A Personal Plee From Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

[halfpint]

Maybe they should start charging if its becoming to expensive to maintain WIKI

Google might have close to a million servers. Yahoo has something like 13,000 staff. We have 400 servers and fewer than 100 staff worldwide.

Wikipedia is the #5 site on the web and serves 454 million different people every month ? with billions of page views.

Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia.

Wikipedia is something special. It is like a library or a public park. It is like a temple for the mind. It is a place we can all go to think, to learn, to share our knowledge with others.

When I founded Wikipedia, I could have made it into a for-profit company with advertising banners, but I decided to do something different. We?ve worked hard over the years to keep it lean and tight. We fulfil our mission, and leave waste to others.

If everyone reading this could give just £3 a month, we would only have to fundraise for one day a year. But not everyone can or will donate. And that's fine. Each year just enough people decide to give.

https://wikimediafoundation.org/w/in...ki%2FMain_Page

[CyberHustler]

Adapt or die...

[AsianDivaGirlsWebDude]

The foundation created by Google co-founder Sergey Brin and his wife, Anne Wojcicki, has given a $500,000 grant to help Wikipedia fund its $28.3 million annual budget. Wikipedia holds an annual fundraiser instead of accepting advertising?you may have seen "A personal appeal from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales" if you've used the online encyclopedia this week.

The $500,000 grant comes from the Brin Wojcicki Foundation and goes to the Wikimedia Foundation, which began its annual fundraiser two days ago to support Wikipedia and sister sites. Wojcicki, who married Brin in May 2007, is the founder of personal genomics company 23andme. (Google has also given millions to Wikimedia in the past.)

While the donation is a serious one (though the Stanton Foundation recently gave $3.5 million), it's far from enough to take care of all Wikipedia's annual expenses. The Wikimedia Foundation's total planned spending is $28.3 million in the 2011-12 fiscal year. Last year's campaign raised $16 million toward the foundation's $20 million budget. The latest fundraiser will extend through January.

"If everyone reading this donated $5, our fundraiser would be over today," a message on Wikipedia said, while noting that the site had raised $657,000 toward its "Friday goal" of $1 million. Wales, who founded Wikipedia in 2001, likens the user-created encyclopedia to "a library or a public park ? a temple for the mind."

"Google might have close to a million servers," Wales writes. "Yahoo has something like 13,000 staff. We have 679 servers and 95 staff. Wikipedia is the #5 site on the web and serves 450 million different people every month?with billions of page views. Commerce is fine. Advertising is not evil. But it doesn't belong here. Not in Wikipedia."

ADG

[halfpint]

I think he should turn it into a tube

[AzteK]

Can someone give him some money so the beggars face will go away?

[Rochard]

I donate every month to Wikipedia. I use Wikipedia daily, so I think it's worth it.

In fact, I would pay to use it.

[V_RocKs]

Originally Posted by AsianDivaGirlsWebDude

ADG

Chuckle...

[uno]

If they did go the ad supported route I doubt they'd make money anyway if they placed ads like Wikia does.

[vsex]

He's an idiot for not monetizing it.

[Failed]

Originally Posted by vsex

He's an idiot for not monetizing it.

It's not about money for everyone. Some people truly wish to give other people a service out of kindness and a willingness to help. To call him an idiot for doing such a thing is, well, idiotic.

[L-Pink]

That sites full of user uploaded content.

[marlboroack]

Originally Posted by halfpint

I think he should turn it into a tube

LMAO

[Helix]

Wikitube is not available

[AdultTraffic.info]

Originally Posted by halfpint

I think he should turn it into a tube

hahaha

[raymor]

If I remember to I'll donate a few bucks. I've got some use from wikipedia.

[DVTimes]

if your in the uk, i think he (or one of the founders) is on bbc1 question time next thursday.

[baddog]

Originally Posted by Rochard

I donate every month to Wikipedia. I use Wikipedia daily, so I think it's worth it.

In fact, I would pay to use it.

Originally Posted by Failed

It's not about money for everyone. Some people truly wish to give other people a service out of kindness and a willingness to help. To call him an idiot for doing such a thing is, well, idiotic.

Originally Posted by L-Pink

That sites full of user uploaded content.

werd

[AmeliaG]

It is easy and free to look things up on Wikipedia, so people tend to use it. I know that, for anything I am very informed about, I can tell that Wikipedia is egregiously inaccurate. Their crowd-sourcing system eliminates the accountability which might make it more accurate. No knowledge source is perfect, but that one is particularly bad. Certainly, for anything about currently living people and present day brands, I think the site is an abomination. If people want to pay for quality research, there are better options. For a free one, it sometimes seems more worthwhile than, ya know, nothing.

[fris]

how long until they have ads

[AllAboutCams]

advertise then and stop bitching and moaning

[mayabong]

I think he should take the Godaddy route and put some hot bitches on there instead of his sorry looking face.

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by xxxupdate

advertise then and stop bitching and moaning

Yes really....sell advertising! Or at least throw up Google Adsense. Wikipedia is long past its "too cool for ads" stage. Ads work, its ok, we get it. Go for it!

I just hope his ads appear as cleanly as they do on Google. Pop-up ads are fucking bullshit, and even Youtube's advertising is annoying as hell.

[cam_girls]

a 600x400 banner on every page asking for a donation is a frickin AD!

the frickin cocksucker,

put them in the footer, who gives a fuck

run by idiot editors

[baddog]

Originally Posted by AmeliaG

It is easy and free to look things up on Wikipedia, so people tend to use it. I know that, for anything I am very informed about, I can tell that Wikipedia is egregiously inaccurate. Their crowd-sourcing system eliminates the accountability which might make it more accurate. No knowledge source is perfect, but that one is particularly bad. Certainly, for anything about currently living people and present day brands, I think the site is an abomination. If people want to pay for quality research, there are better options. For a free one, it sometimes seems more worthwhile than, ya know, nothing.

