Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something but will correct you?

Posted by mmsimanga on Monday July 21, 2014 @03:14PM
from the ask-hn dept.

Some months ago I followed a link on HN about a theory/philosophy which said that people in general will not contribute documentation/articles but will be the first to correct you should something be wrong. The article implied this was why Wikipedia was successful.

I am trying to get my team and the greater business to start documenting processes and procedures. I wanted to use this article/theory/principle to motivate my team to start documenting. Problem is I cannot find this article or name of the theory/principle and require your help with the name of the theory?

( 8 comments | 9 points | on HN )

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by applecore on Monday July 21, 2014 @03:26PM (#8065530)

Cunningham's Law: The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question, it's to post the wrong answer.

Named after Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the wiki.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by webmaven on Monday July 21, 2014 @04:09PM (#8065720)

Link: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cunningham's_Law

However, you lose points for not actually posting a wrong answer.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by mmsimanga on Monday July 21, 2014 @04:19PM (#8065752)

Lesson learned :-).

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by rubiquity on Monday July 21, 2014 @04:32PM (#8065821)

It would have been even more meta if the OP posted "The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is to ask questions."

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by kromodor on Tuesday July 22, 2014 @07:24AM (#8068338)

Works for me. Yet I also start with a lot of questions.

We've tried something similar with one of our sites for digital marketing advice. Yet, maybe because of our delivery, but we didn't provoke engagement.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by gizmo686 on Monday July 21, 2014 @09:42PM (#8067062)

>Ward Cunningham, the inventor of the wiki

Given the context, I feel obligated to "correct" you and point out that this is, in fact, correct. I googled it assuming you were deliberatly lieing.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by mmsimanga on Monday July 21, 2014 @03:34PM (#8065559)

Thank you!

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:Ask HN: Name of theory, people will not start something b... by pizza on Monday July 21, 2014 @04:31PM (#8065817)

Might want to check if there's research into armchair theorizing. Maybe start with econometrics papers ;)

[ Parent | on HN ]