https://www.wired.com/story/wikipedia-f ... to-pay-up/
https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/16/2233 ... edge-boxes
And I will put down $100 that says some little shits at Google and FB are already harassing WMF management for "daring" to charge more money for extra access. (BTW, I also will bet you this "special API extension" will make it easier for those corporations to manicure their own WP content.)The Wikimedia Foundation is creating a new paid service for companies that draw on Wikipedia data. The foundation announced the news today via an article in Wired, and it’s planning to launch later in 2021. Wikimedia Enterprise, as it’s called, won’t change how current Wikipedia services work. Instead, it will offer new options for companies that use its content, a category including giants like Google and Facebook.
Plus this at the end.
I give it 5 years before they start running third-party advertising.“We’re going to need more resources, more partners, and more allies if we are going to achieve the goals implicit in our vision statement.” And starting later this year, that could include paid partnerships with the internet’s biggest companies.
https://news.slashdot.org/story/21/03/1 ... -to-pay-up
As usual, Slashdot nerds still think it's a-okay. With exceptions.
Plus, its "odd" how Maher put in her notice, and a few weeks later this scheme starts making the rounds. I wonder if she opposed it and the board told her to take a hike? "We need MOAR $$$, we have to KEEP GROWING OR DIE" etc.It is an excellent starting point for almost any research. It does have pretty good standards and editing pages is not hard if you know most of the rules. As an engineering it is just as accurate as most text books and better than most published papers. I don't care if they are sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars, I still donate and feel I get my value out of my donations. They are a free resource. If I donate my time to a page I expect them to be free for everyone. I do not think they should be charging google for my work. That wasn't the deal when I did the volunteer work.