Wikipedia is an Internet resource from which people can take information and also supplement it by creating new pages or editing current ones. Wikipedia contributors can work in collaboration to create quality content, improve it, and make it more relevant and reliable.
Group projects can be more consistent, full, and coherent than articles from one author, since members of the team can discuss and correct all lacks. However, this statement is true only if contributors do their best to fulfill their part of the work. For this reason, writers should realize the long-term goal of their work, the context in which the material is created, as well as the rules for publishing content to become an effective wiki collaboration.
The first aspect that wiki writers need to understand is the purpose with which they create a project, since most content requires expansion and updating. For example, when creating a page about a famous modern person, an author or co-authors will need to add career details, personal life, or other facts regularly so that it remains relevant. Even if the central theme of the page is a historical event, it can be supplemented or expanded with additional subpages about key personalities or terms to reflect the completeness of the information. In addition, understanding the goals will help to choose the appropriate security policies and editorial controls (Bovee & Thill, 2016). Thus, this step will help to find a convenient way to create and edit content for effective collaboration.
Moreover, writers can create not only new pages but also supplement existing materials. However, in this case, the contributor needs to understand whether his or her information is relevant and appropriate in the context. For example, a section about the Inquisition is inappropriate in the context of “witch trials” in the United States during the McCarthyism era, since this is only a figurative name for the persecution of communist supporters. In addition, the writer needs to make sure that he or she is not contributing information that already exists. Poor-quality and repetitive context significantly reduces the usefulness and effectiveness of the wiki collaboration, so contributors need to approach the choice of topics and information consciously and carefully.
Furthermore, formatting rules and guidelines is an essential part of creating content as they help organize information and make it easy to read. For this reason, the writer needs to study all the features of formatting and editing articles carefully before contributing it.
Although the wiki has private and open access functions for viewing and editing information by other participants, the collaboration will be much more efficient if each contributor performs his or her work with high quality in the first place. Fulfillment of all requirements and a responsible attitude to the project will positively affect the overall pace of work and its quality. These features will also help create a group project that can benefit not only its members but also other readers.
Therefore, writers should understand the goals of the project, the relevance of their information to the existing content, and the rules for formatting articles. These three key features contribute to teamwork and help collaboration be more productive. In addition, these aspects are essential for the understanding of each wiki writer, regardless of the type and topic of the articles he or she works on.
Reference
Bovee, C. & Thill, J. (2016). Business communication today. Pearson.