<img src="images/editors-rise-decline.png" height="500" alt="Rise and decline in numbers of editors on EN Wikipedia">
<small>Source: Halfaker et al. "The Rise and Decline of an Open Collaboration System: How Wikipedia’s reaction to popularity is causing its decline"</small>
\begin{itemize}
\item exponential growth in number of edits/editors on Wikipedia beginning 2006 (see figure~\ref{fig/editors-rise-decline})
\item so, exponential growth in number of unconstructive edits
\item need arouse for a (more) automated quality control
\item with time, a number of mechanisms were implemented
\item filters came \emph{after} bots and semi-automated tools
\item filters are quite powerful, providing the functionality to disallow editors' actions from the start
\item gap in the scientific literature regarding filters; because of the reasons listed above — a scientific inquiry into them is due
\caption{Rise and decline in numbers of editors on EN Wikipedia\cite{HalGeiMorRied2013}}
\Description{Rise and decline in numbers of editors on EN Wikipedia}
\label{fig/editors-rise-decline}
\end{figure}
\begin{comment}
<img src="images/example-vandalism-veganism-2.png" height="500" alt="vandalism example in the Veganism article on EN Wikipedia, Jan 2019">
<img src="images/Screenshot-trigger-disallow.png" height="500" alt="Screenshot of an edit filter disallow message displayed to an editor">
...
...
@@ -202,16 +218,12 @@ number, etc.)?
apply the insights to less open systems
* "anyone can edit": increasing popularity in 2006; -> increasing need for
quality control
* edit filters a one particular mechanism for quality control among several,
and one previously unstudied
* seem relevant to understand how and what they do since they make it possible
to disallow edits (and other actions, but above all edits) from the very
beginning
Others were worried it was getting increasingly untransparent how the encyclopedia functions and not only ``[k]eeping traces obscure help[ed] the powerful to remain in power''~\cite{ForGei2012},
but entry barriers for new users were gradually set higher~\cite{HalGeiMorRied2013}:
They had to learn to interact with a myriad of technical tools, learn wiki syntax, but also navigate their ground in a complex system with a decentralised socio-technical mode of governance~\cite{Geiger2017}.
Ford and Geiger even cite a case in which an editor was not sure whether a person deleted their articles or a bot~\cite{ForGei2012}.
