Britannica Takes Over the Wikimedia Foundation

An anonymous reader writes "The Encyclopaedia Britannica has initiated a "semi-hostile" takeover of Wikipedia. Wikipedia administrators, members of the Wikimedia Board of Trustees, Arbitration Committee members and several other cabalists will receive free access. However, their adminship powers will be stripped permanently."

Comments

Booriing

[opqdonut]

This april fools stuff is getiing really lame.

Re:Booriing

[Sgt O]

This is one time I'm soooo glad I did not get the first post w/o RTFA. I had completely fallen for it....

Re:Booriing

[Anonymous Coward]

One day of the year with silly stories is not going to hurt anyone. I also hope mine gets accepted :)

Re:Booriing

[TrappedByMyself]

I think the real April Fool's joke is getting people who aren't amused by the jokes to keep coming back to the site and post comments about them.

It's like going to the same store 3 dozen times in one day, buying the same shirt each time, and telling the cashier each time how much you really hate that shirt.

Re:Booriing

[SocietyoftheFist]

Every year it does. A few really seemingly real well placed stories work better than all joke stories.

Re:Booriing

[ReeprFlame]

Ah man, I actually believed it was real until I saw the Seinfeld picture... Ugg

Re:Booriing

[FidelCatsro]

I remember a few classics on the BBC news over the years , there was only one per year though , they were well thought out , funny(after you worked out it was a joke ) and many of them remain true classics to this day ,in the field of practical jokes that is.
Its not really lame (taken each seperatly), its the fact that when every one is a joke people get sick fed up of them , too much of a good thing...

Re:Booriing

[miu]

It was getting lame 3 years ago, or whenever they changed from a couple joke articles to nothing but joke articles all day. It is now far beyond lame.

People like salt, people need salt, people don't want a big heaping bowl of salt.

Re:Booriing

[websaber]

there's a reason http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/top100.html hasn't been updated for a while. Lack of material.

Re:Booriing

[sharkey]

"Getting"?!?

Re:Booriing

[Anonymous Coward]

Go see the link to wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:April_1%2C_ 2005/2005_Britannica_takeover_of_Wikimedia

I find it funny, although not one of the best april fools jokes.

Re:Booriing

[SnowWolf2003]

Wouldn't it be more fun if the slashbots stopped trying to be the first to point out how smart and 1337 they are for spotting this as an april fools joke and instead posted real comments directly relating to the articles? Even try and improve on the joke. Post comments that would normally be expected from the slashdot crowd - outrage, humour, rebuttals, etc. We all know it's an april fools joke - instead of pointing it out, why not play along - it's a joke - i.e supposed to be fun. You're the boring one.

Re:Booriing

[Anonymous Coward]

No kidding. I forget every year, though the last few years I realise sometime around midmorning or midday that it's AFD.

Really really stupid. It makes the gd internet useless for the entire day basically; I read to find interesting stuff, and that category includes "jokes" on AFD. Sigh. So it's all a joke until the 2nd, when one can check to see which stories are real.

Re:Booriing

[GtKincaid]

A knock knock joke is funny , try reading 40 of them in a row and see if your still laughing . Sure it can be great , but you know we also like news

Re:Booriing

[Jakeypants]

I disagree - I spend 364.25 days a year reading the normal articles, I think it's cool that one day out of the year we have articles like this. I say keep it up.

Re:Booriing

[zeroduck]

So. . . you're telling me that Britannica isn't really taking over Wikipedia?

Re:Booriing

[nadadogg]

Then go to other websites today, instead of crying in front of your computer here. I'm fairly certain, although I may be wrong, that other websites than slashdot, and it's targets, that do exist.

Re:Booriing

[Anonymous Coward]

So you'd rather find just one present under your Christmas tree [metaphorically speaking, of course - I don't know your religion] instead of, say, 10? Sure, lots of websites are putting up jokes, but 1) there's always Google News, and 2) come on! It's April Fool's day!

Re:Booriing

[pluggo]

It's funny how among this subset of the population, April Fools Day is one of the more popular holidays with many (certainly one of my favorites). I think it reminds us once a year to be on our toes and to stay mentally alert. And, hell, I don't even always remember my own birthday, but I sure as hell remember AFD several days in advance, and am on the offensive from the moment I roll out of bed.

