ReciprocalImprovement

MeatballWiki | RecentChanges | Random Page | Indices | Categories

Wikis are or should be a Wiki:ComfortableSpaceForDisagreement. By editing a wiki, you get used to be corrected by others: it's normal, what you write can always be improved; wikis and wiki pages are always a work in progress. Moreover, if you express an opinion someone can improve, correct or counter-balance it, and then you learn something new. «One of the "social features" of a wiki is that it forces the community to deal with disagreements about content. (In a wiki a given page name can only have one "current" version.)» (ViewPointComments); NeutralPointOfView forces users to collaborate on a text. Wikis are not unidirectional, and when users are working together on something they always learn from each other. Collaboration means ExperienceSharing?: everyone can learn something from others. CollectiveIntelligence is a good thing, but it doesn't mean that the intelligence doesn't have to be improved in everyone.

Therefore, do not keep your knowledge to yourself: if you see that a CommunityMember can improve somewhere, tell him, or let him know by correcting yourself what he did. Remember that CriticismIsFeedback, and we need FairCriticism: be WarmHelpful. When you teach something to someone, you learn something too; hence, to correct or teach is not and should not appear as a superiority claim. In fact, wikis lead to a continuous ReciprocalImprovement. Moreover, WelcomeNewcomers? and transmit or write down CommunityLore to prevent InformationLoss and to Wiki:PrepareTheWay for people who will come even when you won't be there any more. That could be look like more unidirectional, but it's only the appearence, because new users bring new energy and improving CommunityLore means improving CommunityIntelligence?, so you always have something in return.

To make all that possibile you need to improve interaction and collaboration. If individualism and individual work on pages prevail, you won't have any ReciprocalImprovement or people improvement at all.

ReciprocalImprovement is one of the effects of the practice FosterEachOther.

CategoryWikiPractices CategoryConflict CategoryCollaboration

I'm not sure that the title of the page is the best possibile one. Initially, I thought that WikiPedia:Empowerment was the right word: ReciprocalEmpowerment?. But empowerment seems to be something unidirectional, but on the other hand such an oxymoron could be useful to express that wikis are special. --FedericoLeva

Discussion

SunirShah -- Fri Jul 30 15:33:27 2010

Hey Federico, this is the heart of what I enjoyed about wikis. HealthyConflict is fun; it's a way to learn and sharpen yourself when surrounded by peers seeking the same goal.

FedericoLeva -- Wed Aug 18 09:35:30 2010

Thank you for your comment! I'm very happy that you find that this page makes sense. Do you have some suggestion with regard to the title? And thank you for the link.