[WikiEN-l] Could we use a chore wheel?

[David Goodman]

I personally work irregularly enough that I dont want to feel an
obligation, but I do want to coordinate. I'd like a tracking sheet of
some sort where people could if they like say  ahead of time what they
intended to do when, but then at least record it afterwards so that
others could see when and where work was needed. (But if we did use a
wheel I'd take a slot.)
I do feel an obligation-- not to do all possible mopwork-- but to
certainly do at least a fair share of some parts of it.
And i would feel better to know that at times i couldnt watch
something ,someone else was doing it.

On 10/15/07, Steve Bennett <stevagewp at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/13/07, Charlotte Webb <charlottethewebb at gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > I think as long as we remain volunteers, most of us will edit whatever
> > we want, whenever we want. If you want to work out some sort of
>
>
> IMHO that's a simplistic, very self-centered view of Wikipedians,
> prioritising immediate self-gratification over all else. Altruism is more
> complicated than that: If you've ever seen a good, functioning volunteer
> organisation, it's not "everyone, do whatever you feel like doing, we won't
> boss you around", it's "we can achieve something amazing if everyone pitches
> in. Team A, you will do X..."
>
> It's in the nature of people that we *do* like working, and being told what
> to do, if there is some reward. There are also plenty of
> psychogical/anthorphological/sociological theories to explain why the more
> we work for something, the more we desire that something. So, the harder we
> work for Wikipedia, the more we will value Wikipedia - and in turn, the
> harder we will work for it. Presumably the converse is that if we tell
> people that we don't value Wikipedia enough to impinge upon their personal
> freedoms, then they in turn are going to value it less.
>
> brownie point system for those whom you entice to work in the least
> > glamorous areas of the encyclopedia, it might be fun enough for some
> > people to play along with, but Wikipedians generally prefer to be
> > self-directed.
>
>
> That's a very big generalisation. I think "Wikipedians" are an extremely
> diverse group. Plenty could be co-opted to "work" in a non self-interested
> way, if the right approach could be found.
>
> Personal example: I tend to create a lot of stubs. However, I'm stimulated
> to create them in specific areas when there is a clear worklist to go from,
> like
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_Missing_encyclopedic_articles/frSo,
> clearly cut out work with definable milestones and measurable progress
> work well. The "chore wheel" could work, but it would have to be highly
> visible, and with social rewards. It should also probably not be measured in
> hours, but in work accomplished.
>
> Steve
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-- 
David Goodman, Ph.D, M.L.S.