Learning patterns/Filling content gaps

A learning pattern foronline engagement

Filling content gaps

problemThe pattern presents several ways filling content gaps on Wikipedia.

solutionCommunities should start holding on-wiki editing challenges that might engage active contributors to edit content on underrepresented topics.

creator• Kiril Simeonovski

discuss

endorse

created on13:12, 15 February 2017 (UTC)

What problem does this solve?

Content gaps in many topics exist on all Wikipedias. The reasons why some topics are underrepresented may be due to the lack of interest of the active contributors or the lack of reliable sources to reference the content. On the other hand, some users face periods when they have no idea on what to edit, which in some cases results in their temporary inactivity.

This pattern presents various editing challenges that might engage active editors in editing content on underrepresented topics with a twofold goal of filling content gaps and getting ideas for editing.

What is the solution?

Editing challenges held by the community with positive outcome on filling content gaps may include personal challenges or collective challenges. Personal challenges are those involving only one user whose goal is to contribute to a specific topic or several topics in a specified period of time. Collective challenges engage many users from a community or sometimes more communities who edit articles on pre-defined topics in a pre-determined period of time.

Personal challenges

Personal challenges encompass individual editing by users who aim at the creation of content in successive time periods. Examples include 100wikidays and 10 Wikiweeks.

100wikidays

Definition: 100wikidays is a personal challenge in which a user aims at the creation of at least one article for 100 days in a row.

Topic: The participants have freedom in selecting the topic, which gives them flexibility in interchanging topics from day to day. However, many instances have shown that participants usually stick to few topics they are contributing to.

Article size: The challenge usually ends up in the creation of short to medium articles given that the amount of time available for editing is only a day.

Thing to consider (optional): thematic 100wikidays (e.g. 100sportdays, 100physicsdays).

10 Wikiweeks

Definition: 10 Wikiweeks is a personal challenge in which a user aims at the creation of at least one article for 10 weeks in a row.

Topic: The participants have freedom in selecting the topic, which gives them flexibility in interchanging topics from week to week.

Article size: The challenge may end up in the creation of large articles given that the amount of time available for editing is a whole week.

Thing to consider (optional): thematic 10 Wikiweeks (e.g. 10 Wikiweeks in geography, 10 Wikiweeks in mathematics).

Personal challenges
	100wikidays	10 Wikiweeks
Duration	100 days	10 weeks
Number of participants	1	1
Topic	self-defined	self-defined
Article size	small-medium	medium-large

Collective challenges

Collective challenges consist of editing by many users on pre-defined topics in a pre-determined period of time. Examples include editing days, editing weekends, collaborative editing and editing contests.

Editing days

Definition: Editing days engage community members in editing articles on a pre-defined topic during a 24-hour period of a calendar day.

Topic: The topic for editing is defined by the community itself and it is usually an underrepresented one defined very precisely with limited choice (e.g. Medal tables at the Olympics, Countries at the Eurovision Song Contest, Churches in Paris).

Article size: The challenge usually ends up in the editing of short to medium articles given that the amount of time available for editing is only a day.

Thing to consider (optional): lists of articles as a tool to control content coverage and article size; commemorating public and religious holidays or birthdays of famous people with editing days.

Editing weekends

Definition: Editing weekends engage community members in editing articles on a pre-defined topic during a 48-hour period of a calendar weekend.

Topic: The topic for editing is defined by the community itself and it is usually an underrepresented one defined more generally (e.g. Football, Astronomy, Economics).

Article size: The challenge may result in the editing of large articles given that the amount of time available for editing is a whole weekend.

Thing to consider (optional): lists of articles as a tool to control content coverage and article size; promoting the challenge to make more communities get involved.

Cross-wiki collaboration

Definition: Cross-wiki collaboration involves several communities in editing articles on topics related to their countries, languages and cultures in a pre-determined period of time.

Topic: The topics are usually related to the countries, languages and cultures of the participating communities.

Article size: The challenge may result in the editing of large articles given that the amount of time available for editing is at least a week.

Thing to consider (optional): lists of necessary articles that users from the other communities are going to edit.

Editing contests

Definition: Editing contests engage community members to edit articles on a pre-defined topic in a pre-determined period of time in a competitive manner. Usually, the duration of the contests is one month, although it may be sometimes longer. More recently, editing contests involving participants from different communities have been taken place, which combine the concept of the editing contests with the cross-wiki collaboration (e.g. Wikimedia CEE Spring).

Topic: The topic for editing is defined by the organisers of the contest and it is usually an underrepresented one with broad choice for the contestants.

Article size: The contests most often result in high quantity and quality so that editing of large articles is very common.

Thing to consider (optional): prize categories as a tool to control content coverage and article size.

Attention! Unlike the other editing challenges which can be organised without any financial needs, editing contests require some budget to cover for the prizes.

Collective challenges
	Editing days	Editing weekends	Cross-wiki collaboration	Editing contests
Duration	1 day	1 weekend	can be any	can be any
Number of participants	more than 1	more than 1	more than 1	more than 1
Topic	pre-defined	pre-defined	pre-defined	pre-defined
Article size	small-medium	medium-large	medium-large	medium-large

When to use

... when willing to reduce content gaps on Wikipedia.
... when willing to increase productive editing.
... when willing to support community growth.
... when willing to integrate with other communities.

Endorsements

It will help to fill the gap. आर्या जोशी (talk) 04:53, 22 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Very well organized approaches to content gaps filling, both systematically and visually. :) →Spiritia 08:03, 23 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
Good Sidheeq (talk) 10:43, 23 February 2017 (UTC)[reply]
We used cross-wiki collaboration for the Carpathians Challenge. --Marta Malina Moraczewska (talk) 12:18, 18 May 2018 (UTC)[reply]