The 'Shroom:Issue 159/Feedback Survey Analysis

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Feedback Survey Analysis

Written by: Ninja Squid (talk) and Doomhiker (talk)

Banner for MarioWiki:Polls for the 2019-20 year

Greetings, 'Shroom readers! This is your Poll Committee Chairperson, Ninja Squid, and I am joined today by Doomhiker in order to present the results of our Feedback Survey which took place from May 17th to May 31st, 2020. The purpose of the Feedback Survey was to collect anonymous feedback and criticism on several parts of the general MarioWiki community, which could prove useful to improve the environment of this community for not only our daily visitors and readers, but for our users as well.

That said, I also want to thank my Poll Committee members for their generous participation in the creation of this project, and on behalf of the 10th Poll Committee, I want to thank everyone who participated in the survey.

Now, without further ado, let's get right into the analysis!

Analysis

How should editing the wiki be made more accessible?: The most popular option is to add a visual editor. Wikipedia currently has the option to use a visual editor here. It basically allows a user to edit without requiring knowing how to use wiki markup. Having to learn the wiki's markup likely is a hurdle for many editors who haven't edited other wikis in the past so being able to skip that hurdle likely would make the process of editing less intimidating. Thus, it is unsurprising that this is the most popular option. The close second option is the option to ease up on the rules. While the rules can be daunting, quality standards are needed to prevent the wiki from having extremely low quality articles. That doesn't mean the wiki doesn't have poor articles, as it has lots of them, but having some standards help lower that amount. Still, that doesn't mean the rules are perfect. No set of rules can be perfect, so if you find a problem with the rules you can always contact an admin to give feedback on specific rules. Depending on rule, you may even be allowed to make a proposal to change it if you are autoconfirmed. Unfortunately, this option doesn't specifically refer to which rules need to be changed. As more lax rules can lead to it being less intimidating to jump into the wiki, it makes sense why this option is so popular. The option in third place with a still large 72 votes is for people who feel that the wording of help pages should be improved. While due to the limits of poll options which help pages specifically need to be worded better cannot be specified, in general making help pages more easy to read and understand will make it easier for users to learn the rules and then jump into editing. It is easy to see why this is a somewhat popular option. The next and still popular option is to make video which show precisely how to do certain things. The option is likely popular due to direct visual guides could make learning how to do certain thing clearer for certain people. The next option with a smaller 46 votes is for the voters who think that certain help pages should be merged to make the process of visiting them easier. The Mario Wiki has a lot of help pages, making visiting all of them in order to learn how the wiki works rather daunting. Merging some of them together would hopefully make that task just a bit easier to stomach. Next, 43 voters voted for admins to give better guides on editing. This option is self-explanatory, though perhaps the low amount of people who voted for this option is a positive reflection on how admin help newer users. Or a lot of voters simply didn't interact with admins a lot. Finally 39 voters voted for "other". This question had some write in answers. Most of these were users who thought that no changes needed to be made, ones who suggested all above options, one user who suggested multiple but not all options, suggested changes which are already in place, as well as one voter who used the poll to try to get the admins to block an unnamed user for doing something which isn't even against the rules. There were some voters with suggestions not in place or in the poll. These suggestions included adding more images (presumably to help pages), expanding the 'Shroom Spotlight and other similar projects, and linking to the rules on the editing page. A user also suggested making it easier to become an admin, but the poll was about make it easier to enter the wiki as a completely new user, not about how becoming an admin as an experienced user.
How would you describe the presence of the MarioWiki, and its community activities on social networks?: Over a quarter of users voted that the wiki community is quite present on social networks. This is likely in part because the wiki's official Twitter account is mildly popular, with over 6800 follower as of this issue's release. However, the larger reason why this option is so popular may be because of the Super Mario Facts account. While this account is unofficial, being run by a person with the username Rocketlex, this account is many times more popular than the official account, with nearly 33 000 followers as of this issue's release. The account exists because of the wiki, as the account posts quotes from wiki out of context, per the account's description: "Entertaining fast facts about the world and lore of Super Mario Bros, thanks to the Super Mario Bros wiki!" Without a doubt this account increases awareness of the wiki and makes it more present on social media. However, the community outside of the wiki doesn't really get promoted outside of the community at all. The 'Shroom has an unpopular Twitter account, but beyond that and the occasional post on the wiki's official Twitter account that talks about another part of the community, the Mario Boards, Awards, Discord server, etc aren't often promoted outside of the community. Yet the most popular option includes both the wiki and the community. Perhaps people find the occasional Twitter posts about the rest of the community to be enough to consider the whole community to be active and present? As we see in a lower poll, most users are aware of community projects but do not pay attention to them. Perhaps the large lack of attention towards the general community by most voters would affect if they perceive the community to be well-represented on social media? The second most popular option is for those who have no opinion on the subject. The third option is for voter who find the wiki to be well represented on social media but not the other parts of the community. I already discussed how the other portion of the community is represented on social media and thus how this option makes sense to be pretty popular. The forth place option represents the crowd who aren't even aware of the wiki's social media presence. The wiki's official account is still not extremely popular, so one could very easier not even know it existed. Plus, not all voters would be social media users in the first place. In fifth place there is the option which is made for users who, while they find the wiki and its community to be represented enough on social media, think that they could be represented better. I don't have much to say about this one. The, with a somewhat small 20 votes, in second to last place is the option for people who think that neither the wiki or the community are represented well on social media. Perhaps they thought the current amount of posts are not enough, or that the community and wiki should be promoted on social media in other ways? Finally, there's the unpopular option for those who think that the wiki isn't promoted enough, but community activities are. I guess these voters might have thought that the rare promotion of the community is good enough, but the wiki needs to be promoted more because of how large and popular it is in comparison to community activities.
