[Wikipedia-l] Re: Ads on Wikipedia?

Sat Dec 31 00:35:39 UTC 2005

--- Fred Bauder <fredbaud at ctelco.net> wrote on WikiEn-l:
> I can see us raising a few hundred thousand dollars by contributions.  
> I can't see a few million.
> 
> I can see contributions supporting 100 servers. I can't see them  
> supporting 2,000.
> 
> I can see a top 20 website supported by contributions. I can't see  
> one of the top 5.

It sure would be a fun ride to see how far we could go before having to submit to the dark side of
the force. :)

LUKE: ... Is the dark side stronger?

YODA: No...no...no. Quicker, easier, more seductive it is.

</tongue half in cheek>

Having ads would have many benefits and drawbacks that need to be explored *WELL before* events
force us into exploring that option. Having ads would enable us to much more easily support the
websites and further our charitable goals but, we may, if we are not careful, lose our soul in the
process; Not to mention much of the community and good will we have generated. 

A financial crisis would present us with both danger and opportunity concerning ads. The subject
of ads on Wikipedia has been taboo for so long that I fear we won't be able to correctly deal with
such a crisis since we never have considered the issue closely enough.

So we should open a dialog to discuss the pros and cons along with exploring the best way to
mitigate bad vs ill effects of having ads. One idea I like is for us to set-up nupedia.org as a
mirror with ads that would host stable versions of Wikipedia content. All excess revenue from that
venture would benefit all the ad-free wiki sites and the foundation.

</taboo talk>

-- mav

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