2009/12/15 Delphine Ménard notafishz@gmail.com:
Just so I understand your argument. Were Jimmy Wales to lend his name and good will to support a cause {insert here name of noble cause you believe in}, I suppose you would summarize his help as "oh, he's trying to get his company to get a better image"? Wait, I'm probably starting a troll here. Replace Jimmy Wales with "whatever known person" you can think of.
Did it ever occur to you that real people _aren't_ the company they founded/bought/are taking care of?
The text of the advert: "Craig of Craigslist urges you to support Wikipedia. Why?"
In that context the separation between person and company is rather weak.
And whether it is Craig Newmark, the Dalai Lama, the Pope or my neighbours, if their "supporting" a good cause actually works and money comes in and awareness rises, frankly, I say "go ahead" and "thanks for all your help".
So you are okey with adverts on wikipedia as long as they are ah ""supporting" a good cause"? Third parties supporting wikipedia is one thing. At the cost of advertsing their company on one in five page views of wikipedia? No that is quite another.