What can you find where everyone looks for everything, pt. 1
- Liron Dorfman
- Sep 1, 2022
- 4 min read
An encyclopedia that everyone can edit
Wikipedia's homepage is a part of the site that, according to statistics, not many visit. Usually, people will search in a search engine, and then a relevant Wikipedia article in their language will appear as one of the first results. Sometimes, a short definition taken from the opening paragraph of the Wikipedia article will appear at the top of the search window, and many will find this definition sufficient to meet their needs.
If you nevertheless happen upon the homepage, you can see that at the top of the page, immediately after the greeting "Welcome to Wikipedia," it states that this is "an encyclopedia that everyone can edit." The full text under the greeting varies between Wikipedia in one language and another, and there are over 300 such versions. Still, the word "encyclopedia" will always appear alongside the hint that you, too, can write in it. Nevertheless, only a few understand that we are dealing with an encyclopedia, and even fewer decide to participate in contributing to its writing, editing, and improvement work. It's a shame that this is the case, but Wikipedia writers make efforts to change the situation. The fact is that the number of writers grows from year to year, albeit at a slow pace. The editors are happy and welcome this, mainly because each new writer brings something of themselves, from their life experience, from their areas of understanding and expertise (whether related to their work fields or hobbies and other subjects of interest). Everyone adds new perspectives to the project. We all benefit from each other.
What needs to be done to be considered an "editor" on Wikipedia
Hebrew Wikipedia began to be written in 2003, approximately two and a half years after the launch of the first version of Wikipedia, the English one. The Hebrew Wikipedia editor community decided that to receive the right to have greater influence, a certain seniority in the project would be required, along with continuous activity in it during the period preceding any vote (which comes at the end of a preliminary discussion). Anyone can write on Wikipedia, and like all Wikipedias, access to writing is free and requires no prior identification of the writer. However, only those who have created a username for themselves and accumulated seniority of three months, during which they made at least 300 content edits in the three months preceding the vote, will be considered "editors." The editors will be those who can participate in the various votes held in the project, and their voices will be counted and considered in determining the outcome of the issue discussed in each vote. All others, occasional writers, will be able to continue writing in the project without substantial restrictions, as long as the writing is done in the spirit of the project and according to rules established within it, and even express their opinion within the framework of those votes. Still, their voice will not be counted in calculating the result of that vote.
Don't worry - there's no need to start recounting the edits made by each person in every vote - the system is built so that it automatically identifies, each time, those who have voting rights.
By that decision regarding the seniority required for a vote to be counted among the votes, even if an editor has seniority of years since beginning activity in the project, they will not always have voting rights. If they went on vacation to a tropical island with no internet connection and stayed there for a considerable amount of time, when they return to Wikipedia activity, if it's found that they made fewer than 300 edits in the three months preceding that vote, their voice will not be counted. If they return to activity, their voting rights will be restored to them sooner or later. In this way, they ensure that only those truly involved in the project will make decisions regarding content, the graphical interface, and its future direction in general. This is for the simple reason that someone who was active in the past but withdrew from activity may not be familiar with the intricacies of the discussions that took place before the current issue was discussed, and might not understand the implications at that time of any subject in dispute. Beyond that, this approach also neutralizes methods for conducting "vote recruitment" in favor of an issue close to the heart of a particular group in the population. It prevents biasing of content so that it serves, heaven forbid, the interests of specific groups.
On Wikipedia, they tend to summarize this using the English saying "Decisions are made by those who show up," which constitutes the essence of the foundation of any democratic body - if you weren't partners in the process, don't complain about the resulting outcome; if you didn't come to vote on election day, don't come with complaints about the composition of parliament...
More information about the guiding principles of the Hebrew Wikipedia can be found on the Wikipedia: Principles and Guidelines explanation page. About the various votes in the project, you can start learning through the page Wikipedia: Voting.
Liron Dorfman serves in various positions at the Hebrew Wikipedia and Wikimedia Israel. And currently works at ROM Knowledgeware.
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