Well said.

[uno]

I guess i'm the only one to ever work with Wikia. O_o

[RyuLion]

Originally Posted by CyberHustler

Adapt or die...

[lagcam]

Originally Posted by Failed

It's not about money for everyone. Some people truly wish to give other people a service out of kindness and a willingness to help. To call him an idiot for doing such a thing is, well, idiotic.

You missed his point. He may have started out doing it as a "kindness and out of a willingness to help" but he passed that point when he started asking for donations, and when your costs get up to $28 million dollars a year, I doubt you can even see the original point with the Hubble telescope. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope )

Originally Posted by cam_girls

a 600x400 banner on every page asking for a donation is a frickin AD!

I agree. It's just professional begging. Personally I think it's all strategy and that they will do a facebook, and quickly go from not wanting ads to existing mainly for ads. All this is just whipping up a nice demand for when they start........

[Frank21]

If he stops with blocking real information and quits surfing as a extreme left wing propaganda media i will donate for the good cause.

[Frank21]

Originally Posted by **********

I just hope his ads appear as cleanly as they do on Google. Pop-up ads are fucking bullshit, and even Youtube's advertising is annoying as hell.

The advertisements on my Samsung Galaxy android OS is fucking anoying and intrusive as well.

[BIGTYMER]

I vote for ads.. Don't I get a vote?

[uno]

Originally Posted by cam_girls

a 600x400 banner on every page asking for a donation is a frickin AD!

the frickin cocksucker,

put them in the footer, who gives a fuck

run by idiot editors

Totally, take the advice of the PS who thinks he's the subject of USA satellites' targeted psyonic something or other and the star of the a movie(that spawned it's own mental illness[!!!])'s word. He's totally grounded in reality.

[Fletch XXX]

wikipedia has been used in court.

[Failed]

Originally Posted by lagcam

You missed his point. He may have started out doing it as a "kindness and out of a willingness to help" but he passed that point when he started asking for donations, and when your costs get up to $28 million dollars a year, I doubt you can even see the original point with the Hubble telescope.

I don't think asking for donations to support a free service is passing the point of kindness and a willingness to help. I take it as a man who's trying to keep a service he truly believes in free, and ad/intrusiveness free.

But, I'm a fool who still believes people do things out of the kindness of their hearts at times without a desire to profit. I admit, it's a downfall and a personality trait I sometimes wish I could do away with.

[uno]

Originally Posted by Failed

I don't think asking for donations to support a free service is passing the point of kindness and a willingness to help. I take it as a man who's trying to keep a service he truly believes in free, and ad/intrusiveness free.

But, I'm a fool who still believes people do things out of the kindness of their hearts at times without a desire to profit. I admit, it's a downfall and a personality trait I sometimes wish I could do away with.

rofflemeow.

[Captain Kawaii]

Originally Posted by AmeliaG

It is easy and free to look things up on Wikipedia, so people tend to use it. I know that, for anything I am very informed about, I can tell that Wikipedia is egregiously inaccurate. Their crowd-sourcing system eliminates the accountability which might make it more accurate. No knowledge source is perfect, but that one is particularly bad. Certainly, for anything about currently living people and present day brands, I think the site is an abomination. If people want to pay for quality research, there are better options. For a free one, it sometimes seems more worthwhile than, ya know, nothing.

Wiki is a ref for knuckle-draggers. Its really a gamble if the info on it is accurate by any sense of the word.

[ottopottomouse]

Originally Posted by Frank21

The advertisements on my Samsung Galaxy android OS is fucking anoying and intrusive as well.

https://market.android.com/details?i...d.adfree&hl=en

[cooldude7]

if they wont get much donations to cover the hostings and other costs then imho, they should put ads only to cover those., like put ads on for few days / month, and they ll get enough cash to cover the costs., but gee they have 400 servers.,.,.,.,sooner or later they gonna stick ads no matter what, there are very less % of peeple who donates to wiki / for knowledge.
hope they sort it out.,

[Odin]

I am going to start donating to wikipedia. Great project.

[CurrentlySober]

Why not just shove ads on it to cover the costs, and encourage the use of an add blocking plugin?

Everyones happy

[GetSCORECash]

I won't ever forget how they were ranked #1 on just about every term on google several years ago.

[CaptainHowdy]

I like plee ...

[vsex]

Originally Posted by pornopete

is all you have.

That site would never have worked as a commercial site.

so it wouldn't now? with all that traffic? I guess my is about a 1000 times more than what you have.

[MrCain]

I am only using it because it is free.

[GAMEFINEST]

There will be ads on there

[CyberHustler]

I hate wikipedia's edit-nazis. I go in and try to correct something that is obviously wrong, I even cite my credible references and sources... them fuckers change it back and ban me instantly. All the time. I go in and add "and she was a proud lesbian" on a famous straight actress's wiki page and it stays there for a long time.

[Hentaikid]

I donated.

If you see something inaccurate, change it. I've seen wrong stuff in the printed encyclopedia britannica, and it wasn't nearly as convenient to edit :P

The donation stats are online, btw

[Paul&John]

just donated

[ErectMedia]

All they would have to do is throw affiliate links to shit they use in the footer.

Domain Registration Provided By: GoDaddy.com

Web Hosting/Servers Provided By:

etc...

not really advertising if you're only promoting shit you actually use and are happy with. I do this on a few sites and make referrals and with their page views a few footer text links wouldn't kill anyone and would probably do quite well. Waiting on my 10% consulting fee.

[Jarmusch]

[Jarmusch]

50 donations.