Wikipaedia Donations - I just donated $10

[Thoriso]

You throw a stone into a still pond and WHOOOSH, you have a torrent of opinions. I love learning new stuff, I and my wife use Wikipaedia regularly...and yes with a pinch of salt. You just have to know what to filter.

As far as using them for Graduate citations in Official literature...well you deserve the pie in your face for that level of laziness.

My research always starts at Wikipaedia and then moves on to other sites. Wikipaedia gives me direction.

Google is by all accounts evil, they are founded with the same mentality that graduate students have to share information without BIAS. Right now I have to use 3 browsers (Google Chrome, Firefox and IE) just to make sure I have search results that are not geared to my online behavior patterns.

That shows customized non-impartiality that can quickly become weighted towards one point of view depending on what some unknown tech guy thinks I should know. If something happens in the Caymen Islands, I search "Event in The Caymen Islands" I will get 3 different results on the 3 browsers even though I am using the Google search bot.

THAT is my problem with Google. I stopped being Mothered over 12 years ago and I think it is insulting. And that is not including my "happy" relationship with their Adsense/Adwords team.

And before you start defending Google's decision...How much are your Keyword Rich domains worth lately??

If your domains prices dropped by 10% without you doing anything wrong...you should be angry...I certainly am.

And for those who want to feed the homeless instead...Please Stop. I live in Africa and giving food to the hungry is not only patronizing but its not helping.
Poor people need knowledge...with knowledge we can learn to feed ourselves and get out of debt. The money you send is not utilized as you want it to...If you are in doubt please Google Mama Jackie and go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Maarohanye (which is up to date BTW)

This is a tip of the iceberg when it comes to donation fraud. Is Jimmy Wales using my $10 to buy his Buggatti? Probably. Is Wikipaedia still online...Definitely. Then I am happy.

Wikipaedia may not be perfect...but its a step in the right direction.

Whew...That ends my sermon for the day.

 

[rngrdanny22]

And before you start defending Google's decision...How much are your Keyword Rich domains worth lately??

And my question to you is this: Did you actually develop something on these "keyword rich domains"? Or are you just angry because Google decided your site with NO content was worth less than a site that actually gave relevant information?

I'm not saying you think this way (heck, for all I know, you develop all of your sites). But others in the industry think that because they own Keyword.com that their site should automatically show first in a Google result for that keyword, even though it's parked.

 

[Spex]

I'd rather donate to wikileaks than wikipedia

 

[randomo]

I'd rather donate to wikileaks than wikipedia

Since I view the former as harmful and the latter as helpful, we'll need to agree to disagree here.

 

[DN BROKER]

I'd rather donate to wikileaks than wikipedia

I rather invest in domains and know at least my money is not being used to purchase expensive toys for the ceo's!

 

[katherine]

I rather invest in domains and know at least my money is not being used to purchase expensive toys for the ceo's!

With $10 you can reg a domain, or make a donation to Wikipedia.
Dilemma

 

[DN BROKER]

years ago i donated to charities, not anymore - its all a scam.... 1% goes to the people 99% to agencies who raise the funds. No thanks.

 

[randomo]

years ago i donated to charities, not anymore - its all a scam.... 1% goes to the people 99% to agencies who raise the funds. No thanks.

Of course, some charities are like that. But you can use tools like Charity Navigator to find ones that keep expenses low and provide lots of benefits to their clients.

 

[Spex]

Since I view the former as harmful and the latter as helpful, we'll need to agree to disagree here.

I hope you noted teh sarcasm of my post. I would only donate to charitable causes, not internet sites that I dont' use/trust

 

[Tia Wood]

For those interested:

Donor Bill of Rights
WikiMedia Projects (Wikispecies - neat!)

The Wikimedia Foundation operates Wikipedia. It is a 501(c)(3)status non-profit organization with offices in San Francisco, California. Your donations are tax-deductible in the United States. Our Employer Identification Number: 20-0049703

 

[stewie]

actually I didn't think any thread requesting money was allowed...

unless it was something special w/permission and I doubt Wiki would qualify for that. JMO

 

[tetrapak]

I don't understand the anti-Wiki sentiments. The thing is FREE with NO ADS, and even if most articles should not be taken very seriously, it's a starting point for a lot of researches. I for one use it daily, and very thankful that it exists.

