02, 16 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 37) Aliyu shaba ]]Talk 07:43, 17 December 2022 (UTC)
 * 1) Aliyu shaba ]]Talk 07:43, 17 December 2022 (UTC)

Objective

 * Learn what contributing to Wikipedia has been like for people living in and from Sub-Saharan Africa so that we, the Editing Team, can make improvements to the visual editor that hopefully make this process easier for future newcomers from the region. Meeting in French, focused on the French Wikipedia.

Attendees

 * Three volunteers: someone from Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Mali.
 * WMF Staff: members of the Editing Team, Dyolf77 (WMF), and Trizek (WMF)
 * Discussion in French.

Objective

 * Learn what contributing to Wikipedia has been like for people living in and from Sub-Saharan Africa so that we, the Editing Team, can make improvements to the visual editor that hopefully make this process easier for future newcomers from the region.

Attendees

 * Four volunteers from Nigeria, one volunteers from Ghana, and members of the Editing Team

Objective

 * Learn what contributing to Wikipedia has been like for people living in and from Sub-Saharan Africa so that we, the Editing Team, can make improvements to the visual editor that hopefully make this process easier for future newcomers from the region.

Attendees

 * Three experienced volunteers from Nigeria and members of the Editing Team

Objective

 * Learn what contributing to Wikipedia has been like for people living in and from Sub-Saharan Africa so that we, the Editing Team, can make improvements to the visual editor that hopefully make this process easier for future newcomers from the region.

Attendees

 * Bartosz Dziewoński, David Chan, David Lynch, Ed Sanders, Esther Akinloose, James McLeod, Justice Okai-Allotey, Joris Darlington Quarshie, Megan Neisler, Nicolas Ayoub, Peter Pelberg, Valerie Puffet-Michel,

Objective

 * Learn what contributing to Wikipedia has been like for people living in and from Sub-Saharan Africa so that we, the Editing Team, can make improvements to the visual editor that hopefully make this process easier for future newcomers from the region.

Attendees

 * Nicola Ayoub, Mohammed Bachounda, Imelda Brazal, Ilana Fried, Georges Fodouop, Peter Pelberg, and Liam Wyatt.