Олексій Дзюба Історії 19 December 2024, 09:01

"My personal aspiration is to oust the Russian-language Wikipedia from the Ukrainian-language market." Interview with the chief ambassador of the Ukrainian Wikipedia

Anton Protsiuk has been developing the free encyclopedia Wikipedia in Ukraine for more than 12 years. To do this, he has several roles. The first is the head of programs for the public organization Wikimedia Ukraine, which is not part of Wikipedia, but supports its development. For example, he develops Ukrainian education through trainings and programs in which he uses Wikipedia's achievements on a more serious level. The second is a volunteer, editor, and administrator who writes articles for Wikipedia. “When you do this, you learn something new yourself, your materials are read by millions of people, and you help the Ukrainian language and free knowledge develop,” Anton says about his motivation.

Further in the article you will learn how (in numbers) the Ukrainian-language Wikipedia feels today, what Ukrainians are currently reading the most among its articles, how unethical organizations that seek to build a business on "free knowledge" work, and how one programmer managed to "raise" the Cebuano language of the Philippines thanks to the "Free Encyclopedia."

About the main figures of the Ukrainian Wikipedia today

— At the end of July 2022, the Ukrainian Wikipedia overtook the Arabic Wikipedia and took 16th place in terms of the number of articles (then there were 1.18 million) among the 328 language sections of the online encyclopedia. Where are we now, after almost 2.5 years, what is the number of Ukrainian-language articles and which languages are ahead of us?

— Since then, we have grown somewhat and now occupy 14th place in terms of the number of articles, with approximately over 1.35 million. We are ahead of classical languages, which have more speakers than Ukrainian. These are English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, etc. Also, unfortunately, Russian. It is obviously spoken by more people.

There are a few curious exceptions. This includes, for the most part, “automatic” article filling. For example, in second place is the Cebuano “Wikipedia.” It is written in the Cebuano language, which is common in the Philippines. These are real, but short articles about biological species, stars, etc. It was “raised” by a programmer whose wife is originally from the Philippines. Conventionally, you write a bot that adds a thousand articles a day according to a certain template. It is not forbidden to do this, but it does not quite correspond to the spirit of “Wikipedia.”

Ukrainian Wikipedia has published statistics for 2023: among the new additions to the ranking is ChatGPT and the biggest decline in popularity is in Arestovych

— Another interesting figure from that period is that in total, almost 640,000 users were registered in the Ukrainian section of the encyclopedia. In the Arabic section, there are four times more of them — over 2,280,000. Despite this, the Ukrainian Wikipedia has almost twice as many administrators — 49 (26 in the Arabic one). What has changed in this regard?

— The most interesting figure is the number of active users, not the total. It happens that someone registered 15 years ago, made 1 edit and has been inactive for a long time.

The formal number of users now is 778,000. If we look at active users, it's about 3,200.

These are people who have been active in the last month. According to this indicator, we are approximately in 15th place among other Wikipedias. The Arabic version, for example, has 3,900 active users. As for administrators, their number has not changed much, there are about 50 of them. Here we are also in the top 15.

— The Ukrainian-language section of Wikipedia has existed since January 2004. How has its dynamics changed (growth/decline) over the past 20 years and what events has this been associated with?

— The general trend is that the Ukrainian-language section of Wikipedia is gradually and confidently growing. There are two categories of growth: attendance and content/quality. If we talk about the growth in attendance, I would highlight two main events that helped its growth. The first is the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the beginning of online learning. Then people turned to Wikipedia as one of the possible resources where they could get information. The second event was the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation, when people needed information.

As for the increase in the number of articles, volunteers, and editors, I wouldn't say that there is a certain booster event here. The trend toward the development of the Ukrainian language is helping here. Perhaps, during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych, if anyone still remembers, when the Ukrainian language was more difficult, it was also more difficult for the Ukrainian Wikipedia.

The more people speak Ukrainian, the more the media, information, and scientific space develops, and the better it is for the Ukrainian Wikipedia.

Photo — Awarding of record holders of the Ukrainian Wikipedia

We recently awarded authors who have made the greatest contribution to the Ukrainian Wikipedia over the 20 years of its existence. The record holder created almost 50,000 articles.

Viyna Arestovych Bandera ZSU and Zaluzhny. Which Ukrainian Wikipedia articles were the most popular in 2022

— In January 2023, the Ukrainian Wikipedia crossed the mark of 1 billion views per year for the first time in history. What record can we boast of in 2024?

