Wikipedia:Editor reflections

This page is about experienced editors reflecting on their own experiences, with a specific emphasis on what it was like to be a new editor. Its creator, Clovermoss, said this about the page:

It was inspired by my experience meeting people at WikiConference North America and wanting to recreate that feeling onwiki. It's been thrilling to see the perspectives of so many Wikipedians. I think the best way to approach all this is to read it for yourself as open-ended answers and authenticity can never truly be summarized the way a simple survey with yes/no answers can. On a somewhat frequent basis, I issue invitations to participate here. This is not a requirement and people are free to pitch in without a formal invitation as long as they consider themselves to be an experienced editor. Please note that this page has gained widespread interest (there are more than 90 page watchers) and some people from the Wikimedia Foundation have expressed interest in reading these reflections. If you're not comfortable with other people reading what you have to say, you do not have to participate.

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Questions

When did you start editing Wikipedia?
Why did you start editing Wikipedia?
If you could go back in time, what do you think would've helped you as a new editor?
Did you have help as a new editor? What worked and what didn't?
Do you think you'll keep editing for the foreseeable future?
Have you ever been involved with WikiEd?
Have you ever edited on mobile? If so, what are your thoughts on it? If not, why not?
Is there anything you would change about Wikipedia? (Question added June 13, 2024)
Feel free to also share anything else you wish to :)

User:Andrew Gray – September 22, 2025

When did you start editing Wikipedia?

My first edit was October 2004. (I may have made two or three edits the previous day as an IP). I *think* someone told me about it in summer 2003, but I never followed that up.

Why did you start editing Wikipedia?

I think maybe the most common route in - I found a mistake and corrected it. Nerdsniping! I really love that edit though - that corrected detail remained in the article right up to 2021, when it was tidied out during a (long-overdue) rewrite, just a couple of months before it would have finally needed to be updated.

If you could go back in time, what do you think would've helped you as a new editor?

I like a lot of the signposting we have now for suitable newcomer tasks, and so on, but honestly I had a pretty good experience as a new editor and I didn't feel I was lacking support. I'd created a new article and nominated another for deletion before I'd be considered autoconfirmed by current standards.

Did you have help as a new editor? What worked and what didn't?

There wasn't really much organised help around when I started, and it was possible to get really stuck into things without much guidance - there was so much to do, so you didn't really feel like you were stepping on people's toes or that there was any topic you couldn't find space to work in. I think it was months before I had any kind of significant argument with anyone, which probably helped!

I got into IRC and the mailing lists quite early on and that helped me feel I was well connected with the community.

Do you think you'll keep editing for the foreseeable future?

Yes, I can't see it ever going away. I've found it definitely goes through peaks and troughs - I spent about five years working mostly on Wikidata instead, and then the pandemic years were a bit of a wipeout for both - but I keep coming back to it.

The only thing I think that could make me give up on it would be a shift to LLM-generated content - I'm so glad we have avoided going down that route.

Have you ever been involved with WikiEd?

Not with the organised WikiEd program, but I did a lot of work with UK universities in 2012-13 as part of the British Library residency, and then sporadically for a few years after that. I wrote up some notes on that experience as Wikipedia:Participation by academic projects, I think my only project-space essay, but I am not sure it ever got much traction!

Have you ever edited on mobile? If so, what are your thoughts on it? If not, why not?

It works fine for small copyedits, but can be a pain with large sections of text.

Is there anything you would change about Wikipedia?

I'd like to see us stop being quite so prescriptive, particularly in issues of style. Our guidelines should describe what the community think is best practice, they shouldn't be treated as laws.

There are regularly big disputes where people feel we Have To Have A Rule on something that's ultimately a stylistic choice - or worse, feel that there is already a rule that can be teased out and made absolute by a lot of very close reading of existing guidelines, as though we're interpreting a constitution. The result is that it blows up into a massive dispute, lots of bad blood and ill-feeling, half the editors involved feel like they lost out, and no-one is satisfied. I think a broader acceptance that a lot of these topics don't have simple clear answers, that there isn't one Correct Solution to all stylistic choices, would help.

Feel free to also share anything else you wish to :)

A few years back, my partner was chatting to a younger colleague, and for some reason Wikipedia came up in conversation. "Oh, he's been working on it since the early days? I guess you must be rich now." I knew we missed a trick somewhere...

None of us got rich, but some of the nicest, most thoughtful, most dedicated people I've ever worked with have been here. I think sometimes we forget how amazing it is that so many people are just sitting down and giving untold hours of their lives to making other people better informed.

User:DrThneed – September 25, 2025

When did you start editing Wikipedia?

In May 2018

Why did you start editing Wikipedia?

I generally describe myself at that time as overeducated and underemployed. I had just read a kid’s book, looked up the author on Wikipedia and noticed that some of her books had their own pages, but not the one I’d just read. So I made one. It was deleted right away of course because I hadn’t demonstrated its notability, but in the process I learned about the notability criteria, and so began the journey.

If you could go back in time, what do you think would've helped you as a new editor?

What really helped me get going properly was making contact with other editors in real life. It is much easier to find out where you are going wrong, get help on technical issues etc if you know who to ask and can ask them directly. I was lucky that not long after my first foray into editing, New Zealand’s Wikipedian at Large ran an editathon on women in art in my city. Attending that gave me a good introduction to Wikipedia, made me feel part of a community, and got some basic questions answered. And I got my first sticker, which was quite motivating!

Did you have help as a new editor? What worked and what didn't?

