Who Makes Edits To My Brand's Wikipedia Article?
Despite Wikipedia being one of the most ubiquitous websites on the entire internet, there still exists a misunderstanding as to how content on the site is edited, and how it gets there in the first place.
Wikipedia is an open-source project, with thousands upon thousands of editors who dedicate their personal time to making sure each page on the digital encyclopedia is up to snuff.
Wikipedia’s editors are just like you and me, and understanding their motivations and the rules they follow is a crucial component to successful engagement on the site.
Important Information to Know About Wikipedia
If you are looking to understand how content on a Wikipedia article got there, then you need to review and understand the history of the article's development.
There are a handful of questions to consider when assessing the history of a Wikipedia article: How frequently is the article being edited? Who were the last editors to make major changes? Has content on the article been edited incrementally, or have there been large restructurings made by a single editor?
Getting a handle on these questions before attempting engagement will make your life much easier, as you’ll begin to understand exactly how Wikipedia functions, and the thought process of editors on the site.
Who Are Wikipedia’s editors?
Wikipedia editors are sometimes referred to as Wikipedians and come from a wide range of demographics and professional backgrounds.
According to a survey conducted by Wikipedia, 84% of editors on the site are male. Overall, 59% of editors at between the age of 17 - 40, which is by far the most popular age range. Since Wikipedia is a volunteer service, these editors are spending their personal time trying to make the website as strong as possible.
Wikipedia categorizes its editors into eight different denominations:
Students: in the context of a course
Enthusiasts: people with an interest in a particular subject
Insiders: people who work for an organization
Dabblers: people who see some problem with an article and want to help
Scholars: researchers who want to use Wikipedia as an additional dissemination platform
Archivists: people who work or volunteer at a museum, archive, or library wanting to contribute artifacts, like 18th-century paintings
Marketers: individuals, staff, members, or a PR firm seeking to promote a product, service, or brand
Evil-doers: spammers, vandals
While not every editor falls into one of these categories, Wikipedia generally regards the large majority of its volunteer editors to come from one of these groups.
Can I See Who Made A Specific Edit On A Wikipedia Article?
Yes, sort of. Since Wikipedia is an open-source project, all edits are permanently visible via the “View History” tab on an article. By clicking that, you’ll be taken to the Revision History page, where all edits are made public. To see what the change was for each one listed, click the circle next to the one you want to view, and the other circle of the one you want to compare it to. Then, click the “Compare selected revisions” button.
Wikipedia users who are logged in at the time of making an edit will have their account name attached to the change. If they are not logged in, their IP address will be shown attached to the alteration.
While you can see the editor's user name, this will not necessarily tell you anything about the person who made the edit. Wikipedia strongly defends the rights of its volunteer editors to anonymity if they so wish and oftentimes editors will have pseudonymous user accounts. The site has strict rules about not "outing" an editor's real-life identity if they do not choose to disclose it themselves. However, if an editor does not have a user account (or does not log into it) their IP address is visible in the edit history. This is one way that Wikipedia's editors uncover bad actors, as they can identify the location and sometimes the organization from which IP address edits are made.
How are edits approved on Wikipedia?
While it is true that anybody can edit anything on a Wikipedia article, these changes also can be reversed by anyone, and are usually done so by a knowledgeable Wikipedia editor. These dedicated volunteers on the website often monitor specific articles they care for the most, meaning any erratic edits are often undone quickly.
Here are some of the most common reasons changes are reverted by a Wikipedia editor:
The edit contained inappropriate content
The edit was not sourced properly
The changes were not written with neutral language
The edit was considered vandalism
Each editor on Wikipedia has a different style. While they follow the same rules, some may prefer less text on an article or even err on the side of preferring not to have an article for a topic if there is not an abundance of sourcing (properly known as a deletionist), and others may be more willing to add additional context to articles or create new articles.
To get to know each editor on Wikipedia, next to their username in the edit history click “contribs.” This will bring you to all of the changes they’ve made recently, revealing their style.
They will also have a Talk page, just like any regular Wikipedia page. This serves as a wall where anybody can comment and bring up a specific concern, typically used for discussions on page edits.
Becoming more familiar with Wikipedia editors will help you understand how each of them works, what topics they’re interested in, and how to communicate effectively with them while in accordance with the site's policies regarding content.
In the long run, this will help you learn how to work with them and achieve the best outcome possible for your Wikipedia article.