What is your main draw to the MarioWiki community?: Unsurprisingly, the most popular option is for people who are mainly drawn in by the wiki, or more specifically the wiki's information and the contributions of the wiki's users. The wiki is simply considerably more popular and larger than the rest of the community. For example, the wiki has 29,063, compared to the Marioboards' 2,966 users. The forum may have 2,092,519 posts, but the wiki has 2,809,926 edits. The results of the polls also confirm this. In the polls under this one over forty percent of voters know that community projects exist but don't pay attention to them. In the poll after that nearly half of the voters expressed no interest in the community. The next option, which, despite being second place, isn't extremely popular due to the popularity of the above option, is for those who don't have any interest in the community, which, given that the above option is in this poll, would also include a lack of interest in the wiki itself. I wonder why a user would visit the site if they weren't interested in anything offered. The third place option is for the people who come for the 'Shroom. It makes sense why this option is pretty unpopular, as, if the SSOTM votes are anything to go by, only a small amount of people who visit the site seem to read this paper. Forth place is the other option, fifth place is for those pulled in by the forums, sixth is for the users pulled in by events like the awards, and last is for the two users pulled in by IRC or Discord. I skimmed over these as these options being unpopular is likely a direct result of more users just and only coming for the wiki as explained above. Not many people go for the other stuff. This poll had write-in answers too, however none of these are for things not covered by other options, except for the vague "I'm a fan" response, the response from a user who said they were a fan of Mario, the "for fun" response and the person who said the main draw to the community for them was TV Tropes. This person likely came to the community because of the actual TV Tropes page on the Mario Wiki. There also a lot of users who used the write-in answers to vote for multiple, if not all, options, which is perfectly fine.
To what extent are you aware of community projects, such as The 'Shroom?: Again unsurprisingly, slightly more than forty percent of users know that they exist, but just don't pay attention to them. I already explained how the wiki is considerably more popular than any over part of the community, and this would also affect if voters pay attention to community projects. The awareness of these projects likely comes from the occasional promotion they receive on the wiki's main page. Next up in second is the option for people who only read what is going on. These voters likely just read what happens out of curiosity. In third is the option for those who aren't aware of community projects. If they only visit the site for the wiki, then it would be easy to not notice the various community projects when they do appear on the main page. Then in forth place with a small 24 votes is for the couple of users who frequently assist in these projects. These projects usually don't have nearly as many contributors as there is voters so this option being unpopular makes sense. With only 12 votes, the sixth place option is for users who are aware of other projects but not the 'Shroom. I understand why this option is quite unpopular: the 'Shroom is decently promoted on the wiki, with links to the paper being on the bottom of the main page. If you didn't notice the 'Shroom then chances are you wouldn't notice other community projects. Still, it is possible as evidenced by this to poll to not notice the 'Shroom while knowing about other projects, though the number of votes for this option show that this is rare. The least popular option is for those who only occasionally help with these projects. Again, this option is likely unpopular due to the small amount of people who contribute to these projects compared to the number of total voters.
Which community activity are you most interested in contributing to?: Looking at the other polls it comes to no surprise that nearly half of all voters are not interested in the community. There's nothing wrong with this: the community's activities are purely there for fun and no one is under any obligation to participate in them. Many voters just come for the wiki which is perfectly understandable. The next most popular option is for those wanting to write for the 'Shroom. While I don't have a good idea why this option is decently popular, if you do want to write for the 'Shroom you can always visit the sign up page. As with this option, there's not much to analyze with the other options. Any reason why an option would place higher or lower than another option seems in this poll to be coincidental, with the exception of the first place option. There were also some write in options here, which mostly include things already covered by this poll's options, as well as users who wrote in that they're mostly interested in contributing to poll or wiki-related stuff.
What do you think of the 'Shroom's objective quality?: I'll skip over analyzing the first place option as, just like in the other polls, this one is likely popular due to the wiki being the main reason why most voters visit the site. It makes sense that most voters never read the 'Shroom but are still aware of it. However, the second place option is surprising. With only four less votes than the first place option, a large chunk of voters think that the 'Shroom is of good quality, and have thus read it at least one time. This option being so popular is surprising given how the other polls showed a large disinterest for the community, though to be fair a person could vote for this reading the paper only once and never again, thus still generally being unengaged with the community. Regardless, it is nice to see the paper being so well received. The less popular third option is for the users who think that the 'Shroom is good, but has some lacking sections. The 'Shroom isn't a professional paper in the slightest: the point of it is that anyone of almost any skill level and experience can write for the paper. There are some standards, though these aren't that strict and if your section does get rejected the staff will inform you why. This does mean that some sections will naturally be better than others, and thus there may be some which some voters may find poor. The fourth place option, with slightly more than five percent of voters, is for people who only find specific parts of the paper to be good. This could be caused to a person only liking one or two team, or only liking the best sections and not so much the ones of slightly lower quality. The fifth place option is for those who have never head of the 'Shroom. I presume that this option is likely unpopular because, even if a lot of people who visit this site don't read the paper, the paper is regardless promoted on the from page thus making it likely that most users would notice it upon visiting the site. The sixth place option is for those who generally do not want to read the paper due to them finding the articles to be of generally low quality, but still find qualities in other areas. Don't have much to analyze here. Eight voters voted other, six people liked the concept of the 'Shroom but don't find the paper to be good in practice, and once singular voter didn't like the paper in any way. The articles aren't professional, not to mention that their quality would be subjective regardless, so it makes sense that not everyone would like them. That's perfectly fine. There were some write in votes, which included people who talked about how they haven't read it much, a person who compared the 'Shroom to Lemmy's Land and stated that they thought the 'Shroom is fine. There was a person who said the 'Shroom is excellent, and finally, there was a voter who thought that the 'Shroom is of high quality, that the paper's layout should be optimized, and that the 'Shroom should make an effort to improve its outreach.