Yes. One of the things that really helped was when we started our online meetups in New Zealand. We have monthly meetings, which started during Covid because the Wellington editors, who met fortnightly, couldn’t do it in lockdown. And once they were having online meetings there was no reason not to open them up to the rest of us. They are a great way of interacting as a community and sharing knowledge, plans and concerns. We regularly have some of our Australian friends join us too. o Before that I had had some negative experiences – I find the processes and policies around how to edit Wikipedia are generally covered in exhaustive detail but how the community works is opaque, so I really struggled with how to get help in the community when things went wrong. For instance, when I asked for help on social media when my edits to a page kept getting reverted, I was told I shouldn’t do that as I could be accused of canvassing. That was horrible, I hadn’t even heard of canvassing, let alone that it wasn’t alright, and I wasn’t getting any help from the Teahouse or the WikiProjects I had asked. I ended up giving up and walking away for a while.

Do you think you'll keep editing for the foreseeable future?

Yes. I’m a Wikimedian in Residence now, at the university. It’s part time for six months, so my focus is much more on teaching and talking about editing than actual editing, but still, I can’t see me stopping. My focus does switch around though, I lead the New Zealand Thesis Project which involves a lot of Wikidata work. And I’m getting more into Wikimedia Commons now, and setting a tentative foot into WikiSource. So much to explore!

Have you ever been involved with WikiEd?

WikiEd is limited to North America, and I’m based in New Zealand, so no I haven’t been involved directly. But anyone can use their training materials, https://dashboard.wikiedu.org/training, and I find those useful to see how they are teaching various concepts. It is frustrating to me, as someone who deals with Wikipedia in high education, that we don’t have a worldwide WikiEdu. I find that as someone involved with Wikidata and Wikipedia and whose interests are in research, library metadata and women and science history, I end up interacting with a variety of Wiki communities, including GLAM, Higher Education, Wikidata and Libraries and Wikimedians in Residence.

Have you ever edited on mobile? If so, what are your thoughts on it? If not, why not?

Once or twice, for things that needed correcting quickly. I like to see more of an article than is easy on a mobile though! And typing is just so much easier and faster on a keyboard.

Is there anything you would change about Wikipedia?

That’s such a broad question! Personally, I would love to see English Wikipedia ban LLM-created content. We are one of the last trusted places on the internet and I think we stand to lose the trust of our readers with AI generated content of any kind. I was upset to take part in a contest recently and discover that the winner had used AI to destub hundreds of articles when I had been doing it all the hard way. I didn’t care about not winning, but I was upset that by competing with them I had potentially pushed them to create more content in a way I don’t approve of.

User:Mariamnei – September 30, 2025

When did you start editing Wikipedia?

I began editing Wikipedia in January 2024, soon after I started my PhD.

Why did you start editing Wikipedia?

During my undergrad studies, I often turned to Wikipedia as a starting point to explore new topics. It was a great way to gain some initial understanding, and from there, I would dive deeper through the recommended bibliography. As my research (focusing on the interactions between the Greco-Roman world and the ancient Near East) developed, I realized that many of the subjects I was passionate about were underrepresented on the platform. After using Wikipedia for so long, I wanted to give back to the community and help make the incredibly fascinating histories of these cultures and periods more accessible to everyone.

If you could go back in time, what do you think would've helped you as a new editor?

I would have loved to have had a mentor to guide me through the early days of editing. While my background provided me with the research skills I needed, understanding the specifics of Wikipedia's guidelines was a steep learning curve. I honestly didn't grasp what a high-quality article should look like until I started nominating GAs and working through the checklists! Additionally, I believe there's a lack of easily accessible resources to help newcomers navigate the platform with more confidence. Simple, clear guides explaining how to contribute effectively and what's required to get involved in different areas of Wikipedia would have made a huge difference.

Did you have help as a new editor? What worked and what didn't?

I was fortunate to receive guidance from some experienced editors who offered valuable advice along the way, as well as from the GA reviewers I worked with, all of whom were incredible! However, I must say that there aren't many contributors focusing on the ancient Eastern Mediterranean, just a small handful of us. This makes it challenging to find the right support and exchange ideas within my field.

Do you think you'll keep editing for the foreseeable future?

Definitely! Editing Wikipedia aligns so well with my research interests, and I really enjoy being part of this community! As my studies progress, I just love to continue contributing, especially as I read new findings and insights from my research on the Eastern Mediterranean and Roman Empire. These days, it's hard for me to read a paper without immediately thinking about where I can add this new information to Wikipedia!

Have you ever been involved with WikiEd?

Honestly, I hadn't come across it until I saw this question, but I'm definitely open to learn more!

Have you ever edited on mobile? If so, what are your thoughts on it? If not, why not?

No, I haven't edited on mobile! does it even work well? The level of detail in editing is so precise here that I can't imagine handling things like infoboxes or adding sfns without a mouse and keyboard. That's how I do most of my work, so I prefer to have all the necessary tools at hand.

Is there anything you would change about Wikipedia?

I would improve the collaboration tools to make it easier for editors in different fields to connect and work together. Maybe the platform could suggest editors to connect and collaborate with based on editing history or interests. A more intuitive way for experts to connect and share resources would certainly improve the quality of articles. I'd also focus on making it easier for new editors to get started. Right now, there's so much to read and understand before you can begin editing confidently. The learning curve is not the simplest, which might discourage talented people who could contribute, but are intimidated by how complex it all seems.

Feel free to also share anything else you wish to :)

I would just like to say that I am happy grateful that Wikipedia exists, even with its flaws. It's an incredible resource that has democratized knowledge in ways that were not possible before! If it didn't exist, I think it would have been essential to create something like it, open-access knowledge is crucial in today's world. Mariamnei (talk) 12:16, 30 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Wikipedia:Editor reflections

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User:Andrew Gray – September 22, 2025

User:DrThneed – September 25, 2025

User:Mariamnei – September 30, 2025