----

Can the Champion pattern also be an anti-pattern? Fundamental to the wiki concept is that the idea that all users "own" the content in the wiki. By encouraging association of the wiki with a single individual (the Champion), I've found that the users assume the responsibility of the wiki (updates to content, etc.) lay with the wiki champion. In my experience the less visible the wiki Champion is to the users, the more successful the implementation. Has anyone else seen this?


Posted by Stafford Vaughan [CustomWare] at Mar 31, 2008 17:50




----

Complete agree with the above comment in as much as I have spent the last year feeling like Brian in "The Life of Brian" running away shouting "I am not the Messiah!".

I do feel that success will be when I "cease" to exist and function as a fairly invisible moderator.

Where I may differ slightly is that without that Champion's enthusiasm, colleagues don't grasp the fabulous opportunities a wiki offers.


Posted by kilroys at May 13, 2008 06:21




----

If someone just "makes magic happen" all the time, then a dependency on that person arises. If the Champion does everything //for// people rather than encouraging them to do it themselves, then he/she becomes indispensable, which is bad for the wiki, bad for the other wiki users, and probably bad for the organisation using the wiki. If the Champion //uses the Wiki// and helps others to //use the wiki// , and shows people how //using the wiki// can make their lives better or their work easier, then there should be no problem.


Posted by Karl Auer at Sep 18, 2008 21:02