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Interestingly there was no mention of sister projects or the inflated activity in adjacent areas in the begging for money banner presented to me last time, did

Interestingly there was no mention of sister projects or the inflated activity in adjacent areas in the begging for money banner presented to me last time, did I miss something?! It was asking for keeping the Wikipedia we use operational for a long time to come. No mention of educating the world or 'broader development goals'. A Wikipedia that is created by volunteers (including the hundreds of language versions) for free, managed and promoted by sometimes high paid employees with expansion ambitions. Are they risking the future of the Wikipedia we like and use today by the costly ambitions and the costly organization required to realize the big ambitions?!? Are they overstreching their means?! The begging for money banners only talk about keeping it operational. Not about 'sister projects' or other ambitions, they do not ask money for those! (not to mention that some of the banners condemn being commercial, saying 'it would be a great loss', exactly what Wikimedia LLC aspires to do)

zozbot234 5y ago
> No mention of educating the world "Imagine a world where every single person on the planet can freely share in the sum of human knowledge: this is our commitment." They could hardly be any clearer about it. And even if your goal is to keep Wikipedia thriving, you need these sister projects.
- mihaaly 5y ago
  That quote is about sharing knowledge not about educating people. Different things with different requirements, a different (related) activity. Sharing knowledge is a well understood long lasting profile, education is not. Also the 'need' for sister projects is an unfunded claim, a mere opinion. Actually the "bring you unlimited access to reliable information" that is explicitly mentioned in fundraisers already thrives for long without sister projects.
  - CRConrad 5y ago
    > That quote is about sharing knowledge not about educating people. So what is educating people, if not sharing knowledge? > Different things with different requirements, a different (related) activity. That's one way of looking at it. Another is: Just different words for the same thing.
    - mihaaly 5y ago
      Libraries and schools/universities are not the same thing, you should know that. Allowing access to information is essential part of the education but is not the education itself! Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Chek out its home page, top left corner! ; )) If they have big ambitions, want to be more than 'mere' sharers of information that is fine, having huge organizations with high paid managers and PR campaigns for the education of the world and the future or whatever big words they pick, it is fine. But then please communicate that when begging for money to keep "Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia" running. They should not misinform us....

zozbot234 5y ago

> No mention of educating the world "Imagine a world where every single person on the planet can freely share in the sum of human knowledge: this is our commitment." They could hardly be any clearer about it. And even if your goal is to keep Wikipedia thriving, you need these sister projects.

mihaaly 5y ago
That quote is about sharing knowledge not about educating people. Different things with different requirements, a different (related) activity. Sharing knowledge is a well understood long lasting profile, education is not. Also the 'need' for sister projects is an unfunded claim, a mere opinion. Actually the "bring you unlimited access to reliable information" that is explicitly mentioned in fundraisers already thrives for long without sister projects.
- CRConrad 5y ago
  > That quote is about sharing knowledge not about educating people. So what is educating people, if not sharing knowledge? > Different things with different requirements, a different (related) activity. That's one way of looking at it. Another is: Just different words for the same thing.
  - mihaaly 5y ago
    Libraries and schools/universities are not the same thing, you should know that. Allowing access to information is essential part of the education but is not the education itself! Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. Chek out its home page, top left corner! ; )) If they have big ambitions, want to be more than 'mere' sharers of information that is fine, having huge organizations with high paid managers and PR campaigns for the education of the world and the future or whatever big words they pick, it is fine. But then please communicate that when begging for money to keep "Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia" running. They should not misinform us....