Love thy Wiki: The crowdsourced web encyclopedia is about to make it easier for you to show your appreciation.
Wikipedia relies on volunteer editors to maintain the site, but according to the site, a recent study showed that many editors just aren't getting the positive feedback they'd like. Many editors reported feeling looked down on by more experienced editors. But, 78 percent said that having people compliment them on edits or articles was their number one reason for editing more frequently.
Wikipedia wants to make it more easy for editors to feel the love. A new WikiLove button will let users demonstrate their fond feelings towards all the editors keeping the site running, and is expected to go live on June 29.
"WikiLove is a simple experiment in appreciation. It makes it easy and fun to send barnstars or whimsical messages of appreciation to other users," the site wrote in the blog announcing the feature.
WikiLove will show up as a red heart on the right part of the user's page. When an article is especially appealing, they can click the button, and then choose from a selection of little awards, including beer, kittens and barnstars. Readers can add a message or photo, and then send it along.
Wikipedia turned ten earlier this year. The site also revealed that the vast majority of its editors are male.
See the new feature below: