I received the following email today:
----
Hello:
I am writing to you to ask you about your objectives as a Wikipedia contributor.
My name is Mai Pattarawan. I am an academic at the City University of Hong Kong, researching Wikipedia. Specifically I am interested in the objectives and motivation of Wikipedians who take the time and make the effort to contribute.
I would like to ask you just three questions and hope you will be able to answer:
1. Why do you contribute to Wikipedia? Would you say it is a personal matter, where you enjoy the opportunity to reveal your knowledge on a subject, or a collaborative goal where you enjoy sharing knowledge with others?
2. In what ways do you find your contributing to Wikipedia beneficial? (E.g., satisfaction of building the world's largest encyclopedia). Would you say these benefits (personal or for the entire community) are felt right away, or do you expect the benefits to arise as time goes by?
3. Do you expect that your contributing more to Wikipedia will lead to others to contribute more?
Please just type your answers right behind the questions, or below, if you like.
I am sending this email only to about 100 Wikipedians, so I very much hope you will answer me and allow me to gain some insights. I found you via Google, by searching for Wikipedians who post their email address in Wikipedia.
If you like to receive feedback about the results of this inquiry, please let me know and I will email it to you. Of course, yours and everyone else's personal information will not be disclosed. I will only share non-personalized and summary information.
Thank you very much.
Regards,
Pattarawan (Mai) Prasarnphanich, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Information Systems City University of Hong Kong
----
The IP address of the sender (219.79.22.41http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=219.79.22.41) is from Hong Kong, and AFAIK, China blocks wikimedia projects. So, how can a person from Hong Kong possibly access wikipedia extensively so as to analyse the contributions and nature of wikipedia? and moreover, he says that he is sending it to only 100 wikipedians. This can make the result very different from the actual fact.
should i participate in the enquiry?
i am also posting the msg. header as it may interest you:
X-Gmail-Received: 11b8396eb5824772da6c80e6cf069014796fc9e1 Delivered-To: vedant.lath@gmail.com Received: by 10.66.255.10 with SMTP id c10cs16807ugi; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 22:12:14 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.35.89.10 with SMTP id r10mr351875pyl; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 22:12:14 -0800 (PST) Return-Path: pprasarn@cityu.edu.hk Received: from obav02.netvigator.com (obav02.netvigator.com [218.102.62.130]) by mx.gmail.com with ESMTP id v53si740577pyv.2006.03.18.22.12.11; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 22:12:14 -0800 (PST) Received-SPF: neutral (gmail.com: 218.102.62.130 is neither permitted nor denied by best guess record for domain of pprasarn@cityu.edu.hk) Received: from obav02.netvigator.com (obav02.netvigator.com [127.0.0.1]) by obav02.netvigator.com (Postfix) with SMTP id 866481B1605 for vedant.lath@gmail.com; Sun, 19 Mar 2006 06:12:10 +0000 (GMT) Received: from Mai ([219.79.22.41]) by imsm058dat.netvigator.com (InterMail vM.6.01.05.02 201-2131-123-102-20050715) with ESMTP id 20060319061210.SCJT22606.imsm058dat.netvigator.com@Mai for vedant.lath@gmail.com; Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:12:10 +0800 Message-ID: 008801c64b1c$0e8ac220$6501a8c0@Mai From: "Pattarawan (Mai) Prasarnphanich" pprasarn@cityu.edu.hk To: vedant.lath@gmail.com Subject: Academic inquiry on your objectives and motivation as Wikipedian Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:12:09 +0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0085_01C64B5F.1C4491F0" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180
Vedant Lath http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Vedant_lath http://vedant.lath.in/icse/User:Vedanta
As far as I know, the internet is not censored in the Hong Kong SAR, only in mainland China.
Ronline
2006/3/19, Vedant Lath vedantlathetc@gmail.com:
I received the following email today:
Hello:
I am writing to you to ask you about your objectives as a Wikipedia contributor.
