4 ms·

I wouldn't donate to Wikipedia because I don't think they spend the marginal donation dollar very well. Here's a picture of the Wikimedia headquarters: http:/

I wouldn't donate to Wikipedia because I don't think they spend the marginal donation dollar very well. Here's a picture of the Wikimedia headquarters: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Wikimedia_Foundation_Office_14.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_Wikimedia_Foundation_O... I'm not convinced that having a lot of foundation employees helps make the encyclopedia better. I'd like to see Wikipedia operate on a shoestring budget and stop collecting donations once they had enough invested to run their servers off of dividends and interest indefinitely.

ecaradec 16y ago
very nice idea, I wonder how much money would be enough to make wikipedia run on its dividends only. Does anyone know how much wikipedia cost to operate ?
adambyrtek 16y ago
The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit with only 27 full-time employees[1] (data for 2009) which runs, among others, the 7th most popular site on the web[2], and provides the world with an amazing source of knowledge. Of course the contents is provided by volunteers, but logistics of running a site and community of this size are far from trivial. I think that they spend the money wisely, so I donated myself and encourage you to do the same. When it comes to the photo that you linked, what does it prove? That they work in an actual office, not a bike shed or a tent? Do you claim that it's a luxury for them to have an office? I personally admire their spine and dedication to reject corporate money, and I'm surprised that even HN readers complain so loudly about the appeal. I guess Wikipedia already became a commodity that we got used to taking for granted. For better or worse. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation [2] http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wikipedia.org http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wikipedia.org

ecaradec 16y ago

very nice idea, I wonder how much money would be enough to make wikipedia run on its dividends only. Does anyone know how much wikipedia cost to operate ?

adambyrtek 16y ago

The Wikimedia Foundation is a non-profit with only 27 full-time employees[1] (data for 2009) which runs, among others, the 7th most popular site on the web[2], and provides the world with an amazing source of knowledge. Of course the contents is provided by volunteers, but logistics of running a site and community of this size are far from trivial. I think that they spend the money wisely, so I donated myself and encourage you to do the same. When it comes to the photo that you linked, what does it prove? That they work in an actual office, not a bike shed or a tent? Do you claim that it's a luxury for them to have an office? I personally admire their spine and dedication to reject corporate money, and I'm surprised that even HN readers complain so loudly about the appeal. I guess Wikipedia already became a commodity that we got used to taking for granted. For better or worse. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Foundation [2] http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wikipedia.org http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/wikipedia.org