Re:Booriing

[Anonymous Coward]

It's like going to the same store 3 dozen times in one day, buying the same shirt each time, and telling the cashier each time how much you really hate that shirt.

Or as Woody Allen said, "The food here is horrible, and the portions are so small."

Re:Booriing

[Johnny5000]

people don't want a big heaping bowl of salt.

speak for yourself!

*eats bowl of salt*

Re:Booriing

[miu]

That is exactly what I did, I forgot it was april fools and made the mistake of glancing at the slashdot front page.

So, no, I didn't spend the day crying and weeping about slashdot - I came, saw that there were nothing but stupid prank stories, posted a comment, and left.

Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[rylin]

"Nothing for you to see here. Please move along."

That actually describes slashdot with 100% accuracy for April 1st.

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[Prod_Deity]

I agree with that whole heartedly.

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[Anonymous Coward]

That actually describes slashdot with 100% accuracy for April 1st.

That actually describes slashdot with 100% accuracy for more days then just April 1'st.

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[slashrogue]

Has anybody else noticed that almost every single article SOMEONE comes along and says "gee is it not clever that I got the 'Nothing for you to see here.' message? hahaha!" and they inevitably get mod points. Lame.

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[adamfranco]

"Nothing for you to see here. Please move along."

That actually describes slashdot with 100% accuracy for April 1st.

Bleh. I'm coming back tomorrow.

Cmon slastdot

[jetsfandb]

The April Fools gags are getting less clever by the minute.

FP

Re:Cmon slastdot

[Physician]

Maybe you're just old and crotchety. Let the rest of us enjoy April Fool's.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[GreyWolf3000]

They're going to have throw out a few "dud" 4/1 stories if they want to fool us with the clever ones. People will think that only the "obvious" ones are jokes. Otherwise, readers would carefully inspect every article.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[suso]

Actually, the next one that is coming up should have some great comments.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[calibanDNS]

Otherwise, readers would carefully inspect every article.

That would be a blessing any day of the year.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[jetsfandb]

Actually I'm young and easygoing. I enjoy April as much as you. I just expect something more clever from us nerds and geeks!

Uptight nerds hate April Fools Day on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

They spend all day rolling their eyes and posting complete snark just to show the whole world they weren't fooled. "I WASN'T FOLLED YOU KNOW --- THIS SI APRIL FOOLS DAY AND SLASHDOTT IS TEH SUCK .. WHERE ARE MY SERIOUS ARTICELS "

Idiots. Put down your chai and get some fresh air.

Re:Uptight nerds hate April Fools Day on Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

Parent Modded: (-1, Didn't Get the Joke)

wtf?

[rovingeyes]

However, their adminship powers will be stripped permanently

I hope Britannica does something about this bad language crap.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!

[afree87]

It was a joke!! Haha, oh Slashdot, you got us good!

Re:APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!

[first.last]

Oh to be the Air Force One pilot today. "Mr. President, I'm sorry to inform you the landing gear is stuck and will not extend. We have 5 hours of fuel left until we all die."

Re:APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!

[gameboyhippo]

I think it was funny. I think what's funnier is all them nerds trying to be cool by being all like "That wasn't funny. I'm ubercool so I don't like that kids stuff. Blah Blah I love Mic... Blah

april fools

[sirvulcan]

These stories are just too easy to figure out this year.

Re:april fools

[nomadic]

They're too easy to figure out every year. Actually back in the olden days, believe it or not, slashdot actually was clever on April 1st. You'd get real stories interspersed with an occasional almost-real one that actually fooled people. Then one year they started running really tiresome, obvious stories constantly, and they haven't stopped since.

damn it

[nomadic]

This really really sucks. Especially timing it for April Fools Day when people won't believe it's a real story.

Re:damn it

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah... damn shame :)

Re:damn it

[hottoh]

At least this one is really funny.

Brittanica attacking wikipedia again, the Gonzales pic. Hell even homestar runner made the story.

OK...

[Aldric]

Haven't we had enough April Fool's jokes today already?

