The visual side of Wikipedia

The name "Wikipedia" has been associated with terms such as collaboration, volunteers, reliability, vandalism, and edit-war. Fewer people might think of "images," "maps," "diagrams," "illustrations" in this context. This paper presents the burgeoning but underexplored visual side of the online encyclopedia. A survey conducted with image contributors to Wikipedia reveals key differences in collaborating around images as opposed to text. The results suggest that, even though image editing is a more isolated activity, somewhat shielded from vandalism, the sense of community is an important motivation for image contributors. By examining how contributors are appropriating text-oriented wiki technology to support collective editing around visual materials, this paper reveals the potential and some of the limitations of wikis in the realm of visual collaboration. © 2007 IEEE.