(Standard apology for cross-posting.) Greetings everyone!
I am pleased to announce a new project, WikiProject X, funded by a Wikimedia Foundation Individual Engagement Grant. WikiProject X's goal is to improve the experience of WikiProjects, which are subject-area (or goal-oriented) collaborative spaces on the English Wikipedia. By making WikiProjects easier to use and maintain, it will be easier to build sub-communities of like-minded people, giving editors a sense of community on a huge and daunting website like Wikipedia. This includes mechanisms for recruiting new participants and encouraging the creation of safe spaces where editors, new and experienced alike, can feel like they can participate in discussions without fear of intimidation or jargon. The project will begin with some research, both qualitative research in the form of interviews and case studies, and quantitative research based on Wikipedia’s database. Our focus will be on WikiProjects that have been successful in organizing editors, and learning more about what makes them work. Based on this research, we will develop new tools and interfaces that make WikiProjects easier to use and easier to maintain. Please note that this is an opt-in program for WikiProjects; no WikiProject will be required to make changes. I would like to invite the community to check out our new page on Wikipedia, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_X> (shortcut WP:WPX). There, you can share your experiences with WikiProjects and sign up to become a pilot tester. Community participation is crucial for the success of this project, and the more voices we hear, the better. If you want to sign up for more updates, sign up for our newsletter here: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_X/Newsletter>. Please let me know if you have any questions. I am very much looking forward to working with everyone on making this project succeed! Cheers, James Hare Project Manager, WikiProject X https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_X
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