4 ms·

Wikipedia doesn't need that kind of attention. Writing for Wikipedia is like journalism, it is not automatically better just because you have more eyeballs. Wh

Wikipedia doesn't need that kind of attention. Writing for Wikipedia is like journalism, it is not automatically better just because you have more eyeballs. What kind of people do you want to attract? Do you think the best writers are attracted by the best parties? Wikipedia has loads of contributors in Germany. That is because of a long history of German intellectualism, it is not because Wikimedia is throwing parties. If Wikimedia were as global as you suggest, where are the parties in Iran and Russia? Are these parties without alcohol? I hope so, because we wouldn't want to exclude the muslim world, right? I say this as a Wikipedia contributor since 2005 with 16k edits.

foolmeonce 6y ago
> Are these parties without alcohol? I hope so, because we wouldn't want to exclude the muslim world, right? What? They aren't a fraternity, so I don't think drinking is mandatory. If you look at any large organization it has these kinds of frivolous events. Among other things, they let the leadership get a sense of the social environment and how it reacts to some of their ideas with less filtering. I personally don't attend most of these events, but it is really a silly direction to assume everything that is not technically necessary is a waste of money.
- fastball 6y ago
  Most large orgs don't beg for my money after I've already given them my time for free though.
  - Clewza313 6y ago
    Wikimedia is free for its users and doesn't do ads, you need to pay the server bills and find development somehow.
    - m3at 6y ago
      It absolutely does, and Wikipedia gets my donation yearly for that. However there are legitimate questions about how much/few of that is dedicated to its core tasks: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Guy_Macon/Wikipedia_has_Cancer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Guy_Macon/Wikipedia_has...
    - fastball 6y ago
      Right, it is not like most large orgs. So the excuse "most large orgs throw parties" is not a good one, imo. Though tbh "other orgs do it" is never a good argument, but it is especially bad here.
      - Clewza313 6y ago
        I've attended a bunch of Wikimedia/Wikimania conferences. These are held on a shoestring budget, and any drinking and dancing is on participants' own dime. WMF's per-employee T&E cost is apparently $7k/year. Working in sales at a company you've heard of, I've flown single flights and attended single dinners that cost more than that.
        fastball 6y ago
        Yes, except WMF should not be doing sales. They're an online wikipedia. Their costs keep ballooning, and not to pay for things that I care about when I donate money to support their core mission.
        fastball 6y ago
        Haha freudian slip there, *online encyclopedia.
  - unethical_ban 6y ago
    Should they have put logic into their banner ads and email to exempt any logged-in user who ever made an edit? If you have a new point to make, it's best to make it as a top level comment rather than trying to prop yourself up as opposing a point someone never made.

foolmeonce 6y ago

> Are these parties without alcohol? I hope so, because we wouldn't want to exclude the muslim world, right? What? They aren't a fraternity, so I don't think drinking is mandatory. If you look at any large organization it has these kinds of frivolous events. Among other things, they let the leadership get a sense of the social environment and how it reacts to some of their ideas with less filtering. I personally don't attend most of these events, but it is really a silly direction to assume everything that is not technically necessary is a waste of money.

fastball 6y ago
Most large orgs don't beg for my money after I've already given them my time for free though.
- Clewza313 6y ago
  Wikimedia is free for its users and doesn't do ads, you need to pay the server bills and find development somehow.
  - m3at 6y ago
    It absolutely does, and Wikipedia gets my donation yearly for that. However there are legitimate questions about how much/few of that is dedicated to its core tasks: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Guy_Macon/Wikipedia_has_Cancer https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Guy_Macon/Wikipedia_has...
  - fastball 6y ago
    Right, it is not like most large orgs. So the excuse "most large orgs throw parties" is not a good one, imo. Though tbh "other orgs do it" is never a good argument, but it is especially bad here.
    - Clewza313 6y ago
      I've attended a bunch of Wikimedia/Wikimania conferences. These are held on a shoestring budget, and any drinking and dancing is on participants' own dime. WMF's per-employee T&E cost is apparently $7k/year. Working in sales at a company you've heard of, I've flown single flights and attended single dinners that cost more than that.
      - fastball 6y ago
        Yes, except WMF should not be doing sales. They're an online wikipedia. Their costs keep ballooning, and not to pay for things that I care about when I donate money to support their core mission.
        fastball 6y ago
        Haha freudian slip there, *online encyclopedia.
- unethical_ban 6y ago
  Should they have put logic into their banner ads and email to exempt any logged-in user who ever made an edit? If you have a new point to make, it's best to make it as a top level comment rather than trying to prop yourself up as opposing a point someone never made.