— The attendance is gradually increasing, but we are not setting any big records. It is similar to the situation in news media, when there was a strong rise in 2022 after the start of the full-scale invasion, but then the level of attention stabilized. Now we have 1 billion views from the beginning of this year to mid-December. This is a little more than in 2022, because there is still half a month ahead. But this is not twice as much, but a small increase.

Regarding interesting records, there is currently a trend towards improving the quality of articles.

This year, the Ukrainian-language Wikipedia has a record number of so-called "good articles."

This status is given to materials that have been identified by the community as the best. These are detailed, verified articles that have many links to authoritative sources. In 2024, the largest number of articles — over 130 — received this status. This is a good indicator that their quality is gradually improving.

Ukrainian Wikipedia for the first time in history has crossed the mark of 1 billion views per year

— I understand that you will publish the ranking of the most popular articles on the Ukrainian Wikipedia for 2024 later. Can I give you a small spoiler for it?

— I don’t have general statistics for the year yet, but I do have data for November. It, like the general trend, shows that there are always popular articles about basic topics. For example, about Ukraine, Kyiv, Taras Shevchenko, Ivan Franko, etc. Another category of popular articles is what’s in the news. In November, it was the presidential elections in the US.

In November, an article about the elections in America was viewed about 200,000 times.

The second place is an article about Donald Trump. Also my personal pride is the list of US presidents, I wrote this article myself. It is in 13th place, it has been viewed over 50,000 times. Also in the top topics of current news are articles about Mykhailo Drapaty, the new commander of the Ground Forces, and the game STALKER 2.

— What about technology topics? In 2023, for example, ChatGPT was in the top. People also like to read about Elon Musk. Have they dropped out of the rankings?

— STALKER 2 is about a game developer and it was in first place in November among technological topics, if we take it more broadly. If we count military technologies, conditionally, what missiles are flying to Ukraine, then Ukrainians also read them. Articles about an intercontinental ballistic missile or about "Oreshnik" are also read. The article about ChatGPT is less popular, but it continues to be read: in the first 11 months of this year it was viewed approximately 250,000 times. This is a lot, but 1.5 times less than in the corresponding period of 2023. That is, the initial "hype" has passed, but it is still a popular service that people want to know about.

"It's not just a commercial success, it's a huge cultural achievement." The owner of GSC Game World said that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 has already paid off and is starting to make a profit.

About Russian "Ruwiki" and "Wikipedia"

— Moving on to another topic. In Russia, an alternative to Wikipedia, Ruwiki, has been developing for almost a year. Is this project becoming successful and are Russians reading it?

— I don’t follow the Russian market very closely. But from my observations, Ruwiki is not a successful project. It’s propaganda junk like some RuTube that isn’t gaining popularity. The Wikipedia model is that there are thousands of volunteers who create and improve articles for free.

The Russian authorities cannot take and transfer the community that has formed in the Russian Wikipedia over 20+ years and transfer it to a propaganda project.

In theory, the alternative to this is to invest huge amounts of money in Ruwiki. Potentially, you could hire 5,000-10,000 people and tell them to write an encyclopedia. It’s expensive and time-consuming. I haven’t seen them have the political will, desire, or resources to do it. Ruwiki exists, but it doesn’t threaten to become a real alternative to the Russian-language Wikipedia. If the latter is blocked in Russia, then, probably, some people will go to Ruwiki.

In Russia, a replacement for Wikipedia, Ruwiki, has been launched. Even one of the administrators of the Russian “free encyclopedia” was shocked when he told us what the alternative project means in practice.

— So the popularity of the Russian-language Wikipedia has not faded and only after its ban can Ruwiki "shoot"?

— And I'm not sure that Russians will go to Ruwiki. Some people will simply install a VPN, others will go to alternative reference services.

— Should we strive to overtake the Russian-language Wikipedia over time?

— My personal aspiration is to oust the Russian-language Wikipedia from the Ukrainian-language market. In Ukraine, some people speak and read Russian.

The Russian-language Wikipedia in Ukraine is still at about the same level of popularity as the Ukrainian-language one.

— How to entice a Ukrainian to read the Ukrainian-language Wikipedia, not the Russian-language one? This, first of all, should be his personal and conscious decision.

— Yes, but in a narrower sense there are things that can be done. Google sometimes shows the Russian-language Wikipedia above the Ukrainian one in the results, even if all the browser and operating system settings are in Ukrainian. You need to understand that Google results are the main source of traffic for Wikipedia. We are aware of the Russian-language Wikipedia results and are trying to communicate with Google to see if this can be resolved.

