The model is intended:
Positive roles and transitions from them:
Negative roles and transitions from them:
The purpose of the role model is to build trust beyond individual interactions. The roles define acceptable behaviour and expectations in a kind of objective way. People are able to observe and compare. It's easy to stay within the boundaries of roles, thereby build trust, advance within the community and choose a fitting role. It's much easier than without a role model.
Therefore a role model is not about restricting freedoms. You can compare this to a system of roads. Typically we see roads as an advantage, because we can reach our goals faster than without them, although we are not as free to choose our way as (without roads) in the wilderness. To observe and design a sensible or workable role model may mean to build social highways.
Note that such a system is not hierarchical in nature. It may contain a hierarchy (for example different types of members) but it needn't. Within most online communities such a role model would reduce hierarchical phenomena, because a system of peers (members) is able to replace the natural hierarchical system of powers (owner, founder/host, more or less trusted people).
See also:
After writing SuggestedWikiRoleModel (probably early 2004?) there was little feedback or discussion. I felt that the model changed the way people looked at things, but in very subtle ways, so I was never sure about it. At WikiSym I got a lot of positive feedback which encourages me to rework the model. -- HelmutLeitner
Yes, such a flowchart would be nice. I'm just short on time, at the moment. -- HelmutLeitner
Chris, would "Activity in the interwiki space" be clearer? RespectedWikizen? was a result of drawing the diagram, there was an open space and it seemed logical to fill it that way. Would WellknownWikizen? be better? -- HelmutLeitner
Put the bubble on the axis. The point is that wikizen bridges inside and outside the community. -- SunirShah
I really love the flowchart! -- SunirShah
Yes. CollaborativeGraphicDesign would be nice. FireFox? will soon support SVG natively, making this possible. Alternatively, we could use Flash. -- SunirShah
Christophe, it's Freehand offering no SVG export. Can you work with Freehand files? Or give me the translations? Or suggest a better software to do such diagrams? -- HelmutLeitner
Ok, let's try them: