[WikiEN-l] The story of an article

[William Pietri]

On 01/04/2010 12:45 PM, David Gerard wrote:
>
> What was Aaron Swartz's numbers - a huge percentage of the actual text
> kept in articles added by anons? Then heavily processed by the
> regulars.
>
> But keeping out the n00bs is how to make Wikipedia decline into complacency.
>    

Makes sense to me. If nothing else, the non-garbage noob article 
contributions are great signals that a) there is a topic that some 
reader wants covered, b) where they expect to find it, and c) what they 
want to see there. All those are very valuable. Any actual content they 
provide strikes me as a bonus.

Plus, if we do it right, we've given them a taste of the heady power of 
making something happen on the internet. If you look at every editor 
active today who has been around more than a year, what percentage of 
their earliest contributions do you think have stayed? Pretty low, I'd 
guess.

I just looked and my first contribution is long gone, but I don't care. 
It was enough to hook me for at least 5 years of intermittent 
involvement and cash donations, with many more to come.

William