The document discusses challenges with new editors contributing to trending Wikipedia articles. It finds that trending articles which are not semi-protected receive significantly more edits from new and anonymous users compared to semi-protected trending articles. During rapid events like natural disasters, coordination is difficult on high-traffic articles and editors migrated to IRC to manage contributions more effectively. The document proposes features to better engage readers of trending articles, like rating articles, providing feedback, or helping with maintenance tasks.

1. New editors not welcome:!
When Wikipedia articles trend

2. User experience with trending articles
Engaging with readers of trending articles
Supporting editor activity with trending articles

3. Daily page views for semi-protected articles
N
400
300
random
semi-protected
200
100
Views
10. 100. 1000. 10 000. 100 000.

4. Daily page views for semi-protected articles
total page views
median page views
semi-protected
6.4M
565!
random sample
109K
6
India: 7.8M
Australia: 7.3M!
Wikimedia Traffic Analysis Report for period April 2010 - March 2011

6. Erik Zachte, Edit and revert trends, 2010

7. Article Feedback: Semi-protection of frequently rated articles
(10+ ratings per day)
31%
46%
"
among top rated
of frequently rated articles
"
60%
among lowest rated
"
Data collected: 2011-10-12

8. Semi-protection of trending articles
(3x hourly views increase)
all trending articles unprotected trending articles
1.8% "
edits by new registered users
3.5% "
edits by new registered users
7.4% "
edits by new anonymous users
15.6% "
edits by new anonymous users
4x more edits
to unprotected trending articles than to semi-protected trending articles
"
Yusuke Matsubara, Trending articles and new editors, 2011

9. Coordination in high-traffic articles on rapidly changing events
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami!
533,700 page views in 1 day
Higher probability of locks/conflicts!
Ineffective on-site coordination
Migration to IRC
Success of encapsulated contributions!
208 edits to casualty count template
B. Keegan, N. Contractor (2011) Hot off the Wiki: Dynamics, Practices, and Structures in
Wikipedia’s Coverage of the Tōhoku Catastrophes

11. Engaging with readers of high-traffic articles
Edit article
Edit encapsulated sections of an article
Edit article with curation mechanism (flagged revisions?)
Rate article
Provide constructive feedback
Contribute sources/citations
Subscribe by email
Help perform general maintenance tasks
Learn that articles are not static
(even when they cannot be edited)
A trending/high-traffic article API to enable reader engagement features?!

12. Image credits
Kittens and Flowers for the Ewoks
CC BY-NC-SA image by Stéphan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4100711403
Darth Vader is watching you
CC BY-NC-SA image by Stéphan
http://www.flickr.com/photos/st3f4n/4020408210
Dario Taraborelli. New editors not welcome: When Wikipedia articles trend
!http://nitens.org/docs/slides/wmf-allhands-2011.pdf!