AeonRO:Article Collaboration
From AeonRO
Sometimes the creation or expansion of an article or collection of articles is too large or time consuming of a job for a single user. That's the perfect time for that user to seek out other users to collaborate with and create a more complete article or article collection.
What is Article Collaboration?
Article collaboration is a process in which multiple users combine their knowledge, time and ability to create an exceptional article or collection of articles, thereby expanding the amount of information that is shared on the wiki. Collaboration is an important part of many projects, and allows many users to distribute the workload of creating the article(s) as well as make them more complete by combining their knowledge.
Why should users collaborate?
It is important for users to work together through collaboration on large projects to ensure that the project gets completed as well as to ensure that the information contained within the project is as complete as it can be. If left to a single user, a large project is much more likely to be left unfinished, or if it is finished, it is much more likely to be missing information that would otherwise be useful.
Additionally, collaboration creates a team environment and helps to build the bond between members of the community. By doing so, users feel less like strangers that have never met and harbor more welcoming, friendly attitudes.
I would like to collaborate with others, but how?
There are many ways to create a collaborative project with other users. A user could decide on a topic that they would like to contribute to the wiki, and then actively seek out others to help with the project. This method is practical in a small community where users are already somewhat familiar with each other. In larger communities, however, a more successful approach would be to create an announcement of sorts that alerts other users to the fact that there is a collaborative project that is being formed or worked on. Not only does this outline the opportunities available for other users to help contribute in a simple, straight-forward manner, but also removes the exclusivity of privately requesting the aid of others. Even in a small community, the latter option is generally a better way to go about seeking others to collaborate with.
On the AeonWiki, there is already a public announcement variation of requesting collaborative help, which can be found on the community portal. Users who are seeking to create or expand their projects in collaboration with other users can list their projects there, allowing anyone to see what is being looked for and decide what they would like to help with, if anything. Users wishing to add their projects to the list may easily do so by editing the collaboration requests template and adding their project to the top of the list.
