FAQ:User Interaction Consultation

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Reading problem
Our mission is to encourage the growth, development and distribution of knowledge. However, readership of Wikipedia is no longer growing, even in areas where internet usage is growing.

Solution set
“Create new experiences based on interaction with content and other users.”

(This is just one of several tactics we are exploring.)

Rationale
Search engines and mobile operating systems are increasingly showing small doses of information directly in their interfaces. Users get minimal information here and are less likely to continue to Wikipedia and learn more. Though there is no evidence that this is the cause, Wikipedia usage has stopped growing, while global internet use soars. This threatens our ability to recruit editors. It also threatens a private and censor-ship free experience for our readers.

We believe that there is a lot of value in Wikipedia as a destination beyond the traditional reference use case (i.e. “What is the atomic weight of Carbon”). Specifically, we think that Wikipedia could provide a more interactive experience to our readers.

Based on user behavior in other products, we think that our readers are likely to engage with content and each other on Wikipedia. We already provide this with editing and moderating of others' edits. But we believe there are many readers that would like to interact with knowledge, but are not encylopedia writers. There are additional engagement models that have much lower barrier to entry.

We want to ask our volunteers and readers if they agree with this hypothesis, and if they have suggestions for ways to solve this.

Examples:

Here are some examples of engagement models that might fit within this solution set. It is not a roadmap. It is simply a subset of interaction types.
 * upvote / like
 * share
 * follow story or topic
 * rate / review
 * highlight
 * curate / organize into lists
 * comment
 * ask questions
 * thank a [blank] creator
 * follow a [blank] creator

FAQ
What are you trying to accomplish?

Please see [here|link to backgorund doc] for more background

Why are you asking me?

Wikipedia belongs to everyone, but particularly the people who have spent countless hours writing it. Rather than simply build a new feature and ask if you like it, we are experimenting with bringing our stakeholders into the product development process earlier and earlier. Here is one recent example. In this case, we are trying to start with the problem and co-create solutions.

What if I think the whole premised is flawed?

Let us know here

Are you aware of previous similar exploration X,Y,or Z in this area?

We are definitely aware of several past and present projects that overlap with this solution set (such as the article feedback tool and Wikicomment), but might be unaware of others. If you think something is relevant, please point us to it!

'''I tried to add my idea/comment, but it didn’t work. Help!'''

Email us here: jkatz@wikimedia.org