A hypersocial-interactive model of Wiki-mediated writing: Collaborative writing in a fan & gamer community

A hypersocial-interactive model of Wiki-mediated writing: Collaborative writing in a fan & gamer community


Author(s)	Rik Hunter
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Date	2010
Keyword(s)	Unknown [+] (Extra: Wiki, games, WoWWiki)
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Language(s)	English
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Browse properties · List of doctoral theses

A hypersocial-interactive model of Wiki-mediated writing: Collaborative writing in a fan & gamer community is a 2010 doctoral thesis written in English by Rik Hunter.

[edit] Abstract

In this dissertation I argue that writing is a technologically- and socially-inflected activity, and the particular patterns of collaborative writing found on the World of Warcraft Wiki (WoWWiki) are the result of the interactions between a MediaWiki's affordances and the social practices operating in this context. In other contexts, collaborative writing can more closely resemble the "conventional ethos" (Knobel and Lankshear, 2007) of more individualistic notions of authorship often tied to print. With writing projects such as WoWWiki, we can observe a dramatic shift in notions of textual ownership and production towards the communal and collaborative, and I suggest the patterns of collaboration found on WoWWki are evidence of a larger technocultural shift signaling new conditions for literacy. In the midst of this shift, the meaning of "collaboration," "authorship," and "audience" is redefined.

Following my introductory chapter, I use textual analysis of talk pages to examine the talk pages of several of WoWWiki featured articles for particular patterns of language use and identify what WoWWikians focus their attention on in the process of writing articles. I argue that collaboration on WoWWiki poses a challenge to models of face to face writing groups and offers unique patterns of collaboration.

I then contend that WoWWiki's writing practices are entering a society where the idea of the single author has been strong. Nevertheless, I find evidence of a shared model of text production and collaborative notion of authorship; further, collaboration is disrupted by those who hold author-centric perspectives.

Next, I argue that our previous models of audience and writing previously developed around print and, later, hypertext are inadequate because they cannot account for roles readers can take and how writers and readers interact on a wiki. With this new arrangement in collaborative writing evident on WoWWiki, I develop the hypersocial-interactive model of wiki-mediated writing.

I conclude by reviewing this dissertation's main arguments regarding wiki-mediated collaborative writing, after which I explore the implications of using wikis for writing instruction. Finally, I discuss the limitations of this study and consider directions for future research on voluntary collaborative wiki-mediated writing.