W9. Discuss Reagle's chapters 3 and 4 - Boeum Kim

1.Summary

Chapter 3 stress how important believing collaboration is. This article said there are cultures in everywhere, but we need to know the ‘collaboration culture’ because the more we believe we can make outputs through cooperation, the better our world would become. Of course, to make cooperation, conflicts are follow necessarily our works because people have different thinks. The point is, despite of these risks, cooperation and conflicts are not only unavoidable, but also important, necessary process to make better collaborative world. Therefore, in Wikipedia, attendants are asked to have neutral point of view and be civil to other contributors. People have shared-experiences in some degree, so we can understand and agree to universal things. To record and share with more people, we need some process, ‘documentation.’ Actually, we have got benefits through technologies today. Thanks to internet, source codes made by programmers, index and hyper-text systems, we can make ‘shared-creative-works’ like Wikipedia which have complex documentation software through index and hyper-text systems.

 

Chapter 4 refers to features of openness of open content community and suggests discussions about the way to balance various values. Openness have both advantages and disadvantages. One of the remarkable disadvantages is severe conflicts due to literal openness. As above, all of people have different thinks so it is necessary to occur conflicts. However, if open content community like Wikipedia control these conflicts directly, it won’t be the open community anymore. Transparency is contradict to Integrity. Therefore, Wikipedia have another way to balance different values. But, the main agent is not Wikipedia itself, but attendants of Wikipedia. Attendants keep in mind be civil, and try to be non-discrimination and non-interference. It is very difficult so Wikipedia encourage attendants to confirms to forms of Wiki Policy.

2. Interesting things

According to chapter 3 and 4, open contents community like Wikipedia require contributors many things to make cooperative works. So far, We were used to rude comments of Internet pages such as Naver, facebook and other community. But Wikipedia, of which purpose is sharing intelligence, require contributors being patient, neutral, and civil. I feel that It’s like just a tabloid edition of actual life that we act outside.

3. Discussion

 As I review chapter 3, I recall Clay Shirky's video. Shirky also stressed cooperative works. He said we can improve our world to better, and we can share benefits of these work. But I think it is difficult to share all of benefits from our cooperative work today because, as chapter 3 stressed, our civic values like Wikipedia was possible due to 'technology.' Then, how the other people who live in undeveloped and such country approach to collaboration and can be contributor of collaboration?
 I think attending to collaborative experience give us some experience, but it is due to my environment which can easily approach to internet, mobile phone and so on. So I think if I were born in other country which can't easily approach to these technology, I would didn't know such big collaboration and I would died still don't know anything.