[Wikipedia-l] NYTimes.com: Google may host encyclopedia project

[Thomas Whaples]

Mark Williamson <node.ue at gmail.com> wrote:
> What worries me is that the final say rests with a small-but-trusted
> group of individuals, not with the community. This is the trouble of
> our switch from a complete democracy to a not-so-representative
> democracy (only two of the board members were elected) - we have to
> trust that these people will be gentle with our future.

I think you're idealizing the 'primeval' state of Wikipedia. Wikipedia, as 
a web site (with its attendant collection of computers, DNS registrations, 
and other unique features) was never owned or operated by some sort of 
collective you could describe as a 'complete democracy'. It was run by 
Jimbo Wales, and he had the final say in everything- he was just nice 
enough to defer to the community in most matters. If Google had proposed a 
deal with Wikipedia before the WMF was founded, then the final say would 
rest with him just as much as it currently rests with the Board of 
Trustees of the Wikimedia foundation.