[WikiEN-l] Florence

[Anthony]

> >> I've never understood the strong aversion to money seemingly held by
> some
> >> Wikipedians.
> >
> > Few people are averse to money, it's money at the expense of the
> > values Wikipedia is built around (freedom of knowledge, for the most
> > part) that people don't like.
> >
> Nicely said. Don't forget also: money made by a few at the expense of, and
> on the backs of, the many.
>

Who would be the "few" you're referring to?  Seems to me those "few" are
going to get paid no matter what, by ads or by donations.  And if it's being
made "on the backs of the many", this is the case regardless of how that
money is derived.

Anyway, my comment wasn't really focussed on ads so much as the denigration
of "financial gain".  Personally I'm lukewarm on ads - I think they *could*
be done right, but I doubt they *would* be done right.

I do think some Wikipedians *are* averse to money, in that they think
involving money will destroy "the values Wikipedia is built around".  And I
guess I do understand the aversion, I just disagree with it.  To my mind
freedom of knowledge includes the freedom to make a profit by providing a
value-add.  And the GFDL, which was chosen by Wikipedia, agrees with *that*
definition.  If Wikipedians really want CC-BY-NC, they should start a new
project, not try to change this one.