Forum:Wikians Vs. Socialians

I have been on wikia a long time and i have come to the conclusion there are 2 types of users: Wikians and Socialians.

What's a Wikian? Well, a wikian has the belief that wikis are made to display an accurate and detailed information on a subject or idea. This means he/she is more edit-focused. he/she edits main-space often, creates site discussions, and talks about improving a page on it's talk page. They most likely talk about the subject at hand rather than talking about outside wiki subjects.

What's a Socialin? Well, a socialin has the belief that wikis are made to create pages on a certain subject and to socially interact with users. This means he/ she is more social-focused. He/She talks on general discussions, creates blog-posts often, and talks about the subject of a page on it's talk page. They most likely talk about outside subjects and the topic of the wiki.

I could say their is a 3rd type of user: Vandals. But we all know what they do and wikis with mostly vandals are shut down.

Now, what does a Wiki with mostly wikian users look like? It probably is more productive main-space wise. It has pages that are in-depth and edited constantly. They revert vandalism lightning fast (like in seconds). They have distincted guidelines on how pages should be made and what pages should be created. This type of wiki uses main-space talk pages for improving content of the page. Most users on a wikian wiki know how to do coding and create & use templates, navboxes, and infoboxes. Wikian Wiki's most likely do not have a chat feachre and absolutely do not tolerate original-research and fan-fiction. They also may have a small community and take a long time to get a community consensus on a dissction or user right nomination.

Now, what does mostly Socialin users look like? It probably has a more comunity-centered edits. It has a chat feachure that any user, regardless of edits, can get on. They have message-board-style talk pages that users can easily talk to with. Their main-space talk pages discuss the topic the page is about. Socialin wiki's have more layed-back guidelines that are very broad. Blog post is usual what gets the users attention. Most users have never tried coding and have no idea what templates are (they may not even go into Source-editing mode). Pages are usually at basic quality and can display speculative information. Vandalism is reverted within minutes or even hours. Fan-fiction may be more open than a wikian wiki. Socialin users have a large amount of active users and community consensus can be very fast.

What i want to discuss is what type of wiki is better? Wikian wiki's do have better content, but a Socialin wiki's have a bigger community to create content. I have seen wiki's that are successful and unsuccessful with both type of users.

I think wiki's that have a mix of both type of users are the best. They make sure main-space content is at it's best, socialize, discuss, have plenty of users, and have a good time doing it. I believe this should be the goal of every wiki; and that's what Sonic News Network is doing :) 02:53, January 11, 2013 (UTC)