If we look at general philosophical points, then globally it is necessary for the Ukrainian language and culture to develop, for there to be more Ukrainian-language content and a culture of consumption in the Ukrainian language.

On the development of the Ukrainian Wikipedia

— How does the Ukrainian Wikipedia feel in general now and what forecast would you give for its development for 2025? In 2022-2023, there was considerable interest in Ukrainian-language articles. But we are seeing a certain cultural rollback now — the Russian language, music, and cinema are returning to our space.

— In general, the Ukrainian Wikipedia is doing quite well. This setback that you are talking about is not manifested in the fact that Wikipedia is shrinking, but in the fact that its traffic is growing more slowly.

About 10 years ago, the Russian-language Wikipedia was much more popular than the Ukrainian-language one.

Now they have approximately parity, but there has not yet been such a jump in the Ukrainian-language Wikipedia. Next year there will be approximately the same trend with gradual growth. Of course, much will depend on the situation in Ukrainian society.

— What steps can each of us take to make the Ukrainian-language Wikipedia grow and become better?

— Anyone can contribute to the growth of Wikipedia. Why, if you are just reading an article and see a mistake, you can fix it. It doesn't take much time or effort. Ideally, we would like more people to join in regular volunteering and contributing to Wikipedia. But I understand that this is not for everyone. It requires free time and interest. But if it is interesting, then it can be a good hobby that allows you to develop and at the same time have a beneficial impact on what millions of people read.

Among the specific things is Wikimedia Ukraine, which I represent and where, in particular, I help develop an educational program. This is the competent use of Wikipedia in the educational process. That is, actively working with it, analyzing and critically approaching the content of articles and filling Wikipedia within the framework of an educational task. For example, instead of writing plagiarized essays, write an article for Wikipedia. Wikimedia Ukraine helps teachers and educational institutions with this.

On editing Wikipedia articles and unethical business

— About filling out articles. I heard about the case of the AVK company, which spent three months looking for how to add new information about itself to the Wikipedia page. but was never able to do it. Who should a business contact at such moments when it wants not to “erase” unpleasant information about itself, but to add new information?

— The best answer is to figure out how to do it yourself, it's not that difficult. I'm surprised they spent three months looking for it if it's about updating some information. You can figure this out in 2 business days.

It is important to remember that Wikipedia is a neutral encyclopedia, not a place for self-promotion.

Every small project of a large company should not be listed in an article. But, relatively speaking, the CEO has changed or a new factory has been built — this is quite relevant information. Technically, the company's communications officer can do this on his own.

Can I order such a service? No, Wikipedia itself does not sell or provide such services. Theoretically, it could be a third party. Wikipedia does not provide guarantees, because the platform rules must be followed. If this is not the case, the article may be removed. The problem is that the market for such high-quality services is not developed. Therefore, the easiest way is for the company's communications or PR person to take care of this independently.

— About similar services. There is such a blogger Bohdan Dubylovsky and his project "Wikibusiness". Back in 2020, you stated that he is not related to you, but he continues to work. Have you communicated with him directly? Can this be considered an illegal business? How to deal with this?

— “Wikibusiness” is, at a minimum, an unethical business that operates in violation of Wikipedia’s terms of use. Is it possible to do business on Wikipedia? In an ideal world where pink ponies live, there would be no business on Wikipedia and only volunteers would work with the platform. But we are realists and understand that there is such interest, which is why Wikipedia allows paid editing. To do this, you need to follow all the rules of the platform. In particular, you need to clearly declare that “I, so-and-so, created this article at the request of such and such an organization.”

There are examples of such ethical businesses operating on Wikipedia. It may not be something that the Wikipedia community welcomes, but it is something that they put up with and are willing to live with, as long as they follow the rules. But Wikibusiness is an organization that does not follow the rules. Which, for example, does not declare which articles they create on order.

This is the company whose activities are worth fighting. That is why the Wikipedia community is fighting it.

There are technical tools to do this. For example, blocking accounts they created and deleting their articles that were created in violation of the rules. This fight is ongoing, both with Wikibusiness and other paid editing initiatives that operate in violation of Wikipedia's terms of use.

Prices for Wikibusiness services :

— Article editing — from 14,000 UAH;

— Article creation — from 30,000 UAH;

— Article restoration — from 65,000 UAH.

At first we tried to draw Wikibusiness's attention to the fact that they were violating Wikipedia's rules and to suggest that they follow them. But nothing came of it. It became clear that it would be impossible to establish a constructive conversation, so we practically do not do this now.