User blog:LostInRiverview/Community Chat: November 18, 2015

Welcome to the Community Chat blog. This blog is intended to be a semi-regular feature by which I can interact with the community and the community can interact with itself. Unlike The Sims Wiki Weekly News, this blog is intended specifically for editors on The Sims Wiki (though obviously anyone is allowed to read it and comment on it). I wanted to start up a blog series so that we could discuss the wiki, without getting involved in "community discussions", or other processes that can bog us down. I hope that these blogs will be able to serve as a good forum for interaction between members of our community.

Before getting into the meat and potatoes of this blog post, I want to thank the community for giving me the opportunity to serve the wiki in this capacity. I also want to emphasize that I am always open to talking about the wiki, my role in it, my actions and my ideas. If you are confused or concerned by anything I do, please leave me a message and I will be more than happy to talk to you about the issue(s). I do not see the Community Director position as being one of authority, and I do not intend to act in an authoritarian manner. I sought this position so that I could take active leadership in community issues; it is my intent that I continue to operate as a leader and not as a "boss." That said, you can feel free to disagree with me about anything I say and do, and I will consider any criticism or any concerns.
 * Thank you for the opportunity

I have many ideas in my mind for ways to improve The Sims Wiki Community. But, before I get to work implementing wide-ranged plans, I feel it would be helpful to answer a few questions. The first question sounds simple, but it is deceptively complex. Who are we? Now, you might say that The Sims Wiki is a "collaborative encyclopedia for everything related to The Sims series, that anyone can edit." And while that is true as a descriptor for the wiki itself, I don't believe this definition does justice to the The Sims Wiki community.
 * Who are we?

What is the community? On the most basic level, the TSW community is a group of editors who edit The Sims Wiki. But this definition does not say anything about us specifically. The Sims Wiki Community is, after all, unique; we have our own rules, guidelines and customs, we have a culture within our wiki, we have guiding principles and ideals, and perhaps even a shared vision. So to answer the question of who we are, we must surpass the simple explanation of what we are.

In my mind, The Sims Wiki Community is a group of editors who are dedicated to building a comprehensive encyclopedia of The Sims. The Community is focused on upholding a core set of ideals to maintain a cooperative atmosphere in which many people from all over the world can come together to build something which is better than any one of us could build on our own. Our policies, guidelines, principles, et al, are framed around this overarching principle.

As Community Director, I feel it is important for all the members of the community to have a good idea of what our community is and what we as a community strive to achieve. In order to answer the questions about what we want and how we want to achieve those goals, we have to have a good understanding of who we are as a community.
 * What does this have to do with anything?

This open-ended question brings us around to some...

I gave my own interpretation of the TSW Community above. But, I really want to know what you think about the Community. In a few sentences, how would you describe the TSW Community, its practices, and/or its ideals? Your responses to this question are going to be useful to yourselves and to everyone else later on, as we transition into defining some of our core ideals and goals. I'll be writing more about this in the next Community Chat blog.
 * Homework

I would greatly appreciate any insights you can provide into these topics; please leave your comments down below, and be sure to respond to other users' comments as well.

As I've mentioned, I have several ideas for new or reborn initiatives on The Sims Wiki. You'll see more of those coming forward in the coming weeks. However, I definitely want to hear your ideas, your concerns and your thoughts! If you've had a burning idea for a way to improve things around here, please drop me a message or leave a comment.
 * Wrapping it up

Thanks for reading,

--  LiR talk • blog  •  contribs 04:40, November 18, 2015 (UTC)