Wikipedia:Wikipedia's hierarchy of needs
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The success of this project (like any project) can be measured in any number of ways, by any number of metrics. However, from a philosophical point of view, Wikipedia is successful because it has a certain set of priorities; while each of the elements contribute to the overall success, there is a certain hierarchy between various priorities.
Wikipedia's metrics supersede each other in the following order:
- Media coverage is the most basic metric for success – it provides notability and a public image for the project.
- The number of readers supersedes media coverage – irrespective of the media, the number of actual readers matters more (high media coverage and low number of readers actually means the project is not successful; on the contrary, low media coverage and a high number of readers means the project is successful).
- The quality and quantity of content is more important than the current number of readers – good content creates readership.
- Content cannot be created without contributors, therefore the number of contributors and their ability to create good content is more important than the current content.
- Good contributors leave the project if they're not treated in a fair manner, and potential contributors are not interested in joining if they feel the project is misguided – therefore applying rules in a fair manner is more important than retaining contributors at any cost.
- Misguided rules are guaranteed to ruin any enterprise, therefore all rules must necessarily be the result of applying healthy principles – the logic goes both ways, applying existing rules in fringe situations against the principles is disastrous.