Forum talk:Proposal for a Civil Society Quarter page

This looks good. It'll be interesting to see how it develops. Angela (talk) 14:41, 6 Nov 2005 (UTC)

Scope
"It's for anyone who's most interested in those wikicities which are about perhaps slightly more serious, longer lasting, Civil Society type topics, so for example wikicities in the Society, - or also Anthropology, Art, Biology, Communication, Culture, Ecology, Education, Food and Drink, Health, History, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science, Social Sciences, Sustainability, Technology and Transport categories"

I'm not sure that "Civil Society" captures the full range of topics that are listed above. The top 20 wikicities are dominated by popular entertainment, hobby and computer topics. Wikicities that grow easily involve topics for which there is a large existing community of computer-savvy users.

It makes sense to have a support system for wikicities that are devoted to topics that do not have a large existing community of computer-savvy users. An important element of that support would be having something on the Main Page that informs new arrivals that there is support for "slightly more serious" topics. It is currently all too easy for people to look at the top active wikicities and conclude that wikicities is some sort of computer nerd and gaming site.

1) I suggest that there be a better way of introducing potential wikicity participants to the wiki environment. Over the past 6 months I have introduced many people to wikicities and for those people without a computer background, a common reaction is "this is too complicated for me". We need a simple and exciting way of getting such people past their fears and into a new frame of mind where that see wiki as a tool that they can use to express their own interests.

2) I suggest that the central wikicity host a "cultural crossroads" where only smaller wikicities participate (the top 20 wikicities would be excluded). The "cultural crossroads" would be a set of pages devoted to creating an intellectually stimulating environment where enthusiasm about Civil Society type topics, Anthropology, Art, Biology, Communication, Culture, Ecology, Education, Health, History, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science, Social Sciences, Sustainability, Technology can be shared. Ideas could be shared for how to "get the word out" that wikicities devoted to such topics exist. Ideas could be shared for how to get users past their internet passivity and into being wiki editors. --JWSchmidt 18:06, 6 Nov 2005 (UTC)


 * Excluding the top 20 wikicities would unfairly exclude some, such as the 3000-article Genealogy wiki, which are serious wikis (that one, for example, touching on Anthropology, Art, Communication, Culture, Education, Food and Drink, Health, History, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Social Sciences, and Transport) but with perhaps only a few contributors. A different selection criterion, please! Apart from that, I like the whole idea. Robin Patterson 19:09, 7 Nov 2005 (UTC)

You are correct. It was silly of me to reflexively suggest the top 20. The top 20 is arbitrary; it just happens to be the group that is now on the Main Page. The point is, there are some large wikis hosted by Wikicities that have an established and active group of editors and do not need the type of nurturing that we are talking about here. When I suggested excluding those established projects, I really meant that they should not be allowed to "set the tone" for the new efforts that are needed to help the smaller projects. I'm not interested in establishing a tone of "us vs. them". I actually think that the established projects should be included in efforts to help build the smaller projects. In particular, there should be more links from the established projects to related smaller wikicities. This is not a zero sum game where larger projects lose if they help smaller projects. Some possible criteria for distinguishing between larger "established" projects and smaller "struggling" projects: does the wiki show signs of growth in the number of active editors? If you look at "recent changes", is there daily activity by multiple editors? --JWSchmidt 23:13, 7 Nov 2005 (UTC)

A great idea
The filtering of content for new wikicity users upon arival is something I can see really developing in the next few years - especailly as the value of wikicities' contributions to the global cultural commons develops. There is also a definite need for assisting new users who may be interested in exploring the 'serious side' of wikicities. I'm in support of John's ideas above and would be happy to help this project along. I too am unsure if the name 'civil society' really gives a good impression of what's on offer, but then again, that may just be exaclty what it is?? Mark Elliott (talki) 12:50, 7 Nov 2005 (UTC)