Worst April's fools ever

[abeybaby]

Did you really think anyone was going to fall for this? Mind you, it's probably got more truth in it than a lot of /.'s posts

Re:Worst April's fools ever

[EvilTwinSkippy]

I think the photoshop of Elian was a nice touch.

Re:Worst April's fools ever

[Anonymous Coward]

i fell for it!

Oh God, forgot again

[Anonymous Coward]

When will someone create a linux distro which by default has the ability to selectively and automatically add slashdot.org to hosts.deny for the duration of April Fools Day?

April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[RobotRunAmok]

Britannica taking over Wiki? Too bad it's only a fantasy. Short of Britannica putting its content on the Web free, this would be the next best thing.

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[Hiigara]

Your sarcasm needs work, or else you are seriously mistaken. A "semi-hostile" takeover of Wikimedia by an established dictionary entity would mean only one thing, they are trying to eliminate the free competition.

To assume that Britannica would release it's content or try to improve the Wiki is rather naive.

That, or I am a socialist with a grudge against anyone who seeks profit at the expense of the free exchange of information.

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[RobotRunAmok]

That, or I am a socialist with a grudge against anyone who seeks profit at the expense of the free exchange of information.

You might be. I know that I am a capitalist who is more than happy to pay a professional editor to ensure that the information is correct and not the product of a dare formulated in the back of a schoolbus.

Sure, I know *most* of the stuff in wiki is *usually* right, and it's certainly updated more frequently (for good or ill) than Britannica, but consistency trumps all.

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[Anonymous Coward]

So do it, who's stopping you from buying Britannica?

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[RobotRunAmok]

So do it, who's stopping you from buying Britannica?

Nobody, Niblet. I have a subscription to the online edition, and it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. (In the Real World -- hell, even in the Academic World -- you can't use a Wikipedia citation and be viewed credibly.) My original [ironic] point was that a Britannica/Wiki marriage would be sweet if it combined the former's content with the latter's price structure.

Additionally...

[FooAtWFU]

The #wikipedia channel on Freenode has been shut down and now forwards to ##britannica. The Wall Street Journal also has an article.

And someone was futzing with our navigation earlier. But it's better now. For now.

This one is funny

[NerdHead]

I got a laugh over this one. I hope the future ones are funny.

THrow real stories for once

[Anonymous Coward]

to give us a good april fool !!

This, too, is great news.

[AtariAmarok]

I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves.

Re:This, too, is great news.

[bwalling]

I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves

Well, all I've got is $50, so I'll just take the letter 'V'.

Re:This, too, is great news.

[harvey_peterson]

I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves.

Don't forget about the random people who come into your house to edit it.

Re:This, too, is great news.

[rishistar]

Well I'm not going to contribute again. I'd have to go round to all the people who have a copy to update them. Most of them won't care what a charango is anyway.

Re:This, too, is great news.

[ajs]

"I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves."

Based on the picture, I think that would be "kicking in your door" ;-)

Re:This, too, is great news.

[Rude Turnip]

Yeah, but who else is going to declare that you have a lovely three-piece suite?

OT: Firefox

[m50d]

Did anyone else have firefox crash trying to first post in this story? 3 times in a row I loaded it and clicked reply only to have FF disappear and the quality feedback agent come up.

(Typing this in Opera, which seems to be fine)

come on

[Sv-Manowar]

come on you guys, don't troll them for having a bit of fun. Google and Yahoo! do it - with google slurp and yahoo slacker

It's also a pretty funny story if you read it through, at least some people still have senses of humour

Re:come on

[nomadic]

Yes, but google and yahoo are actually clever about it.

Wonderful.

[xanderwilson]

One of the better ones I've seen so far today. Surely puts my weak attempt to shame.

Day's early though.

Stupid Slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

This stuff wasn't funny for the past seven years. Why is this still being done?

Roll on this evening

[SFA_AOK]

We're in for one hilarious omelette!

Most obvious April 1st joke ever, look at link

[Weaselmancer]

Examine the story link. It's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:April_1%2 C_2005/2005_Britannica_takeover_of_Wikimedia

April 1, right in the link. Obvious!

