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I believe that the criticism is not about what the Wikimedia Foundation does specifically. The criticism is that the Wikimedia Foundation makes people believe
by palata 2y ago
I believe that the criticism is not about what the Wikimedia Foundation does specifically.
The criticism is that the Wikimedia Foundation makes people believe that Wikipedia needs funding, so that people donate thinking that they contribute to Wikipedia. Personally I have nothing against the Wikimedia Foundation, but when I learned that I was not actually donating to Wikipedia, I felt tricked. They lost my trust because they made me feel like I was tricked.
- topranks 2y agoWhat is Wikipedia by that measure? The Wikimedia Foundation host Wikipedia. The servers, power, connectivity, bandwidth and engineers who maintain it are all paid from donations on the site.
- danpalmer 2y agoAnd my point is that for Wikipedia to be the best Wikipedia, these initiatives are important, and therefore I don't see them as that much different. I know Wikipedia has a reputation for cringe donation drives, but at a basic level I don't disagree with them raising money, with what they're raising it for, or with most of how they pitch the donation requests, as continuing to maintain and improve Wikipedia. Focusing on the split between the Wikimedia Foundation (the org you donate to) and Wikipedia (the product they produce) is a bit of a red herring in my opinion.
- palata 2y agoYeah that's fair. I'm just saying that they made me feel tricked, and apparently I'm not the only one.