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Wikipedia On the Brink? Or Crying Wolf?

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the all-about-the-benjamins dept.

netbuzz writes "Might Wikipedia 'disappear' three or four months from now absent a major infusion of cash donations? The suggestion has been made by Florence Devouard, chairwoman of the Wikimedia Foundation. And while her spokesperson has since backpedaled off that dire prediction, there can be little doubt that the encyclopedia anyone can edit could use a few more benefactors to go along with all those editors."

6 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. I really doubt it. by suso · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wikipedia is the "Great Library of Alexandria" of our time. And like open source, it will only die when enough people lose interest of it. And that flame is
    far from going out or being stomped out by political or social interests.

    Didn't the wikimedia foundation used to provide a way for anyone to download the entire 25GB+ database for wikipedia? So anyone could pick up with it. Even if
    that's not still the case, the torch would likely be passed onto someone else.

    After all, look how long defunct operating systems last.

    1. Re:I really doubt it. by Short+Circuit · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Most open source software doesn't really require money to develop, just people time. Wikipedia requires not just people with time, but bandwidth. Oodles and oodles of bandwidth.

      Perhaps it needs a P2P-based hosting system to serve up its content. That would be quite the task, though.

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    2. Re:I really doubt it. by MrAnnoyanceToYou · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Noone RTFA. The foundation's not in trouble, that was taken out of context. They have four months of cash reserves, which is good for a project that uses that much bandwidth. Good for them. Next time they have a funding goal I'll donate, if I'm employed at the time.

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    3. Re:I really doubt it. by limecat4eva · · Score: 5, Insightful

      How can you consider it the "Great Library of Alexandria" when its administrators ban on sight (with no warning) anyone that happens to have a username in non-Western script? It happened to me last year and left me with a great feeling of disgust, not to mention I lost my edit history and couldn't even login thereafter for 48 hours. And a little research shows that even though it's not sanctioned policy (does such a thing exist?) on English Wikipedia, there are enough rogue admins who enforce it as if it were policy—again, without warning or explanation—to turn off a lot of would-be contributors.

      If you want to force people to have usernames in English, TELL THEM instead of banning them and then forbidding logins from that IP like a common vandal. IMO, no website so hostile to the outside world can be considered a "Great Library" of any sort.

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    4. Re:I really doubt it. by thestuckmud · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I refuse to donate to any organization whose board members use my blood, sweat, and misery to jet-set around the world, hobnobbing with celebrities.
      I used to be on the board of a nonprofit, and I have a question for you: Would you volunteer to show up to tedious board meetings several times a year at your own expense (travel, lodging, lost time at work and with family), and then sit in a meeting room for a couple of days spending most of the time on tedious topics?

      I did. At least I could afford it. Some of our board members didn't have much money, but they found ways to get there and a spot on a floor or couch to sleep on. What made it worthwhile was the good work the organization did, plus the opportunity to spend time with some very cool, like-minded people.

      Now I don't know squat about how Wikimedia is run, but if it is like many small non-profits, board members are expected to contribute. Generously. Our board was accused of wasting donations on travel even though we paid our own way. Forgive me if I am sensitive to this issue, but you haven't come close to demonstrating that Wikimedia is using its funds improperly. My experience was that the people who argued as you do had no clue about the organization.

  2. Ad by in2mind · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If things were really that bad, wouild it hurt to have a tiny adsense ad?

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