Re:Most obvious April 1st joke ever, look at link

[houseofzeus]

You're right, normally it would take at least 6 months before it turned up on Slashdot. I shouldn't complain though, once an article gets here we get it again every month for the rest of time.

Boring Life

[bigtallmofo]

Wouldn't life be boring if every day was the same and that there weren't days like April 1st to break up the monotony of reading timely real news?

The jokes are a bit tired, but it's good to have a little variety.

Re:Boring Life

[ari_j]

timely real news

Dude, if you come to Slashdot for that, you have deeper issues.

WikBritPedAnnica

[FunWithHeadlines]

Following completion of the takeover, the following steps will be taken:

1. Reduce the number of articles online so that they will fit into a 27-volume set of printed books.

2. The person making this list will be sacked.

3. Reduce the use of fluffy language on Wikipedia, and make everything more stuffy.

4. The person who sacked the person making this list will be sacked.

5. More cheesey goodness!

6. Sack everyone else.

7. ?????

8. Profit!!!!

Re:WikBritPedAnnica

[EvilTwinSkippy]

7. Hire a bunch of Peruvian llamas to finish the edition at the last minute and at great expense.

Re:WikBritPedAnnica

[ggvaidya]

Slashdot would like to apologize for the above post. Those responsible have been sacked.

pfft.

[Nosf3ratu]

[root@fortunato]*[~]$ date
Fri Apr 1 09:43:29 EST 2005

Good idea but...

[jon855]

I hope it'll remain free as always, I mean that's how it grew, I hope it doesn't have stupider ads in the future, we shall see..

Some nice bits ....

[gowen]

I like the new board of directors at the end... excerpts include

• Tony Blair, Director of Transparency and Accountability
  
• Al Gore (inventor of the algorithm)
  
• Robert Downey, Jr., Ambassador to Colombia and Jamaica
  
• Dr. Who, Minister of Time Travel
  
• Marty McFly, Vice Minister of Time Travel
  
• Ron Artest and Miles O'Brien, security guards.
  
• Bub the Zombie, Minister of NRRRGGGHH! BRAINS!!!!
  
• Terri Schiavo, Personal Assitant to Bub the Zombie
  
• Ian Brown, King Monkey
  

Re:Some nice bits ....

[tomstdenis]

Terri Schiavo, Personal Assitant to Bub the Zombie

Too soon, you have to wait 22.3 years before something like that is funny.

Tom

Re:Some nice bits ....

[cmpalmer]

I don't know, I heard about a T-Shirt the other day that said something like:

"Forget Terri Schiavo, stop feeding Kirstie Alley"

and I thought it was funny...

Re:Some nice bits ....

[Anonymous Coward]

Your forgot Michael Jackson - honarary president, NAMBLA

Re:Some nice bits ....

[Anonymous Coward]

Miles O'Brien, a security guard?

He has been a tactical officer, a conn specialist, a transporter specialist, a chief of operations and a teacher. How does a security guard fit the picture?

Re:Some nice bits ....

[RedA$$edMonkey]

Terri Schiavo, Personal Assitant to Bub the Zombie

Too soon, you have to wait 22.3 years before something like that is funny.

Tom

Well since she died 15 years ago we only have 7.3 more to go.

Re:Some nice bits ....

[Anonymous Coward]

Miles O'Brien, a security guard?

He has been a tactical officer, a conn specialist, a transporter specialist, a chief of operations and a teacher. How does a security guard fit the picture?

It doesn't, I guess that's the joke.....

Gotta relieve the tedium somehow...

[projectVORTEX]

Well, given that it is April Fools Day... I guess this was to be expected. It's a good way to chuckle about things, though. Now all we need is Intel taking over AMD or M$ taking over Google or somesuch and the day is complete!

Re:Gotta relieve the tedium somehow...

[menkhaura]

The day would be complete if AMD took over Intel and Google took over MS...

Re:Gotta relieve the tedium somehow...

[projectVORTEX]

Then I'd know it was April Fools for sure! Actually, truthfully, the day that comes is the day of the coming apocolypse -- for on that day good will have triumphed over evil.

The UK is going after google next

[Anonymous Coward]

The bastions of the internet will fall like English teeth.

