21–30 of 105 posts
Don't forget that Google once tried to kill Wikipedia with their own proprietary project ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knol ). Really happy that was a failure.
Is it impossible to attempt to innovate in a space without being accused of trying to kill the space's current leader? (googler, but had never even heard of knol until now)
Don't forget that Google once tried to kill Wikipedia with their own proprietary project ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knol ). Really happy that was a failure.
Is it impossible to attempt to innovate in a space without being accused of trying to kill the space's current leader? (googler, but had never even heard of knol until now)
So no it’s not impossible, but it’s always gonna happen when it’s Google/Amazon and the “innovation” is a free alternative to a successful independent business.
I used to contribute heavily to Wikipedia in 2007-08 and intermittently since, however recently it has become an absolute nightmare to contribute. Creating a missing article almost immediately is met with an admin nominating it for deletion for something like “notability”, the catch-all term for “I personally don’t care about this topic, and if it was important someone would have made it already.” If you survive dele…
Wikipedia has finite resources that cost money. So they have to restrict it to hosting articles that will have some level of audience.
I used to contribute heavily to Wikipedia in 2007-08 and intermittently since, however recently it has become an absolute nightmare to contribute. Creating a missing article almost immediately is met with an admin nominating it for deletion for something like “notability”, the catch-all term for “I personally don’t care about this topic, and if it was important someone would have made it already.” If you survive dele…
I used to contribute heavily to Wikipedia in 2007-08 and intermittently since, however recently it has become an absolute nightmare to contribute. Creating a missing article almost immediately is met with an admin nominating it for deletion for something like “notability”, the catch-all term for “I personally don’t care about this topic, and if it was important someone would have made it already.” If you survive dele…
As Wikipedia became more popular, it also started attracting people and companies who try to use it for writing promotional articles on themselves with little to no basis in reality. The notability requirement helps ensure that articles are accurate and can be verified with trustworthy sources. A topic only needs 2 trustworthy sources for an article, and if it doesn't meet that bar, then the topic is probably better…
A former coworker once told me about a stint he did working for a company that sold wikipedia edits. The founder was Brazilian and apparently their company was super popular with Central and South American politicians trying to scrub their pages of various financial scandals and other things unbecoming of a politician.
I was shocked when he first told me about it, but it's pretty easy to see in 2019 that managing one's image online can be incredibly lucrative.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
As Wikipedia became more popular, it also started attracting people and companies who try to use it for writing promotional articles on themselves with little to no basis in reality. The notability requirement helps ensure that articles are accurate and can be verified with trustworthy sources. A topic only needs 2 trustworthy sources for an article, and if it doesn't meet that bar, then the topic is probably better…
And also to scrub existing articles of certain details. A former coworker once told me about a stint he did working for a company that sold wikipedia edits. The founder was Brazilian and apparently their company was super popular with Central and South American politicians trying to scrub their pages of various financial scandals and other things unbecoming of a politician. I was shocked when he first told me about i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki-PR_editing_of_Wikipedia
In a community, one of the best ways to counter bad actors is to recruit more good actors. If you suspect that a Wikipedia article was deleted inappropriately, you can submit it for "deletion review":
Fantastic news. Someone has to.
Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes // Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
Not unlike the pop or sports star who suddenly gets a huge contract and stupidly begins spending loads of money in luxuries. By doing so he/she is now being forced to keep making tons of money to maintain that lifestyle, de facto becoming property of his/her management.
I hope this reduces the "we need donations" banner to an extent. I contribute changes whenever I can, so seeing that banner each and every time is a bit frustrating.
I used to contribute heavily to Wikipedia in 2007-08 and intermittently since, however recently it has become an absolute nightmare to contribute. Creating a missing article almost immediately is met with an admin nominating it for deletion for something like “notability”, the catch-all term for “I personally don’t care about this topic, and if it was important someone would have made it already.” If you survive dele…
I used to contribute heavily to Wikipedia in 2007-08 and intermittently since, however recently it has become an absolute nightmare to contribute. Creating a missing article almost immediately is met with an admin nominating it for deletion for something like “notability”, the catch-all term for “I personally don’t care about this topic, and if it was important someone would have made it already.” If you survive dele…
Wikipedia has finite resources that cost money. So they have to restrict it to hosting articles that will have some level of audience.
Here's the latest annual financial statement:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/foundation/6/60/FY17-...
They spent about 15x on staff as they did on internet hosting. They spend almost as much on travel as they do on internet hosting.