Difference between revisions of "It's About Us"

AboutWho? -- About Us

A wiki often doesn't develop in exactly the way we would have expected or hoped it would. It's tempting but surprisingly ineffective to demand that others do things our way. In other words: everything we do here, we do as a community -- every wiki page, every portal is communal work. By contributing work to a wiki, we trust the community to recognize the value of our work. The greatest challenge is then to respect the community, even though we might not always agree.

Recognizing the value and the will of the community is the first step towards following the rest of The Wiki Way. In fact, many of the principles of The Wiki Way become obvious, once we connect with the truth that it's actually "About Us"!

Connecting it to the Core

The reminder Its About Us connects seamlessly to our three other core-values: Assume Good Faith, Real People, and Be A Builder. To commit to the values of Its About Us -- essentially an acceptance of communal endeavour -- we must first Assume Good Faith by trusting and valuing the community we are engaging with. In a similar vein, it is easier to work with a community of Real People than their handles. Finally, in order to be an active member of AboutUs, you must Be A Builder by contributing to the site.

Why is this important?

Working as a community creates a multi-faceted, information-rich commons. By embracing collaboration instead of battling it, we all improve. Metapher burried in the history of this page: Fingers that work together have a better life than fingers that insist on going it alone. For example, a solitary finger has a hard time feeding itself. A finger that works with a thumb and other fingers is part of a hand, that can grasp and manipulate all sorts of tasty and nutritious morsels. Yeah, it's better for each of us if we all work together.

How do I do it?

1. Edit preferably with your RealName. When you have a good reason to protect your person and you can create value for the community only this way, do it at least SemiAnonymously to take responsibility and build mutual trust.
2. Try Egoless Writing. I.e. add a little value and let someone else take the credit (if they're seeking credit they probably need it more than you)
3. Respect alternative views. When you disagree with someone on a wiki, it is tempting to delete their point of view and replace it with your own. Instead, respect their point of view, even if you find it misguided, and respond to it with your own. This will afford other visitors a balanced perspective and fairly represent both sides.
4. Cultivate Patience. When someone makes a change to your work that you don't find helpful ... let it sit for a full week before you touch it again. Maybe by the time you come back to it you'll see it with different eyes. Or, better yet, perhaps someone will come along and recognize what both of you are trying to accomplish and tweak the work so that both of you are satisfied.
5. Propagate the meme G ItsAboutUsNotAboutMe. As soon as you've practiced some of the suggestions on this list, add {{Badge:ItsAboutUsNotAboutMe}} to your Personal page so that you can help propagate the Meme.
6. Occasionally publicly remind yourself that ItsAboutUs when you find yourself overly attached to your own way of doing things

The following list of folks understand the WikiWayLesson described on this page and have made the decision to get better at living "ItsAboutUs" through regular reflection and practice. Furthermore, they are actively propagating the ItsAboutUs Meme by adding {{Badge:ItsAboutUsNotAboutMe}} to their PersonalPage.