Research:Teahouse/Esperanza comparisons

Esperanza was an association of editors active on English Wikipedia in 2005/6. Comparisons with Esperanza have come up in a number of discussions about Teahouse, and we've found both similarities and differences between the 2 entities. The following table contains a brief compare and contrast in order to facilitate discussion. None of the Teahouse project leads were Esperanza participants and so notes on the association are purely based on the documentation that remains; editors who were active on Wikipedia in the days of Esperanza are encouraged to correct any inaccuracies.

Shared belief:	Both projects believe that Wikipedians need support and wikilove to succeed at what they do.
After this point the two projects diverge:
Issue	Teahouse	Esperanza
Launched	In 2012, in response to declining numbers of new and active editors. [1][2][3]	In 2005, in response to general mounting tensions between editors. [4]
Summary	"We are here to help new editors become accustomed to community culture, ask questions, and develop community relationships – supporting you on your journey to become experienced Wikipedian."[5]	"Its goal was to indirectly support the encyclopedia by providing support and other assistance for Wikipedians in need, and by strengthening Wikipedia's sense of community."[6]
Goals	To help new editors become experienced Wikipedians by giving them a place to ask questions and get help tailored specifically to their needs. More details [7]	To provide support and other assistance for Wikipedians in need, and by strengthening Wikipedia's sense of community, to encourage editors to stay with Wikipedia. [8]
Governance Model	Pilot jumpstart. Started as a 3 month fellowship pilot project led by 2 WMF Fellows to set up the space, recruit a set of experienced Wikipedians to participate, and set up an experiment to determine if the approach has any impact on new editor retention. Post-launch, decisions are made by talk page consensus. Intended to be entirely volunteer-run at pilot's end.	Bureaucratic/hierarchical. Esperanza described itself as an association and was governed for 1 1/2 years by an Advisory Council, made up of two tranches and an Admin General, elected two times a year, who made binding decisions about Esperanza on IRC.
Activities	Experienced Wikipedians answering new Wikipedian’s questions about editing.[9]	A group of programs centralized under the umbrella of Esperanza, providing general support for editors - activities ranged from admin coaching to birthday reminders to stress alerts for Wikipedians.[10]