[WikiEN-l] WIKIPEDIA FOREVER

[Ray Saintonge]

Oleg Alexandrov wrote:
> I have been a Wikipedian for five years. I am an administrator, I have
> written tens of articles, created hundreds of pictures, and made tens
> of thousands of edits. I love Wikipedia and all that it represents.
>
> I find the current "WIKIPEDIA FOREVER" banner to be creepy. I don't
> have good words to express it, but it does not feel the right way of
> soliciting donations.
>
> I would call upon the Wikipedians responsible for the banner to give
> it a deep thought about what  message they want to convey to the
> millions of visitors to the site. Thank you.
I understand your sentiments perfectly, I have been at it for nearly 
eight years. Those of us who have been doing this a long time are more 
committed to the idea than to the organization. It's the difference 
between amateur and professional sports. In amateur sports the important 
thing is participation and having fun at it without worrying too much 
about making mistakes. In professional sports image and conformity 
become more important, and the kind of boosterism that you criticize 
becomes the norm. When we start to believe that something is "forever" 
we lose our ability to renew.

Ec