Title: Wikipedian: a social identity between work and contribution

Author: Léo Joubert, Aix-Marseille University

Abstract: Contributors to the Wikipedia “free encyclopedia” identify themselves and are identified as “Wikipedians”. A Wikipedian does not leave his job when he becomes a Wikipedian. Nor does he become a Wikipedian in his workplace. The worker’s identity and the Wikipedian identity coexist in the social identity of an individual. On which patterns does this coexistence between worker’s identity and Wikipedian identity operate? Beyond the differences specific to the social identity of each contributor, we will try to show that singulars transactions all take place according to a finite number of patterns that it is possible to count. At this stage of our analysis, we are able to distinguish five identity patterns: employment, learning center, alternative development, continuity in upset, parallel arena. Our model aims to better understanding of why a contributor stay in Wikipedia and identifies himself as a contributor.

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