That's all for today! Thank you so much for reading this, and if you want more news from your adorable Poll Committee, well this is your chance because you can take a look at our Poll Committee Discussion where myself and Roserade analyze our most recent polls and taking a look at our achievements of the year. In addition, it is also the Poll Chair Election this month, be sure to take a look at it to choose my successor. So much Poll Committee stuff this month, right? It's almost a special Poll Committee issue!

That's all I had to say. See you next time!

The 'Shroom: Issue 159
Staff sections	Staff Notes • The 'Shroom Spotlight • 'Shroomfest • Poll Committee Discussion • Poll Chairperson Election
Features	Fake News • Fun Stuff • Palette Swap • Pipe Plaza • Critic Corner • Strategy Wing
Specials	Community Awards Dossier • Feedback Survey Analysis

The 'Shroom:Issue 159/Feedback Survey Analysis

Feedback Survey Analysis

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How should editing the wiki be made more accessible?
By easing up on the rules. 22.8% (114 votes)

By improving the wording in help pages. 14.4% (72 votes)

By adding a visual editor. 23.4% (117 votes)

By making videos the show precise processes. 13.8% (69 votes)

Merging some help pages to make visiting all of them easier. 9.2% (46 votes)

Having admins give better guides on editing. 8.6% (43 votes)

Other. 7.8% (39 votes)

Total Votes: 500

How would you describe the presence of the MarioWiki, and its community activities on social networks?
The Super Mario Wiki, and its community activities are both very active and present on social networks. 25.4% (128 votes)

I think that both the Wiki and its community activities are sufficiently active, but there is still room from improvement. 11.51% (58 votes)

I think the Super Mario Wiki is very active, but its community activities are lacking in presence. 18.85% (95 votes)

I think the Wiki's community activities are very active on social networks, I think the wiki itself is lacking in presence. 2.18% (11 votes)

The Super Mario Wiki, and its community activities are both lacking in presence on social networks. 3.97% (20 votes)

I am unaware that the Super Mario Wiki, and its community activities are present on social networks. 18.06% (91 votes)

I don't have an opinion on the subject. 20.04% (101 votes)

Total Votes: 504

What is your main draw to the MarioWiki community?
The information and people's contributions to it. 70.15% (369 votes)

Events, such as the Awards and games surrounding those. 1.14% (6 votes)

The 'Shroom and its articles. 7.98% (42 votes)

Using the forums. 3.23% (17 votes)

Chatting in IRC or Discord. 0.38% (2 votes)

I don't have any interest in the community. 11.6% (61 votes)

Other. 5.51% (29 votes)

Total Votes: 526

To what extent are you aware of community projects, such as The 'Shroom?
I frequently assist in putting such projects together as a staff member or a writer. 4.83% (24 votes)

I occasionally assist in putting them together with a few contributions. 1.41% (7 votes)

I normally just read what's going on. 33% (164 votes)

I know they exist, but I don't usually pay attention to them. 40.64% (202 votes)

I don't know about The 'Shroom, but I am aware of other community projects. 2.41% (12 votes)

I'm not very aware of any community projects. 17.71% (88 votes)

Total Votes: 497