User blog:PyroNacht/Regarding Contribution


 * Hi guys! Today, I wanted to provoke some discussion regarding how one contributes to a Wiki. I know that many of us go on different Wikis and have different roles regarding such, but I wanted to go over some of the more "unofficial" roles people have.

How I Used To Contribute

 * I joined Warriors Wiki as a different user in May 2012. Obviously, a ton of things change over the course of almost five years. Leaders change. Ideas change. Basically everything changes- except the core aspect that binds a community together. That is the way we contribute to our own individual Wikis.


 * When I joined, I was a mass editor. I loved to sit through the Alaskan summers and browse every single page of every single Warriors book I had just so I could add more information and citations to the Wiki. Doing so not only gave me a sense of purpose- which as an individual of the human race, I naturally desire- but it also gave me the sense that I was helping others.


 * However, as time went on, I began to take on a few absences. The books had lost their spark to me, and so, I started straying to other major Wikis where I could contribute. But then, one day, a question sparked in my mind.


 * Am I really happy doing this?

What Is Contribution?

 * Contribution is not only mass-editing Wikis, as I've come to accept over the years. Contribution means putting your own effort in- in your own specific regard. I realized this when one of the Wikis I was on tried to implement an editing limit before somebody could enter the chat-room. Even though I was originally extremely supportive of the idea, it fell apart on the Wiki. Several editors left- and there's few even now.


 * That led me to question how else can somebody edit? What is true contribution?

How Can One Contribute?

 * I haven't been a mass-editor since around 2014-2015. My attention span is short, and I have tons of real life commitments that I must attend to first. Granted, I will undo vandalism and the relevant as I see it. But I prefer to think I contribute to each Wiki I visit in my own manner.


 * I've never really been a social person in the way that I do not offer my trust easily. I don't mind idle chatter, truth be told, but I'm not interested in making a gazillion friends or being popular.


 * The reason why I hang around the chats so much is because I feel as if I can aid the Wikis in a socialization regard. I can offer my personal opinions on certain things (except coding- that's not my forte). I can support people who have their own Wiki ambitions. I can be like a cheerleader or coach for those who need it.

Conclusion

 * Everybody has their own form of contributing. Some like to edit with mass citations and write essays for the articles they edit. Some like to make pretty art. Some like to sit in chat and offer their advice as needed.


 * And quite frankly, that's all okay. ^^