Or this one:

[AtariAmarok]

Politics: "Through a glitch between Zimbabwe's election computers and Slashdot, Cowboy Neal was elected president of Zimbabwe yesterday."

Libel?

[suwain_2]

When does an April Fools joke become libel? I can't see Encyclopedia Britannica seeing the humor in this one.

Re:Libel?

[spac3manspiff]

Good point, but libel for what?

Re:Libel?

[Anonymous Coward]

When does an April Fools joke become libel? I can't see Encyclopedia Britannica seeing the humor in this one.

First off, it is an obvious joke and not ment to be taken seriously. Therefore it is not libelous. Second, I'm sure more than a few people at Encyclopedia Britannica are laughing at this. The British, unlike we Yanks, have the ability to occasionally not take themselves too seriously (e.g. self-depreciation humor).

No

[Anonymous Coward]

The Paris Hilton thing IS the next scheduled article.

So Funny!

[pgpckt]

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Oy! That was a good one!

Where do the editors come up with these wonders?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

April Fool?

[krygny]

I don't believe anything I read today.

Re:April Fool?

[Anne_Nonymous]

You'd be well served to make a regular habit of it.

Re:April Fool?

[Hatta]

I don't believe anything I read today.

Everything you read on April 1st is a lie.

Re:April Fool?

[krygny]

Everything you read on April 1st is a lie.

That's true. But I still don't believe it.

Usual day on slashdot

[Anonymous Coward]

Most post on the frontpage of slashdot are already useless and off topic (new for nerds, stuff that matters). So I really don't see why people are complaining about april fool joke. Seem to me like a usual day with some more humour.
Now if you would excuse me, I have to go outside to show my ass to that google satellite.

Panicked

[bostonsoxfan]

I panicked for a full second before I realized that it was April fools day. Props to the moderators for picking such a bad jokes. Is there going to be any real news today?

NO

[Anonymous Coward]

You will be subjected to Lame April fools until you are DESTROYED with ANGUISH!

HA HA HA the april fool ubersecret world domination committee will WIN the World from you puny mortals!

April 1

[vurg]

I believe April fool's should be moved to a different date since everybody is already prepared for it and the jokes aren't being appreciated anymore. How about making it a random date each year chosen by a committee or something. I think October fool's would definitely be something.

Re:April 1

[tenco]

This...doesn't....make...sense.

You would also be prepared if it was a random date because the comittee will announce it before.

Wikipædia Britannica

[customiser]

I'm afraid it's true... The front page now reads:
Welcome to Wikipædia Britannica, the free-content encyclopædia that anyone can edit.

Where is the web-as-we-know-it heading? I sure hope that someone (maybe RMS and/or Lawrence Lessig?) can save us...

Re:getting fedup with april fools

[Anonymous Coward]

I think we should rename April fools day, April trolls day.

Google

[Beuno]

Any one else expecting something wacky like gmail from google this year again?

Re:Google

[Thijs van As]

Actually, they doubled storage for GMail.

Have you already had some GoogleGulp?
http://www.google.com/googlegulp/

Re:Google

[fubarific]

and they gave us pretty colours to annoy and blind our friends with when we email them!!! I mean uh... to highlight important part of our emails and uh...

Mod me down but..

[xtracto]

WTF, they publish this thing (i know it is funny) and they have just REJECTED my story about google increase in space (2GB) and Rich text format new features...

Cool! I guess that is not NEWS FOR NERDS... and really does not MATTERS....

Re:Mod me down but..

[Jugalator]

I'm sure they'll post three articles about the Google space increase later to compensate. ;-)

Re:Mod me down but..

[xtracto]

lol I can bet... but, they wont say "xtracto writes"
=oP

Re:Retaliation against /.

[OECD]

Here's the next joke article:

*Groan* I forgot what day it was... the longest day of the year for slashdot readers...

*PHEW*

[iehnll]

Damn you!

I almost went into cardiac arrest. Thank god it's april fools.

I don't believe it...

[slapout]

...And I won't believe it until I see the dupe posted. :-)

no doubt. here's my suggestion

[Anonymous Coward]

let's create a slashdot board game. we have until 5pm today.

