akolbe

61 ms·

541.
Wikipedia fundraising banners paused over weekend in response to complaints(meta.wikimedia.org)
55 points by akolbe 5y ago|22 comments
542.
by akolbe 5y ago
The Wikimedia Foundation has released its 2020/21 audited financial statements. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/1/1e/Wikim... Total assets (p. 2): $240 million (not counting over $
543.
by akolbe 5y ago
Important discussion with some potentially huge long-term implications (CC0 would disguise the provenance of information that might become globally disseminated by Big Tech). Most of the action on the talk page: https://meta.wiki
544.
by akolbe 5y ago
That may well be true. But they are currently taking 15 times the annual amount they said they needed in 2013 to sustain their mission, and they would actually – literally – like to take 100 times the amount they said in 2013 was enough (se
545.
Class Action Lawsuit Claims Apple Watches Can Cause Serious Injuries(vice.com)
1 points by akolbe 5y ago|0 comments
546.
by akolbe 5y ago
They are trying new approaches because they want more money. And they are successful. So far, revenue has increased every year. This year just gone they've taken almost ten times as much money as they did in 2010. Something the fundr
547.
by akolbe 5y ago
You can register a Wikipedia account and then block them in your preferences.
548.
by akolbe 5y ago
Exactly.
549.
by akolbe 5y ago
The wording on the fundraising banners is subject to elaborate A/B testing. Recently, for example, they reported that 'A simple, yet effective phrase that we were surprised to see resonate with readers worldwide was simply asking
550.
by akolbe 5y ago
How many of these organizations achieved the financial growth the Wikimedia Foundation has achieved by crying poverty? NPR and PSB also cry poverty, but their budget is relatively stable. They take much the same money each year. The Wikimed
551.
by akolbe 5y ago
They are also lording it more and more over the volunteers who are writing the actual articles. The huge influx of money over the past decade or so attracts a corporate mindset that has very little to do with the volunteer culture that actu
552.
by akolbe 5y ago
That's right. But they end up asking for five or ten times what the Wikipedia platform would actually cost to maintain, and at that point you can ask whether it's crossing the line to dishonesty. People think they are making sure
553.
by akolbe 5y ago
Here are some facts and figures, with sources for your reference, in proper Wikipedia style. The Wikimedia Foundation, which operates the Wikipedia platform (but does not write or curate the content, a bit like YouTube provides the platform
554.
by akolbe 5y ago
I wonder about how the proceeds from this auction will be used. Jimmy Wales posted the following rather non-committal statement on his English Wikipedia talk page: "I'm planning to donate a significant portion and use a significan
555.
Jimmy Wales Auctions “Birth of Wikipedia” as an NFT. Some Wikipedians Are Pissed(slate.com)
6 points by akolbe 5y ago|1 comments
556.
by akolbe 5y ago
Similar article also in Slate today: https://slate.com/technology/2021/12/jimmy-wales-birth-of-wi...
557.
by akolbe 5y ago
There is another thing here worth looking at: the use of the proceeds from this auction. Jimmy Wales posted the following rather non-committal statement on his English Wikipedia talk page: "I'm planning to donate a significant por
558.
Wikipedia Editors Mad About Jimmy Wales’ NFT of a Wikipedia Edit(vice.com)
3 points by akolbe 5y ago|2 comments
559.
by akolbe 5y ago
Here is another version of that story, as told by Idries Shah. He attributes it to the Middle Eastern Mulla Nasrudin figure, and gives it a metaphysical interpretation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasreddin A neighb
560.
by akolbe 5y ago
"From the start in 2001, I envisioned Wikipedia as a company with just one employee who did coding. The rest would be handled by those who volunteered to write and edit entries and monitor them." A lot of poetic licence here, give
561.
by akolbe 5y ago
Try clicking on the three dots and then "Open transcript".
562.
by akolbe 5y ago
Many videos now come with an auto-generated script, available by clicking on the three dots ("Open transcript"). Time stamps can be switched off if desired.
563.
by akolbe 5y ago
Here's a few more historical "quality issues": https://www.theregister.com/2017/01/16/wikipedia_16_birthday... Also: "The greatest movie that never was" https://www.dailydo
564.
by akolbe 5y ago
Thanks for the link.
565.
by akolbe 5y ago
Just yesterday, someone posted on Twitter: "I'm never sure when is a good time to share that I made up a person on Wikipedia sixteen years ago and he is still there" https://twitter.com/aobate/status&#x2F
566.
by akolbe 5y ago
The article asks Wales: "Worried about the accuracy of Wiki?" His reply: "We make it as good as we possibly can, but we know it isn’t perfect. On the other hand, it’s pretty good." Well, people need to understand that th
567.
by akolbe 5y ago
And on Twitter just yesterday, someone tweeted a confession https://twitter.com/aobate/status/1466101687773503493 that SIXTEEN YEARS ago they made up a person on Wikipedia ... the biography still exists today (tho
568.
by akolbe 5y ago
Here is a famous example of such an article which looked great, appeared to have sources, and even won distinction as a "Good Article": "After a half-decade, massive Wikipedia hoax finally exposed" https://www
569.
by akolbe 5y ago
Wikimedia is a platform, not a publisher, just like YouTube or Twitter. That's a little-understood, but fundamental part of the Wikimedia Foundation's identity. See e.g. https://diff.wikimedia.org/2021/10&#x2F
570.
by akolbe 5y ago
I think I have said many times that the language on the fundraising banners strikes me as lacking in truthfulness and designed, through A/B testing, to create the impression that Wikipedia – not the Wikimedia Foundation but specificall

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