Wikipedia Project Final Review

Wikipedia Project Conclusion

First, I have to admit, I have done this project slightly wrong. However, I'd like to think my mistake was actually beneficial to the wikipedia community. Instead of making three edits and one summary post for each of my four articles, I accidentally made four edits for each post. I was I could say it was out of the kindness of my heart, but it was rather a simple misinterpretation of the project guidelines. If you would like, you can just skip over all my "Edit #4's" because they are all simply grammatical revisions. Anyway, I will now attempt to bring some closure to this Wikipedia project as I sum up my editing history in the space below:

Red Hot Chili Peppers:
These edits were the most enjoyable as they allowed me to reconnect with my favorite band while making a meaningful contribution to their web page. My edits for this band were more obscure and subtle than any of my other edits. I really tried to add value from a fan's perspective by including minor details and interesting anecdotes about the band members. Interestingly, most of my edits were left untouched despite their lack of proper citations. However, my first edit was , in fact, quickly wiped away. Nonetheless, I was able to learn from that set back and eventually make contributions that endorsed the same type of specialized content, but in a more official, factually supported way.

Entourage:
I also enjoyed making these edits as one might be able to tell from my posts. Like the Chili Peppers, this article gave me the chance to truly realize how obsessed I was with this show. Nonetheless, the article for this show was much less complex and comprehensive than any of the other articles I edited. Therefore, it was much more difficult to make meaningful contributions without repeating material or having my content transfered to another derivative Entourage article. However, I was quickly able to find my niche in the site and eventually made two significant contributions that have been verified and have not been deleted. One of my edits, an addition to the "Cameo" section, really showed me the importance of an open source wiki-style article. My edit was made very soon after the show had aired and was a necessary and timely addition to the site. The content in the article was able to remain current and accurate despite the main editors' lack of urgency in making this relatively minor revision.

The New York Giants:
This series of edits were not particularly enjoyable. It is tough to make updates to your favorite team's website regarding their management's persistent failure to improve the team in the off season. While many of my edits for this article had morphed into subjective rants about the team's ineptitude, I do feel they were important from a fan's perspectives. I think the wiki-honchos definitely jumped the gun when they quickly edited out some of my additions. I think the community could have worked together to alter the content I added and create a more objective commentary that addressed the same issues. Fortunately, I was able to get back at my fellow editors by removing some useless content from the introduction paragraph. Though I do feel my edit was necessary, it was mostly motivated by a personal vendetta I had against the site's editors. This personal bias, along with my less than honorable intentions, reflect some of the downfalls of having open source wiki's that can be freely edited.

300:
My decision to edit this article mostly came out of the five months of eagerness and anticipation I felt waiting for this movie. It did not disappoint, and I felt compelled to share not only my personal feelings on the movie, but the obvious implications the movie's success had on the future of digital film making. This notion was embraced by the other editors, despite their quick elimination of my specific edit, and was indirectly transferred into other sections of the article. In this sense, I feel still was able to make a contribution. In addition, I made a factual edit regarding the movie's nominations for the MTV Movie Awards. Again, I was able to do research and find information to add that others had not yet come across. However, the other editors decided to move my edit from the "reviews" section to a newly created category called, "Award Nominations." This really represents the collaborative efforts of the wiki-community and the obvious benefits of open source technology. People from all over the world and who have various expertise are able to actively work together to create the most clear, accurate, and well organized store of information on a topic.