Wikimedia is a movement. We're not a game, we're not a website, we're not even just an encyclopedia-- we're a nonviolent revolution in information sharing. For-profit media is harder to trust-- we've seen that "For-profit" media often means "For sale". In a time where it's hard to trust a congress or mainstream media, one thing we can agree to trust is each other-- in the form of the Wikimedia community and its leaders.
Today, I'm so proud to be a part of this community. It's _extra-clear_ today that we do stand for something-- indeed, we stand for something quite revolutionary. MSNBC and CNN can never afford to go back-- they have advertisers. We are one of the few truly-non-profit information sources-- and that gives us a unique value unlike for-profit information sources. In a sea of alphabet soup, three letters we CAN trust are WMF.
I hope in 2012, the WMF will take its governance model and continue to apply it outside the limited scope of encyclopedias. Genealogy is the goto example-- Ancestry.com can't afford to blackout for good causes-- WE can.
We're not just another information source-- we're an information source with a conscience. That makes all the difference.
Good work, WMF. Thank you for what you've done, thank you for what you're doing.
On 17/01/2012 17:31, Alec Meta wrote:
Good work, WMF. Thank you for what you've done, thank you for what you're doing.
This is not a decision by the WMF, but by the Wikipedia in English (and a few other communities) community.
Sue Gardner, Director of the WMF, supports this decision and advertised it with a blog post https://blog.wikimedia.org/2012/01/16/wikipedias-community-calls-for-anti-so...
Emmanuel
on 1/17/12 11:31 AM, Alec Meta at alecmeta@gmail.com wrote:
Wikimedia is a movement. We're not a game, we're not a website, we're not even just an encyclopedia-- we're a nonviolent revolution in information sharing. For-profit media is harder to trust-- we've seen that "For-profit" media often means "For sale". In a time where it's hard to trust a congress or mainstream media, one thing we can agree to trust is each other-- in the form of the Wikimedia community and its leaders.
Today, I'm so proud to be a part of this community. It's _extra-clear_ today that we do stand for something-- indeed, we stand for something quite revolutionary. MSNBC and CNN can never afford to go back-- they have advertisers. We are one of the few truly-non-profit information sources-- and that gives us a unique value unlike for-profit information sources. In a sea of alphabet soup, three letters we CAN trust are WMF.
I hope in 2012, the WMF will take its governance model and continue to apply it outside the limited scope of encyclopedias. Genealogy is the goto example-- Ancestry.com can't afford to blackout for good causes-- WE can.
We're not just another information source-- we're an information source with a conscience. That makes all the difference.
Good work, WMF. Thank you for what you've done, thank you for what you're doing.
Very nicely said, Alec. I would like to add something I posted on the English WP Mailing List:
Why Wikipedia is important:
Without knowledge, myths are born. With myths, fear is born. With fear, intolerance is born. With intolerance, ignorance is born. With ignorance, nothing is born.
Marc Riddell
wikimedia-l@lists.wikimedia.org