Folks,
When considering or referring to "The Wikipedia Community", many, if not
most, thoughts run in the practical direction of the concept of Community
(voting & other decision-making areas). Mine runs in a more intangible one:
Anyone who contributes in a positive way to advance the values and goals of
the Project.
Until recently, when I spoke of "The Wikipedia Community", I had been
thinking specifically of the body of persons who actually edit the
encyclopedia. And my goals have been to want this Community of persons to be
regarded with dignity, respect and trust: For them to have a reasonable
voice in the workings of the Project's administration and decision-making
processes; and for them to have some semblance of control over their own
fates within the Project.
This respect and trust must, of course, work both ways We must earn it
from each other.
I'm really just brainstorming without an umbrella here:
What I'm going for is more of a sense of community than a fact of community;
a sense of belonging and loyalty that can be instilled and held only though
the culture. It can begin by each person being honest and asking themselves
what they are doing here and why.
One outstanding positive effect this sense of community pride would have on
the Project itself is that persons are less likely to freely abuse a group
they truly feel they are a part of. Would you burn down your house if you
still felt it was your home?
A person who feels valued by a community is less likely to abuse or harm it,
or its members, if they feel they are still a part of it.
There needs to be a civility initiative in the Project that is reflected in
every interaction. People need to compliment each other more, and cut each
other some slack when they take risks and make some mistakes.
Take care of the new members of the Community, and remember they are
learning about the culture with every new encounter and interaction.
Words have power - use them wisely; in the mind of an impressionable person
they can be inspiring or deadly.
Also, there could be something similar to a Barnstar that we place on our
User Pages ourselves saying something like "I am a proud Member of the
Wikipedia Community" with a design such as a globe similar to the WP Globe,
but with a figure of a person at the N, S, E & W locations.
I would like to see placed at the top of the Wikipedia Main Page, a banner
that says something like, "Be honest - be fair - be assertive - be civil."
Wikipedia: A Community of persons building and refining an Encyclopedia of
knowledge - and trying to learn how to get along while doing it.
And these community values must be shared, practiced and reinforced every
single day, by every single member: This is how it is here & This is how we
are. And anyone not willing to share these values, must find a community
more to their liking.
For civility and a sense of Community to truly be a part of Wikipedia's
identity - they must first be a part of its bloodstream.
Be healthy in the New Year,
Marc Riddell
