[Wikimedia-l] Editor retention (was Re: "Big data" benefits and limitations (relevance: WMF editor engagement, fundraising, and HR practices))

[Peter Coombe]

On 4 January 2013 13:03, Fred Bauder <fredbaud at fairpoint.net> wrote:
>
> The MUD I reference has both a MUD school where a presumably new user
> goes through the basic game moves and is instructed in them and, much
> more interesting and engaging, a complex Newbie zone where the new player
> faces an increasing complex series of challenges which successfully
> accomplish learning by doing. The coding on the particular MUD generously
> rewards every "right" move with "experience", "money", and other goodies.
> This is all very nanny and I doubt the average highly educated user who
> is a university professor or professional could accept being put to
> school in this manner in a compulsory way before being allowed to edit,
> but it could be available as an option. We could even have a "practice"
> wiki which was set up in this way as an option. Probably no one would use
> it though, I suppose, so whatever is done would probably have to be on
> the main site. It would be a sandbox, but a more active and monitored
> one, actually a set of practice articles in sandboxes.
>

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:The_Wikipedia_Adventure
which is a project very much along these lines. I'm not sure what the
current status of that is, but it definitely seems like a good
approach for at least some groups of newbies.

Pete / the wub