On wikimania 2007

Just to get this out of the way, I didn't actually go to wikimania (in Taipei). It would have been great, and I've even been there before, but I could not fit it into my schedule.

In any case, Jack gave us a great report about the conference (http://www.wikihow.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5581) and many of his insights.

I'd like to pull some of them apart and talk about them.

1) Administrator selection - For any long-time wiki contributor (whether it's WP or wikiHow), you know that admin selection is a harrowing and crazy experience. Those who are selected think it's the greatest thing since toasted bread, but those who have had to vote and discuss and vote and discuss find the entire ordeal frustrating and dirty. I often feel the need to shower after a long talk.

I like Jack's presentation of the idea that we should look at the personal aspects of an individual. In admin selection, without giving too much away, we often look at the objective, calculable items. This can be the quality of edits, the quantity of edits, the way they act in forums, etc. But we never delve into the personality of the individual and inquire about their ability to mesh with the admin group and assist other users.

2) Accuracy - OMG, if you even thought about how accuracy keeps some of wikiHow's users awake at night, you would go crazy too. There have been countless discussions about how accurate an article is or isn't. It's important to consider since wikis are editable by anyone, especially on wikiHow where a non-registered user can make the same edits as a registered one. wikiHow does have a one-up on WP though. We aren't always dealing with factual data. We are dealing with real-life how-to situations. It's fairly easy to tell if a task is impossible to perform or not, whereas a fact may or may not be true depending on the source.

3) In Person - This would be so cool! I'd love to meet fellow wikiHowians out there. The consistent problem is that we all have lives outside of wikiHow that force us to choose between that which we love to do (wikiHow) and that which we have to do (school/work/studies/etc.).

I can tell that wikimania made a significant impact on Jack (and Nicole who also attended). I think that it's great that wikiHow's name is easily more recognized in the wiki-community as being a good example.