Limits

[jockm]

One April Fool's Story == Funny
A whole day of them == Annoying and Tedious

I'll be back tomorrow...

Re:Limits

[Peyna]

Your ID # is high enough that you've been here more than a year and should know that this is some what of a tradition on Slashdot. Nothing newsworthy will show up until after midnight.

That said, it's too bad this wasn't Saturday and we'd only have to deal with 23 hours of it.

Re:Limits

[jockm]

Yes and it is annoying and tedious every single year. And my point is just as valid every year as well. I have this vague hope that one year the powers that be will figure this out. They will pepper a day of legitimate news with one or two AF posts that are genuinely funny.

Yeah Takeover=No Truth Washing

[cannuck]

Probably a good idea if Wiki was taken over by Britania. Then - perhaps - a less black and white approach to the "truth" - perhaps. The Wiki folks need to take another look at what they present as the "truth". I didn't know that "status quo" viiewpoints = truth. This is especially obvious when it comes to the medical/drug industrial complex or to the environmental green washing industry.

Next story?

[maxwell demon]

Microsoft buys Slashdot.
Linus Thorvalds buys Linux License from SCO.
Hubble Space Telecope observes Intergalactic Spaceship.
Space Probe Reveals: There is No Intelligent Life on Earth.
Harvard Researcher creates Dupe Detection Software. Soon to be Installed on Slashdot.

Re:Next story?

[BBird]

the fourth is not fool's news...

Re:Next story?

[ornil]

Harvard Researcher creates Dupe Detection Software. Soon to be Installed on Slashdot.

You forgot another one:

Duplicate Detection Software from Harvard to be Used by Slashdot

Re:Next story?

[randomblast]

It's not news either ;)

DUPE! (well almost)

[Anonymous Coward]

I know it's an April Fool, but this was even brought up on the baby selling story
earlier [slashdot.org] (at bottom).

What happened to the clever, witty side to April Fools?

I'm starting to wonder if by 'dupe' we mean the editors are being duped, as opposed to a story being a duplicate.

Re:DUPE! (well almost)

[Anonymous Coward]

The stories weren't more clever; it was you who was more naïve.

Oh Yeah???

[mfh]

I work at an encyclopedia sales company and to think of how much all this Wiki crap is going to weigh is really pissing me off!

Sure..

[Xyl3ne]

What a bad April Fools joke.

I thought

[coolcold]

the date on /. is always April 1st

Re:please

[Anonymous Coward]

be quiet you.. if it wasnt for us timely yanks you'd be spelling humour... der Humor.

deutschland! deutschland! deutschland!

Re:Retaliation against /.

[Anonymous Coward]

Michael Sims returns to Slashdot!

It's so not fake.

[PxM]

I can't believe people think this is an April Fool's story. They even have a picture on their site to prove that their story is true. We must rise up against our British Overlords who wish to control our information and tax our tea. Please, think of the children!

--
Want a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof

Smart Slashdot Story Prediction Software Unveiled

[nmg196]

I was sent some clever software that predicts the next slashdot story with amazing accuracy. I compiled it and ran it myself and it's currently predicting the next story will be "Paris Hilton Recruited to Publicize Linux".

We'll have to wait and see... but if this works, there will no longer be so much incentive to subscribe to slashdot...

Fool's Fallout

[holy_calamity]

All this spoof stuff on /. just shows you can't believe anything anyone says today. I've been very careful - so far at work I've avoided three spoof 'meetings' and four 'deadlines'.

Everyone's at it: My boss says he sack me if I don't start taking things seriously. Like I was gonna fall for that one...

hmm...

[Teja]

nothing to see here, move along ;) It's probably time for all of this nonsense to end to time to move onto some real news. Meanwhile, here is a good list of sites pulling a few pranks. Via

another one bites the dust

[dascritch]

1st April are so looooooong (perhaps because I donn't written mine yet ?)

In the other news Google ...

[who got my name]

Gives all users 2GB of email storage... Who want invite, let me know got 50. By the way, the joke is not even fun and you can mod me troll but so you are lame.

Oh, for crying out loud. (n/t)

[ettlz]

Yeah, I waited 20 seconds, too.

What's Next?

