User:Ocaasi/whybadges

What is the Teahouse awards project?

The Teahouse awards project is an experiment with Badges for recognition, in an attempt to improve editor retention, activity, learning, and satisfaction. Data will be collected over the next [2-3 months] and then we'll have a discussion with the community about whether or not this is something we want to continue, or possibly expand.

What's a badge? How is it different than a barnstar?

Badges are a form of acknowledgement, easy ways to thank guests and hosts, to regularly point out where editors have made positive contributions. Like barnstars, badges reward achievement, but unlike barnstars, they are more like micro-awards for specific tasks, skills, and challenges.

Why give badges?

Teahouse research identified acknowledgements as a way to motivate and encourage editors to participate more fully. Badges recognize achievement, reinforce constructive behavior, and educate editors about what skills or feats they might try next. Survey research suggests that acknowledgements are especially appreciated by female editors, a demographic the Teahouse is trying to reach.

What kinds of skills will badges reward?

Badges will reward skills like creating a Teahouse profile, asking a great question, giving a great answer, serving as host maitre d', maintaining the Teahouse's welcoming and helpful atmosphere, suggesting ways to improve the Teahouse, fixing items on the Teahouse wishlist, and any other helpful steps that the Teahouse wants to recognize and encourage. There's also a wide-open opportunity to invent and suggest other badges that the Teahouse community might want to give out. Think big, go wild.

How will we know if this works?

This is an experiment, in two ways. One, we are trying something new. Two, we are measuring the results. O the smaller tasks and goals that editors accomplish on their way to mastering this site. To attempt to creatively fill that gap, a few editors have been putting together a new type of reward system called Badges. Badges, like Boyscout and Girlscout merit badges, are a type of micro-award, one given more regularly for specific skill acquisition and positive contributions; badges mark the steps towards success, the intermediate points between being an eager but lost beginner and an exceptional contributor.

What if people try to game the system?

Well, the first rule of Wikipedia is to assume good faith. Most editors won't game the system (that's why Wikipedia works). Still, it's conceivable that editors will award themselves badges without having demonstrated a skill or earned an achievement. We're frankly not too concerned about this possibility. Badges provide the most motivation when they are given and received, because they express appreciation from one's peers. We hope that people will want to earn these badges and that they will identify with the spirit and ethos surrounding them. But, if an editor decides to just self-award a badge, that's not likely to interfere with the positive effects of this program. We'll be keeping an eye out for any negative impact of badges on the Teahouse and editing behavior of participants, and should be able to control for self-awarding in our data analysis.

How does this tie into editor retention?

It's a widely recognized problem that the number of editors are gradually but surely dropping. There are many reasons for this--the complexity of the editing interface, the numerous and detailed policies, the stressful environment of sometimes heated debate, and the lack of social invitation and support for new editors. The Teahouse is one focused effort to remedy some of those issues. By providing a welcoming space for new editors to ask questions and receive clear and accessible guidance, the hope is that new editors will avoid some of the frustrating hurdles and access the excitement of this project more quickly and more efficiently. Badges are a way to further enhance the learning curve and improve motivation for new editors--but of course we'll have to see if it actually increases editor retention and improves meaningful editor activity. We hope it will.

Shouldn't editors be motivated by our mission alone?

The Teahouse is not tied to any rigid ideology about what should motivate editors. We're pragmatic and friendly folks, and we want to give editors experiences they will value but still benefit the encyclopedia as a whole. Learning a new and challenging task provides an opportunity to provide editors with a feeling of meaningful growth, meaningful choice, and mutual dependence. Meaningful growth involves paths to mastery with regular achievable goals in a way that doesn't overwhelm new users but provides visible progress and actionable milestones for tasks that matter. Meaningful choice means that the decisions of where and how to participate belong to the editor, that they can chart their own pathway towards success, traversing a variety of options and increasing opportunity. Mutual dependence is the social component to success, allowing editors to connect with their peers in a supportive way, to get feedback, and to earn recognition from others. Badges merely act as a "multiplier", encouraging existing behaviors by highlighting them and rewarding them.

Hmm... gamification, isn't that wrong for Wikipedia?

Gamification is a controversial buzzword, but all it really means is taking some ideas about motivation from games and applying them to other non-game situations. If you look closely, Wikipedia already has several game-like features, even though we are often more comfortable thinking of them in other terms. An editor can see their edit count, % edits reverted, article space edit %, summary %, % active days, edit count per active day, and most active day, DYK stats, and DYK development. An editor can place DYK, GA, and FA microbadges, service awards, barnstars, country barnstars and more more country barnstars, WikiProject awards and other awards and personal user awards. We also have WikiLove, userrights for reviewers and rollbackers and filemovers and admins and stewards checkusers and bureaucrats, account age, membership positions such as OTRS, clerks, and committees. We have Bot flags from (WP:BRFA), contributor contributor dashboards, trackers of articles created, and RFA scores,.. We have aReward Board, an edit count leaderboard, anti-vandal leaderboards, a WikiCup, backlog cleanup drives... You get the idea. Wikipedia uses what works, and different editors will be motivated by different things. Badges are just one way to motivate editors.