There's a fallacy going on here - ie a term with two subtly different meanings.
The community - who are the ones ultimately "making the gift" do so altruistically, in the sense of not seeking *compensation*, but that's not the same as not expecting *consideration*. We do expect consideration. Attribution (CC-by-SA/GFDL) is one form of consideration. The offer of this knowledge by editors has quite specific terms that we expect to be met in return by the world at large, which is the meaning of consideration.
The offer of that knowledge, and its gifting, also doesn't imply * indifference*. This is more subtle, and arises because we aren't donating our time and effort into a void. We are donating as a result of, and often to benefit, things we believe in, such as helping others or free knowledge. There is an implied expectation (by some, perhaps not by others) that it will be treated with respect and used to further humanity.
This kind of expectation isn't contractual, but it's there anyway. It's the same kind of expectation that says you would probably be upset , if you spend a week trying to find something as a special gift for me, and I respond by flushing it down the toilet and saying "well you gave it to me so why are you upset what I do with my property?" It might be legally true, perhaps technically true, but it's certainly not socially and perhaps not morally true.
We donate time, effort and sometimes money, and we are not indifferent to whether those are supporting things we believe in. We donate for free knowledge and humanity, and do so because we care about free knowledge and humanity. Sometimes we say *"Look, we care about these things enough that we put this effort in, you care enough to support and appreciate us putting this effort in, so please listen when we say that something is harming the ecosystem within which that effort is placed"*. That is completely ethical and appropriate; no less than a wildlife volunteer who cares for dolphins pointing out things that harm dolphins or any other ecosystem that one might care for and try to support by nurturing it over time. Very few people throw sustained effort or money into a vacuum without any care whether it grows or dies.
FT2
On Fri, Aug 3, 2012 at 2:28 AM, Andreas Kolbe jayen466@gmail.com wrote:
For the record, I did not endorse the SOPA blackout, and I deeply resent my work in Wikipedia being leveraged to that political end.
And I deeply resent Jimbo's statements to the BBC today*, about how "We gave you Wikipedia and we didn't have to, and so you might want to listen to what we have to tell you".
A gift is either made altruistically, without strings attached, or it isn't. To claim selfless, altruistic purpose and then demand consideration in return for what has been given is disgusting.