[Anonymous Coward]

So what's next? Linus admitted that Linux belongs to SCO, or is it always April 1st in Lindon, Utah?

Dammit!! I can't believe I fell for it.

[CyberSnyder]

I forgot it was April 1st.

Now time to start trickery of my own.....

Re:Retaliation against /.

[Anonymous Coward]

I believe we will be seeing that Avid is taking over Digidesign soon:

http://ardour.org/

We are happy to announce the recent acquisition of Linux Audio Systems by Avid Inc. The combination of LAS's Linux expertise and Avid/Digidesign's long experience with commercial audio software will be a powerful means of advancing digital audio technology. Development on LAS's Ardour DAW will cease immediately, with many elements from its code base planned for inclusion in ProTools 7, expected for Linux in Q4 2005. Avid/Digidesign, as new owners of the intellectual property of LAS, has also filed for several patents on Ardour-derived technology. Paul Davis, owner and sole proprietor of LAS, has been appointed to the position of Chief Linux Technology Officer, and will also supervise further development of the DigiServe product line, which derive 98.72% of their value from the unacknowledged use of free GPL'ed software tools.

Funny how the Avid site doesn't mention a thing about it!!!

check...

[SlashDread]

the date...

That was a good one...

[haplo21112]

...I hate April 1st...you actually had me for a second there...thats slight tinge of plausability.

Heh, April Fools crashes

[MrHanky]

Most of the apps I use regularly are more or less rock solid. I don't remember the last time one of them crashed -- before today. Today, Kopete has crashed at least 4 times, Firefox and Konqueror both crashed once each. And now neither Kopete nor Gaim will connect to MSN.

Coincidence?

Or maybe it was because I upgraded half of KDE's libraries without restarting KDE. An April Fools upgrade?

Re:Heh, April Fools crashes

[m50d]

Nope, I'm finding kopete won't connect to MSN for me either.

Re:Retaliation against /.

[bsd4me]

I think I am going to configure my computer to give me an electric shock every time I try to read Shashdot today...

Re:Retaliation against /.

[Anonymous Coward]

Damn, you are good man. Care to tell me my future?

enough already

[PureCreditor]

a couple of April Fools laughs is good, but to submit 10 stories of the same ridiculous nature is rather immature

And there it is

[Baron Eekman]

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/01/ 141218&tid=163&tid=106.

"Founder Jimmy Wales, a suspected cylon,...

[tenco]

...giving a brief statement to the New York Times from his Maui survivalist compound, was reported to be "extremely pleased" with the £133.7 million severance package given to each of the five-and-a-half trustees of the Wikimædia Foundation. Wikipædia is best known as the "encyclop[a]edia" that any old fool can edit."

cited from this wikipedia article.

If that isn't an april fool's joke, i don't know what else... oh, wait:

"See also:
- April Fool's Day
- Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense
"

Too funny

[oliana]

Have you acutally read the Wikipedia article? It reads like a super special extended version of The Onion.

Ha Haaah!

[blueZhift]

Ha haah! Made me look! Nice one.... Of course the sad thing is that stuff like this could really happen...

Stallman ... committed seppuku with a Frisbee.

[wiredog]

We should be so lucky.

Of Course You Realize This Means War

[autosentry]

You've pushed us too far, Britannica! Make ready the weaponry!

There's nothing like

[AtariAmarok]

"Don't forget about the random people who come into your house to edit it." There is nothing like trying to sleep through the nightly gunfire coming from the den as editors duke it out over details of the George W. Bush entry. And there are always bits of burnt paper from the "G" volume all over the floor the next day.

Why Not?

[CSG_SurferDude]

Why Not?

E.B. could easily download all of Wiki-land, dump it onto their own servers, and then merge their own content with Wikipedia, and then sell advertising on their site to make $$$.

This isn't necessarily a bad idea. E.B. carries clout in the real world, and can have their own editors "Approve" modifications to articles before letting the rest of the world view them.

Printing wikipedia content and selling it

[presroi]

Actually, I am working on this right now. It will take some time to get this printed but there is no need to hurry.

