[WikiEN-l] Real-time mirrors as a net revenue _source_?

[Daniel Mayer]

--- Neil Harris <neil at tonal.clara.co.uk> wrote:
> Note that the users of the real-time mirrors are _not_ being charged for 
> use of the GFDL content, which remains freely available as before; they 
> are being charged for real-time access to WP data, with no need to run a 
> modified copy of MediaWiki in order to run their service.
> 
> Administration of the scheme could be made automatic, by allowing the 
> existing credit-card interface to be used to for payment, and entering 
> an IP address or addresses to be authorized, an E-mail address for 
> contact, and getting an authorization key mailed back.
> 
> As a result:
> * Wikipedia remains ad-free
> * the WF gets revenue
> * the advertisers still get to make (slightly less) money, but this time 
> without leeching unauthorized resources.
> 
> The feed could be provided from the existing software, only with a "null 
> skin" that produced only the rendered page content, thus both slightly 
> reducing the load of producing it (eg. no check for messages, greater 
> possibility for caching), and, at the same time, making the page content 
> easier to re-use, by removing the need to strip the user-interface from 
> around the page contents.
> 
> With other changes, for example, not checking for red/blue links, 
> serving costs could probably be reduced even further, and quote possibly 
> WF could charge more than $ 2 x 10^-4 per hit. Given the number of 
> mirrors around, setting up this scheme might pay for itself in a month 
> or less.
> 
> Good idea, or bad idea?

Very good idea. We are already doing that somewhat via RSS feeds but we have not publicized the
option and the few companies that have signed up did not use the service for long (or maybe we
just forgot to send them invoices...). Either way, we really do need to maximize that revenue
source and clamp down real tight on parasitic mirrors. Hiring another developer to manage the
service and kill parasitic mirrors would likely get us a bunch of net revenue.

-- mav

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