Raise The Wiki Page Potential

Raise The Wiki Page Potential This page is the result of applying insights from AlistairCockburn's "RaiseThePapersPotential".

Good Pages Receive Good Reception

Normally, the author of a Wiki page hopes that what he has authored will be well received.

The expectation is that given the traditional treatment, the page will receive criticism. Even a well written, factual, substantiated page will receive criticism and comments from those who are knowledgeable of what is contained in the page and who gather from the brief presentation the intention and the essence of what the author intended. The author expects that the page will receive mostly SuggestionsForImprovement, or questions requesting clarification. This is an expectation that should be realized. Because the Wiki is an environment which allows almost immediate feedback on the part of readers, Improvements can begin before the "ink gets dry".

Obliged To Respond?

What sort of replies should the reader make, and what should the author's reaction and response be to the various replies and comments that he will receive? How much of what follows the initial presentation should the author feel an obligation of response?

Elevation

He must realize that some of the replies may not be made by one who intends to "improve" or "elevate" the content, or mission, or essence of the page, and his actions/reactions should be made in a professional manner.

It can be expected that "People cannot always make a useful (here is how to fix it) suggestion. Nor is that always useful - often simply noting that there is trouble with a paragraph which will let the author think about and fix the paragraph."

Readers (In adding Comments) - Try This:

"With each comment, focus on what the page could be if a selected aspect were attended to.

Raise the page's potential. Accept that the author is good, that leaving the good things said in the praise section alone, the page can become either better or even remarkable. You may say, "I had trouble understanding why the author left this section in. It did not contribute much to me..." Now take on the burden of wondering what the page could become if that section were removed, replaced, or improved. When ...several... people do this, the power of the page increases. The goodness in the page stays, more good gets added. Several ... people interact to find how the knowledge of the author could be applied to benefit the Wiki. They see possibilities in the page that the author may not have, rather than just corrections or deletions.

Authors - Try This:

The author may intervene, with a comment "...And so a possible correction could be?", or "...How do you think I can work the current style / paragraph / topic to advantage, assuming that they wish to keep it basically the way it is?"

Continual Improvement of Attitude and Content

"With this process continuing through several iterations, and with concentration on improving each part of the page, the author is moved from a mood of negative apprehension (what horrible thing are they going to say next?) to one of positive attention (what good thing are they going to think of next?). The interaction of the readers and the writer continuously improve its content and you begin to see the page's potential rise and rise and rise."

See: PositiveDialogueCommunity, ContinualImprovement, WikiAji, ConstructiveCriticism, DevelopingIdeasUsingCommunityDialogue, IdentifyPagesWithUnidentifiedBrokenLinks

CategoryWiki, CategoryCollaboration, CategoryCriticism