Week13 - Readings - LIU ZIYE
1) Summary
This week’s reading introduced the Wikipedia “Category” system, which helps organize and group pages by topic. By assigning articles to relevant categories, users can more easily browse related content, enhancing Wikipedia’s structure and navigability. Categories also assist the Wikipedia community in content management, quality control, and identifying gaps in topic coverage.
2) Interesting Discovery
While reading this section, I was reminded of my experience last semester when I uploaded a photo I had taken to Wikimedia Commons. At the time, I didn’t really understand the function of categories, so I left that part blank. Later, my professor pointed out that if no categories were added, the photo would be hard to find and would not follow upload standards. After that, I added multiple categories based on keywords like location, subject, and context. I realized that categories are not just for organizing entries—they also act as a powerful entry point for information retrieval. Nowadays, I often use category pages to begin my searches on Wikipedia because they help me locate related materials quickly and efficiently.
3) Question or Discussion Point
This experience led me to think: If an article is placed in the wrong category, could it mislead users or hinder their search? For example, if a sociology-related article is mistakenly categorized under culture, researchers interested in social structure might overlook it entirely. While active Wikipedia editors often correct such errors, I wonder whether clearer classification standards or prompts could be implemented to help newer contributors understand the system better. This might help maintain a more accurate and user-friendly knowledge structure across the platform.
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