My name is Mai Pattarawan. I am an academic at the City University of Hong Kong, researching Wikipedia. Specifically I am interested in the objectives and motivation of Wikipedians who take the time and make the effort to contribute.
I would like to ask you just three questions and hope you will be able to answer:
- Why do you contribute to Wikipedia? Would you say it is a personal
matter, where you enjoy the opportunity to reveal your knowledge on a subject, or a collaborative goal where you enjoy sharing knowledge with others?
- In what ways do you find your contributing to Wikipedia beneficial? (
E.g., satisfaction of building the world's largest encyclopedia). Would you say these benefits (personal or for the entire community) are felt right away, or do you expect the benefits to arise as time goes by?
- Do you expect that your contributing more to Wikipedia will lead to
others to contribute more?
Please just type your answers right behind the questions, or below, if you like.
I am sending this email only to about 100 Wikipedians, so I very much hope you will answer me and allow me to gain some insights. I found you via Google, by searching for Wikipedians who post their email address in Wikipedia.
If you like to receive feedback about the results of this inquiry, please let me know and I will email it to you. Of course, yours and everyone else's personal information will not be disclosed. I will only share non-personalized and summary information.
Thank you very much.
Regards,
Pattarawan (Mai) Prasarnphanich, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Information Systems City University of Hong Kong
The IP address of the sender (219.79.22.41http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=219.79.22.41) is from Hong Kong, and AFAIK, China blocks wikimedia projects. So, how can a person from Hong Kong possibly access wikipedia extensively so as to analyse the contributions and nature of wikipedia? and moreover, he says that he is sending it to only 100 wikipedians. This can make the result very different from the actual fact.
should i participate in the enquiry?
i am also posting the msg. header as it may interest you:
X-Gmail-Received: 11b8396eb5824772da6c80e6cf069014796fc9e1 Delivered-To: vedant.lath@gmail.com Received: by 10.66.255.10 with SMTP id c10cs16807ugi; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 22:12:14 -0800 (PST) Received: by 10.35.89.10 with SMTP id r10mr351875pyl; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 22:12:14 -0800 (PST) Return-Path: pprasarn@cityu.edu.hk Received: from obav02.netvigator.com (obav02.netvigator.com [ 218.102.62.130]) by mx.gmail.com with ESMTP id v53si740577pyv.2006.03.18.22.12.11; Sat, 18 Mar 2006 22:12:14 -0800 (PST) Received-SPF: neutral (gmail.com: 218.102.62.130 is neither permitted nor denied by best guess record for domain of pprasarn@cityu.edu.hk) Received: from obav02.netvigator.com (obav02.netvigator.com [127.0.0.1]) by obav02.netvigator.com (Postfix) with SMTP id 866481B1605 for vedant.lath@gmail.com; Sun, 19 Mar 2006 06:12:10 +0000 (GMT) Received: from Mai ([219.79.22.41]) by imsm058dat.netvigator.com (InterMail vM.6.01.05.02 201-2131-123-102-20050715) with ESMTP id 20060319061210.SCJT22606.imsm058dat.netvigator.com@Mai for vedant.lath@gmail.com; Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:12:10 +0800 Message-ID: 008801c64b1c$0e8ac220$6501a8c0@Mai From: "Pattarawan (Mai) Prasarnphanich" pprasarn@cityu.edu.hk To: vedant.lath@gmail.com Subject: Academic inquiry on your objectives and motivation as Wikipedian Date: Sun, 19 Mar 2006 14:12:09 +0800 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0085_01C64B5F.1C4491F0" X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 6.00.2900.2180
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2180
Vedant Lath http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Vedant_lath http://vedant.lath.in/icse/User:Vedanta _______________________________________________ Wikipedia-l mailing list Wikipedia-l@Wikimedia.org http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikipedia-l
2006/3/19, Vedant Lath vedantlathetc@gmail.com:
The IP address of the sender (219.79.22.41http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=219.79.22.41) is from Hong Kong, and AFAIK, China blocks wikimedia projects.
