Tracing Team Dynamics in Wikipedia: a sociodigital perspective

A team can be understood as a group of individuals working together towards a shared goal, characterized by a degree of stability while interacting and coordinating their efforts. However, the nature and outcome of teams varies depending on their structure, temporal boundaries and the mechanisms regulating their functioning. In the context of Wikipedia, teams are not always explicitly defined or prescribed; rather, they emerge dynamically through collaboration on articles, discussions, and other editorial activities. We conceptualize Wikipedia teams through multiple registers: (1) regulation, which encompasses the formal and informal rules that govern interactions and shape long-term collaboration; (2) production, where a team contributes to the creation and improvement of content, akin to a collective production process; (3) interaction and communication, which define the intensity and nature of engagement among contributors; and (4) entry of new participants and controversies, which may redefine the team's composition and direction over time. In this context, we aim to operationalize teams within Wikipedia by analyzing patterns of co-editing, discussion participation, and revision activities. We rely on Wikipedia Dumps, which are periodic snapshots that capture revision history, user activity, and edit metadata while omitting article text. Rather than assuming fixed team structures, we adopt a dynamic perspective where teams can be seen as evolving networks of contributors interacting within specific timeframes. By constructing co-editing graphs, where users and pages form nodes and revisions create edges, we can identify clusters of collaboration, measure their density, and track their evolution over time. Additionally, we will examine how coordination occurs beyond direct interactions—through shared project goals, implicit regulatory mechanisms, and task-oriented structures. This approach allows us to explore both the formation and regulation of teams, as well as their impact on content quality and platform governance.