Robert Scott Horning (robert_horning(a)netzero.net) [050117 22:56]:
I've also been involved in other
volunteer organizations (political, social, and youth groups) and the
need to keep the volunteers happy should never be underestimated. The
fickle thing about volunteers is that if they don't like what is going
on, they will leave quietly... often without the leaders or those "at
the top" even being able to percieve that there is a problem. If you
hire somebody in any role (developer, PR work, accounting, etc.), you
have to make sure that individual is committed to the goals of the
organization, and if possible would be a volunteer if they would not get
paid for their work. This is true for Wikipedia as it is for the Red Cross.
I have considerable experience in managing volunteers (both as a volunteer
and being paid to manage them). One question I'd like a better answer to is
how to keep volunteers from each others' throats better ... en: is large
enough to be qualitatively different from any other wiki, anywhere, ever.
- d.