Jaap-
Authors can eventually be paid using a "Free Software Bazaar" like model, where people can describe specific projects and individuals supply (pooled) funding. Basically WikiMoney without the Wiki.
Huh, I never found that within Wikipedia, could you explain this in terms of money/time spend and what it gives in return?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiMoney
Oh, but I am a professional writer, and I do write for free in my spare time.
Why?
Because I enjoy providing useful information to others. It's also good not to have to explain the same issues over and over again, and instead be able to just point to certain links.
What is RC?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Recent_changes
So you're for accepting any cash whatever it comes from?
Try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emoticon
The money would likely go to some arms manufacturer, or some poorly conceived EU initiative otherwise.
Huh, so you see the ammount of money that whatever government has is a given fact and it's good to syphon as much as possible of because otherwise it's used for issues that you don't understand yet?
Which part of "would likely go to" do you not understand?
Advertising when applied properly is also additional information.
Sure, but it's also propaganda.
So what?
Propaganda and encyclopedias don't mix well. Look up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Encyclopedia
Of course gift economies can work as long as people have enough left over from the real economie to give away.
The gift economies are just as real, and the more pervasive they become, the more self-reliant they can be.
Erik