Seriously, just have an ad or two and quit begging for donations. How do you "lose independence" by creating a simple Google AdWords account and displaying one little banner ad every 10000 pages? Seriously, grow up and have common sense. Don't get me wrong, I think Wikipedia is great and want to see it survive as long as possible, but by no means is its value mutually exclusive with displaying ads.
You are going to be disagreed with here quite intensely bud.
I hope wikipedia ban you
Better get used to it. Wikipedia nagware is the future of the internet if all the “I deserve all the free content on the internet and it’s my right to block all their ads at the same time, how dare anyone try to stop me” people get their way.
You don't realize that it's never as simple as placing "an ad or two". Google started by "placing an ad or two" but to keep advertisers on their platform now they need to read your email, track your location and eavesdrop on your conversations... I never wish to see Wikipedia being ad-driven, ever! That's a very condescending remark coming from someone drinking a latte.
I don't drink lattes, and it doesn't have to be all or none. It could be a scaled back version of minimal ads.
Exactly this. If there's a source of revenue, some MBA down the line will try to optimize it at the expensive of everything your company stands for. Once you've built a successful project/company, the founders' primary task becomes protecting their vision from those who will inherit it after them. See: literally 99% of companies ever
It’s a valuable resource and $5 can go a long way there serving pages.
You say you wouldn't mind seeing an ad every now and then, and yet here you are bi*ching about an ask that comes around once a year or so.
Some people will trade their freedom for $5. What a miserable way to live...
Amusing to see high TC entitled whiners who cannot shell out $5 for a good cause that they have no qualms taking advantage of..
I read wiki several times a day. I don’t really care about their ads once every few years. I usually give them 5 bucks each round.
I wouldn't care that much if Jimmy Wales wasn't so whiney about it, awkwardly staring at you in those angsty millennial photos like braco the gazer
You might have a similar look if you supported one of the top visited sites in the world for free