Hello Researchers,
Contribution patterns in online communities follow a power distribution
which is known as the 1% rule [1], as Wikipedia told me.
However, the steepness of the distribution can be more or less strong: 50%
of your edits could be contributed by 2% or by 0.002%, the latter showing a
stronger imbalance.
I wonder if there are any estimates/rules-of-thumb of what imbalance is
problematic when seen from the perspective of community health.
I also wonder if there is research on how technology contributes to such
imbalances and how it might be mitigated – e.g training, user-friendliness,
documentation…
(based on my assumption that a steep curve is less desirable, since the
power is more concentrated, the system more fragile and the redistribution
of power more constrained)
Jan
[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule_(Internet_culture)
--
Jan Dittrich
UX Design/ Research
Wikimedia Deutschland e. V. | Tempelhofer Ufer 23-24 | 10963 Berlin
Tel. (030) 219 158 26-0
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