Development of a Structure of User Rights in a Knowledge-Sharing Environment

Abstract

The issue of knowledge sharing in projects connected to the free-culture movement is linked to egalitarianism and the lack of formal social roles. This should distinguish them from bureaucratic organizations, where the source of authority is position, not knowledge. However, on Wikipedia, the most recognizable project of this movement, the initially flat user-rights structure has become greater over time. This article presents the variation within the user-rights structure in the largest language versions of Wikipedia. Previous research into the power structure within the Wikipedia community has focused on the effectiveness of teamwork, the formation of network structures and the influence of cultural factors on the activity of individuals in administrative roles. This article compares the user-rights structure across 42 language versions of Wikipedia. For this purpose, publicly available statistical data were analysed concerning the number of user groups (UGs) with different types of user rights and the activity of administrators. The next stage of the research involved comparing the relationships between these variables and the Power-Distance Index, as defined by Hofstede. Analysis of statistical data has shown that larger language versions of Wikipedia with a high number of administrators tend to have a talled organizational structure. Both the number of bureaucrats — individuals formally responsible for assigning Wikipedians to specific UGs — and the number of UGs were increasing. A comparison of variables relating to a power structure with Hofstede’s Power-Distance Index (PDI) allowed to accept the hypotheses that a higher PDI correlates with 1) less frequent use of blocking and 2) less frequent removal of user pages by administrators. Furthermore, a weak negative correlation was observed between the PDI score and the number of users with administrator rights, though only in the case of smaller Wikipedia communities. This may imply that a greater power distance limits interference in people’s actions, or that in cultures with a higher PDI, behaviour requiring intervention by those with the power to exclude are less common.