Anthony DiPierro wrote:
On 12/30/05, Amaurea sigurdkn@gmail.com wrote:
On 12/30/05, Anthony DiPierro wikilegal@inbox.org wrote:
"The founder of Wikipedia, the charitably funded online encyclopaedia, says that the website is considering carrying advertisements in a move that could raise hundreds of millions of dollars a year in revenues."
If this is correctly represented, then I guess it really is true that anyone has their price. I thought better of Wales, though. *Sigh*. Adding advertisements to Wikipedia would definitly cause a fork.
I hope it happens just because of that. Wikipedia is too valuable to be left in the hands of Jimmy Wales.
Admittedly there may be moments when I sympathize with that point of view, but there are still many more moments when I consider how the alternatives are filtered through the wrong end of a telescope, and realize that we are certainly not ready for such a change. Two of the greatest dynasties in China's history were associated with a major development. The importance of those works is still recognized many centuries after they wer accomplished, but the dynasties themselves did not last long after the death of their visionary founders.
The entire issue of advertisements is vexatious. It's easy to see that the kind of money that advertising would bring would soon bring an end to worries about having enough hardware. But after all that hardware is purchased there would be plenty left over, we would be left with a big bank account full of problems. Would we hire new staff? To do what? Who among the longtime committed would not feel a twinge of envy if some newcomer were suddenly hired to be the new Larry Sanger? We would soon learn how many of our active members really live on a shoestring. Maybe we could fund everybody's attendance at the next Wikimania, or we could fund third world projects consistent with a wider vision of bringing knowledge to the most remote corners of the world. Or will someone else see us as the deep pocket that can easily be picked in the courts?
I don't know. Sometimes having too much money can be a bigger problem than having too little.
Ec