User:Markdarb/My wiki philosophy

Wikis are absolutely great! There's no arguing about that (at least not from me). I think it's brilliant that everybody can work together as a community to contribute to some sort of resource, or to help each other through that resource.

Wikis have huge potential, some of which has been exploited, and some of which hasn't. Wikia's good, because it allows people to come up with new ways of using wikis and helps them on their way. For example, I thought a wiki would make a good pen pal directory, so I started Pen Pal Wiki. Now it's been Collaboration of the month, and it's slowly gaining more attention. Quite a few people have seen the potential in it, because it's the first wiki or pen pal directory of its kind. That's just one example of an interesting application of wikis.

Now, to my philosophy! Wikis are very much community oriented. Although one person, or a small group of people, start out on a wiki, the wiki is no use until other people start joining the community, contributing to it, and using it. Whilst the founder has to put in lots of effort initially, it should get to the stage where the wiki becomes more or less self sufficient (like Wikipedia). This is what I hope will happen with Pen Pal Wiki; and once it happens, I intend to step back and allow others to take control. Once I have the pleasure of knowing that the wiki is working, and that it has a happy community quite capable of looking after it, I would like to pass my administrator rights onto someone else and leave the wiki behind me, knowing that it's in good hands, and that I've started something. From there, I'd like to embark on some new wiki mission, helping to build a new community until it doesn't need me any more.

On the other hand, one person can't expect to continually found new wikis, and aspire to be some sort of wiki god; but I can certainly just slot into a wiki which interests me, and which I would like to see grow, and contribute to it for as long as necessary, and then flutter to more successive wikis in the same way.

To put it simply, I'd love to found or heavily contribute to lots of wikis; and in the fullness of time I'd like to be able to walk away from them with a sense of accomplishment, knowing that it's a job well done, and that various other people will keep it up after me.