 

[Thoriso]

I don't understand the anti-Wiki sentiments. The thing is FREE with NO ADS, and even if most articles should not be taken very seriously, it's a starting point for a lot of researches. I for one use it daily, and very thankful that it exists.

Thank you. That is what I find missing from this thread. Yesterday I saw a Kite and I easily identified it from it's distinctive yellow beak and beautiful brown feathers. And my wife asked me a question I could not answer.

Is a Kite a hawk or an eagle?

I was too lazy to research thoroughly so I checked on wikipaedia. Guess what the Kite is NOT a hawk or an eagle. It has its own branch of Subfamily. That might not mean anything to domaining but it makes a heck of a lot difference to anybody who wants to learn why Hawks and eagles are not lumped under one subfamily.

The information is not perfect but this page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accipitridae gives a very good breakdown of the entire bird of prey classification.

I am probably boring some of you to tears BUT that is what wikipaedia is all about. Collecting information and giving it away for free and without bias. They are not perfect but they are a heck of a lot closer to it than you think.

Are they uptodate?

Yes, a Britannica set which costs north of $1000 does not conclusively say that the Western Black Rhino is extinct... That conclusion was made only in October 2011.

But some sad individual is going to spend $1000 to buy reference information that is outdated by time of going to print which he could get for free on wikipaedia.

The depth of knowledge inside Wikipaedia is far more than you all realize and I think all 90 or whatever employees deserve to have Bugatti Veyrons for their contribution to HUMANITY.

I recommend that if you think wikipaedia is so undeserving you should try to research a topic of your own and follow the reference links to authority sites, you will be shocked the amount of work involved to give you the synopsis which is compressed into one page.

That is why I feel that we should talk about such things, Wikipaedia asking for money is a SAD state of affairs... It simply should not be happening.

Google is a dinosaur but their saving grace is that they realize that Wikipaedia is what their spoiled searches are looking for. They are not looking for some over updated site that has little or no references.

BUT now that I have been searching for Kite the bird of prey...I will have to work harder to find information about Kites that does not include birds. That's what annoys me about Google, they are forever chasing trends and not sticking to principles that made them great in the first place.

Google plus is one such example. They're search to make their quarterly earnings is pushing them down a dark path into obscurity. Ask Microsoft.

As for my Keyword rich domains that are becoming worthless as we debate...I do not have them all developed because it is becoming more pointless by the minute. One of my sites (which I sold for only $50) was JeanLeggings.com

The buyer got it for a steal but I feel bad for them because as I watch the Google activities they are eroding the value of developed and undeveloped keyword rich domains in favor of Corporate/Brand structures. Search Jean Leggings and you will see my point. The internet is being forced to shift by the influence of corporate and my last ditch attempt to keep it out of their hands is to donate money to Wikipaedia and raise awareness of the importance of keeping freely available information...FREELY Available.

 

[stewie]

I found this in the rules: not sure but seems like it could apply here.


"18. No charity, fundraising, "woe is me", or any other form of persuasive posts. This includes Multi-level marketing (MLM). Too many scams. You may have a well known charity in your signature, that's it. Threads designed to persuade members to provide sympathetic consideration will be deleted and infraction points or bans will be issued."

 

[Thoriso]

I found this in the rules: not sure but seems like it could apply here.


"18. No charity, fundraising, "woe is me", or any other form of persuasive posts. This includes Multi-level marketing (MLM). Too many scams. You may have a well known charity in your signature, that's it. Threads designed to persuade members to provide sympathetic consideration will be deleted and infraction points or bans will be issued."

You may have a point Stewie, I did not think it would apply. I guess we can leave it here. Moderator can close the thread then.

 

[south]

Yes, please keep wikipedi going! My kids will never leave the house if they can't copy & paste all their homework from them..

 

[Thoriso]

Yes, please keep wikipedi going! My kids will never leave the house if they can't copy & paste all their homework from them..

That's...HILARIOUS! I would have been doing just that. I gave my dad grey hairs in high school. Too bad I graduated in 1996 before the internet was truly in South Africa.