Forum:How do I make my Wiki more active?

Hi, I'm Thatkidjasper, founder of Jokes Wiki. I need advice on making my Wiki a lot more active, with around 10 more editors. I really don't want to pay to advertise, but is there another way for getting more users?

Thanks, --ThatKidJasper - [Bureaucrat, Sysop] 17:34, November 29, 2009 (UTC)


 * Best to read w:c:help:Advice:SEO, and some other advice pages over at Help; click here for an overview. Mark (Talk) • (Contribs) 20:11, November 29, 2009 (UTC)

Just my personal opinion here...
I feel one of the most important ways of ensuring activity on your wiki would be the first impression... and I have to say mine was pretty negative. If you're open to some user feedback from someone who just got their first impression of your wiki, I'd like to share.

First, I know the wiki is supposed to be funny and everything, but by changing the typical line that usually says "anyone can edit" to "nobody can edit", I'm immediately turned off by the page. That kinda sets off a red flag in my mind that the caretakers of this wiki really don't care about my contributions.

Second, I would suggest less emphasis on the Announcements and Polls and more emphasis on the content. Personally, as a user of your wiki, I'd be looking for jokes, I wouldn't really care as much about wiki-specific announcements or polls as much as I'd be on what the joke categories are, and maybe a featured joke or something like that.

Third, posting rules in all caps and big bold letters is a pretty big annoyance by itself, but at the end when tell the reader that they MUST sign a pledge page to confirm that they read and understand the rules is an instant turn off. If there was any chance that I'd be an editor of a wiki before I read that, it would be gone by that point. Personally, part of the appeal of wikis is you can still make quality contributions without community involvement. I'm not saying that community involvement is bad or shouldn't be encouraged, but to make it mandatory seems pretty absurd to me.

--Deraxian 09:08, December 3, 2009 (UTC)