[WikiEN-l] What's going on? - Inquiry 2

[David Gerard]

On 13/09/2007, George Herbert <george.herbert at gmail.com> wrote:

> Regarding the burnout problem; I am beginning to think that the
> fundamental problem is with the personality of the people who make
> good editors and admins.  We are the types of people who, while
> basically functional in normal society, also can get very focused and
> obsessed on particular points.


There's also the participation cycle. Elonka Dunin (User:Elonka) has
done some work on Wikipedia as MMORPG. The typical participation time
in an MMORPG is six to eighteen months. When she said this, I'd
already noticed myself that some people I thought were great editors
or admins would burn out and discover real life after eighteen months
or so ... so, to be an old-timer on Wikipedia, just stick around for
two years.

I find bouncing from job to job keeps things fresher. Also, remember
to write articles. I haven't had an article deleted lately :-)


- d.