See Kaylea’s talk “The Value of Anonymity: Evidence from Wikipedia” – at 3:15 pm on Saturday, November 12, 2022.
How can we better understand the value of anonymity in online communities like Wikipedia?
What is lost when people who prefer or need to remain anonymous are excluded?
How do platforms and communities respond to anonymity seekers?
In this talk, I’ll share results from a series of research projects to understand the reasons people seek anonymity, how and why anonymity-seekers are excluded, and the value of leaving space for people to remain anonymous while participating. I’ll conclude with an evaluation of the results of community efforts to manage participation from anonymous participants.
Kaylea Champion is a PhD Candidate in Communication at University of Washington and part of the Community Data Science Collective. She studies how people cooperate online, including what gets maintained and what doesn’t, and who participates and who gets excluded. Prior to graduate school, she worked in IT systems and applications.