No, not an April's fool

hhahahaha

[UlfGabe]

The event caused an evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet to destroy innocent kittens from the Djibouti area. This kitten-eater was so enraged, due to its nature of editing constantly on Wikipedia (some say it is a bot) that it took it out on the younger feline population closest to its satellite probe. It is not yet known how many kittens perished due to this, but the Kitten Society of Djibouti and Upper Somaliland are planning on suing Britannica for this drastic event. Luckily, the region is home to giant amphibian groundhogs who are well known to be able to attack anything extra-terrestrial, such as Michael Jackson's breast implants or the feet of Godzilla. It was later reported that the kitten-eater was being fought off by the powerful Al Jazeera army corps who flew in from nearby Qatar. However, an argument erupted within the organization over how to pronounce "Qatar" leaving the kitten-eater oppurtune time to eat more kittens. The kitten eating is reported to have spread almost 200 miles away from the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Al Qaeda is of course, denying any relation to the event, however when quoted, Osama bin Laden stated "death to the American pig-dog infidels!"

After six hours of the insurgency, PETA horrified by the events added themselves to the long list of people and organizations wanting to sue Britannica. They are reported to have offered Mr. Wales $200 if he returns Wikimedia back to where it was.

The crisis was wrapped up when Commandante Meow-Meow (pictured at left) led the Djiboutian kitten's 543rd infantry division along with the Djiboutian Liberation Front to victory, by overpowering the kitten-eater in the plains of northern Ethiopia. It is reported that Commander Kitty and PETA are working out a deal to try and get Wikipedia back so as to prevent future space invasions.

Ha.

[RedA$$edMonkey]

It's funny cuz it's april fools and they are trying to f00l us. That is classic. kudos my friend kudos.

If you want something funny go read these in memorium:
http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mitch_Hedberg
"I went to the store to buy a candle holder, but they were out. So I bought a cake."

It looks like a joke to me

[wer2chosen]

I would not be so quick to jump on thsi story. When you look at the figures it looks like it may be an April fools joke

Nice Joke

[kwenda]

Nice joke... here's another either really funny, or really scary one...

Who reads books now anyways?

Damn..

[Patrick Mannion]

I semi-fell for it. But seriously, If I Wikipedia did get taken over by Brittanica, I'd either

Commit suicide Wait to see Commit suicide if membership payments are required

To bad this isn't true

[smc13]

To bad Britanica isn't taking over wikopedia. It might make wikis worth using as a source. Right now they simply aren't reliable.

In related (April 1st) news....

[Flatline_hun]

Slashdot editors create funny April Fools articles. Gotcha!

Even worse...

[Grendel Drago]

No---the return of Jon Katz!

"In this post-Iraq war society..."

--grendel drago

i agree

[evoltap]

I agree....play along with the jokes. Maybe some first time reader will come along and not be sure what the hell is going on. 1/365 of a year devoted to humor should be managable for a carbon based life form with advanced mental capabilities. Buncha slashdots in the mud...... :)

It's not about the shirt

[ari_j]

Although this obviously applies in no way to posting comments on Slashdot, I find that going to the same store 3 dozen times in one day, buying the same shirt each time, and telling the cashier each time how much you really hate that shirt can get you laid one time in 100.

Ecuadorian Mountain llamas??

[Anonymous Coward]

7.5 hire 40 specially trained Ecuadorian Mountain llamas, 6 Venezuelan Red Llamas, 148 Mexican Whooping Llamas, 14 North Chilean Guanacos (closely related to the llama), Reg Llama of Brixton, and 76000 Battery Llamas from "Llama Fresh Farms Ltd" near Paraguay.

WikBritPedAnnica

It's noon.

[blaksaga]

It's noon and April fools day is half over. Could we please stop with the joke posts already? You had me worried with this article until I remembered what day it is.

Will provide leather-bound blank-page Wiki version

[Anonymous Coward]

This april fools stuff is getiing really lame. ...and here's the link to the Wiki article I wrote that proves it!

Look on the bright side....

[ro_coyote]

At least it's not a dupe. =)

Ridiculous

[beard0]

That's about as crazy and unbeleivable as Slashdot deciding to change it's name to "My Computer"

April Fools

[goreking]

I actually got pissed. This must be a joke.

unlike your sig

[Anonymous Coward]

Which is most definantly fake