Now it’s adding new features to make it easier for users to do their own edits such as suggestions for easy first steps like cross-linking different articles. The company is introducing new features since 2019 to make the platform easier for newcomers and now finally when users log in to Wikipedia accounts, see a landing page for new editors. These new editors will be assigned to mentors to answer their queries. Through the landing page, they will be allowed to make small edits.
Wikipedia Editing Getting Easier for Newbies
While telling about it, product manager Marshall Miller said: “The Wikimedia Foundation was noticing that there were problems with the retention of new editors, meaning that a lot of people would attempt to start editing but fail and not stick around,” Simple Edits are also introduced for newcomers to help them with error-free content and suggestions to participate. Other than this, Wikimedia is adding guidance for suggested newcomer tasks like copy-editing and an option called “structured tasks,” which allows adding relevant images and cross-wiki links to pages. Wikimedia’s new system is designed with the goal of providing newcomers with rewards to keep their interests intact. These rewards include best editor tags. An Impact section is also incorporated on the newcomer page to show how many pageview articles they have edited. While the changes being made are quite technical, the basic goal behind it is to connect people who feel comfortable connecting with other humans in the Wikipedia community. “here are community members who are concerned that the more newcomers interact with automated processes, the less they understand the fundamentals of the wiki process, the community-based process,” No doubt, launching new editing tools is quite important when it comes to helping people make quick edits. Let’s see how these features will make the platform a healthy place for new editors. Also Read: Chinese Housewife Spent Years Writing False Russian Medieval History on Wikipedia
