On Thu, Nov 27, 2014 at 11:44 AM, Liam Wyatt liamwyatt@gmail.com wrote:
I am however negatively-struck by the finishing statement, a return to the
old motto of "keep us online without advertising for one more year". I thought that we had collectively agreed that banners that directly threaten advertising next year were not going to happen any more.
The Foundation just reported in its latest financial statements[1] assets including –
· Cash and cash equivalents of $28 million (up 5.7 million), · Investments of $23 million (also up 5.7 million).
Claiming in the fundraising banner that money is needed to "keep Wikipedia online and ad-free" verges on dishonesty, in my opinion.
See also the graphs in the Wikipedia article[2] on the Wikimedia Foundation (this latest financial report is not yet included).
I remember Jimmy Wales proudly telling the public[3] in 2005 how little it cost to run Wikipedia:
*“So, we’re doing around 1.4 billion page views monthly. So, it’s really gotten to be a huge thing. And everything is managed by the volunteers and the total monthly cost for our bandwidth is about 5,000 dollars, and that’s essentially our main cost. We could actually do without the employee … We actually hired Brion [Vibber] because he was working part-time for two years and full-time at Wikipedia so we actually hired him so he could get a life and go to the movies sometimes.”*
While today, the Wikimedia Foundation attracts rather more page views – 21 billion a month, i.e. 15 times as much – even 15 times the $5,000 a month Wales mentioned would only be $75,000 a month, or $900,000 a year; and that is without allowing for economies of scale, and the fact that bandwidth costs have decreased since 2005. I am sure this is balanced by various server-side improvements, but still. The Foundation is now regularly taking, and asking for, more than $50 million a year.
I am sure these banners, which have been in testing for months now, "work" in terms of bringing money in. But wouldn't it be nice if the public were told what the money is really for, instead of being left with the impression that lack of money is jeopardising the continued existence of Wikipedia?
[1] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/e/e3/FINAL_13_14From_KPMG.... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation#Finances [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQR0gx0QBZ4#t=275