Mainland China and Hong Kong are acting mostly independently in that respect, so I think it would not be blocked in Hong Kong
So, how can a person from Hong Kong possibly access wikipedia extensively so as to analyse the contributions and nature of wikipedia?
See above; interestingly, on another university in Hong Kong (the University of Hong Kong) there is also research into Wikipedia, led by Andrew Lih ([[w:en:User:Fuzheado]]).
and moreover, he says that he is sending it to only 100 wikipedians. This can make the result very different from the actual fact.
There will always be large differences, because people who answer an enquiry like this are not a random sample from the total population of people having been asked.
should i participate in the enquiry?
That should be your free choice, in my opinion.
-- Andre Engels, andreengels@gmail.com ICQ: 6260644 -- Skype: a_engels
ok. will participate when i get time.
thanks for the help.
vedant
On 3/19/06, Andre Engels andreengels@gmail.com wrote:
2006/3/19, Vedant Lath vedantlathetc@gmail.com:
The IP address of the sender (219.79.22.41http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=219.79.22.41) is from Hong Kong, and AFAIK, China blocks wikimedia projects.
Mainland China and Hong Kong are acting mostly independently in that respect, so I think it would not be blocked in Hong Kong
So, how can a person from Hong Kong possibly access wikipedia extensively so as to
analyse
the contributions and nature of wikipedia?
See above; interestingly, on another university in Hong Kong (the University of Hong Kong) there is also research into Wikipedia, led by Andrew Lih ([[w:en:User:Fuzheado]]).
and moreover, he says that he is sending it to only 100 wikipedians. This can make the result very
different
from the actual fact.
There will always be large differences, because people who answer an enquiry like this are not a random sample from the total population of people having been asked.
should i participate in the enquiry?
That should be your free choice, in my opinion.
-- Andre Engels, andreengels@gmail.com ICQ: 6260644 -- Skype: a_engels _______________________________________________ Wikipedia-l mailing list Wikipedia-l@Wikimedia.org http://mail.wikipedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikipedia-l
On 3/19/06, Andre Engels andreengels@gmail.com wrote:
2006/3/19, Vedant Lath vedantlathetc@gmail.com:
The IP address of the sender (219.79.22.41http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois.ch?ip=219.79.22.41) is from Hong Kong, and AFAIK, China blocks wikimedia projects.
Mainland China and Hong Kong are acting mostly independently in that respect, so I think it would not be blocked in Hong Kong
So, how can a person from Hong Kong possibly access wikipedia extensively so as to analyse the contributions and nature of wikipedia?
See above; interestingly, on another university in Hong Kong (the University of Hong Kong) there is also research into Wikipedia, led by Andrew Lih ([[w:en:User:Fuzheado]]).
and moreover, he says that he is sending it to only 100 wikipedians. This can make the result very different from the actual fact.
There will always be large differences, because people who answer an enquiry like this are not a random sample from the total population of people having been asked.
should i participate in the enquiry?
That should be your free choice, in my opinion.
-- Andre Engels, andreengels@gmail.com ICQ: 6260644 -- Skype: a_engels
Andre's just said pretty much everything that I was going to - I most definitely agree with participation in research being a voluntary decision. As a researcher myself, I know about the problems attached to consent, ethics, sampling, bias etc. I'm not going to comment on how someone else conducts their research - unless they ask - that's up to them to be conscious of. But researchers should be open to questions from participants about their own process - you should feel free to ask questions about how and where the information is used etc, before you decide to say anything. Or if you don't want to say anything, tell them why not. This itself is good feedback.
General comments: there is and has been lots of research done on participants of Wikimedia projects - see, for example: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research . The questions you've been asked are not unusual - I've asked more or less the same ones myself ;-). And a sample of 100 is not unusual either. There is a limitation on conclusions drawn from *all* research - again, it is up to the researcher to be conscious of this.
Cormac [[w,m,b:en:User:Cormaggio]]
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