This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
I don't understand this, the employees are few and the pr fallout + fighting this is much more expensive than just agreeing to what they demand
Plus it's a foundation and shouldn't have profit
This is bad.
…But I’m very worried about the future of Wikipedia.
Questionable leadership or not, it is a lighthouse in the information dystopia of the 2020s, which literally helps hold society together.
The far right wants it gone, and are not shy about screaming it, because Wikipedia is not compatible with fascism.
If it becomes hated by the left too, and ignored by the masses because of Big Tech blacklists it, I worry it won’t have the political support to keep its prominence.
And to be clear, I’m not worried about it dying. Wikipedia will stay where it is for decades.
I’m worried about it ceasing to be popular.
It doesn’t function as a uncontrolled source of information if no one sees it. Modern fascist censorship works by simply shifting attention.
The Wikimedia foundation vastly outpaces expenses. Despite doing their best to convince you if you don't donate $10 right now Wikipedia will literally evaporate 🥺🙏
They can afford to not pay like shit
They're also wasting massive amounts of money on things outside their core mission and scope.
some entries are already questionable asf. some of them are written like an opinon piece, or a hs essay.
Wikipedia is made by people, like me and you. If you see bias or wrong information, you can either fix it or flag it with an appropriate template.
I really would like to, but German Wikipedia for example is something of an inner circle where you can't do shit. They don't allow newcomers to touch most of the articles.
Reddit, Wikipedia, Fediverse... powertripping mods are everywhere.
Was wondering when they were going to enshittify.
Fuck you, Dimmy.
EDIT: just realized something. I listen to Cory Doctorow's podcast and he starts each episode off with a lengthy list of scheduled appearances. He's been mentioning an upcoming appearance with Jimmy Wales. Looked it up. They'll be on the same stage on August 17th. Wonder if this will come up.
Wikimedia please fire whatever consulting firm told you it's a good idea to do extractive capitalism as a non-profit foundation, reliant on long-term community goodwill and sustainable work ethics with low turnover rate
Die the hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the enemy.
Oh, god damn it.
Canceled my donation.
Fuck. Yet another company I donate to behaving like shitheels. Fuck. No more donations I guess.
My rule of thumb is: donate to small developers, not large established projects.
Wikimedia Foundation does not run low on funds, and your donation is a drop in the bucket on their balance sheets.
For small projects and indie devs, your donation will have a much bigger impact.
Even better, fork Wikipedia.
Even better, do not fracture the already weakening Wikipedia community. Keep fork as a backup, but fight for Wikipedia itself.
Also, download an offline Wikipedia copy via Kiwix or similar tools. The entire English Wikipedia takes less space than a modern game, and having a snapshot might come in handy.
I was initially 80/20 against/for Wikipedia's stance. I tentatively agreed with Wales' criticism of identity tracking for the initial vote, but needed more information to form a solid opinion. Then I saw the mention of their hiring a union busting firm in addition to their current relationship with a known union busting law firm.
Fuck them, 100%. I immediately cancelled my ongoing monthly donation, which I've provided for years. Until the Wikimedia Foundation recognizes their unionized employees and works with them in good faith, they will get not a penny from me
Yeah I'm cancelling my donation immediately. Not that my $2.30/month will break their budget, but fuck them now.
Next headline: Wikipidia sends mobsters beating workers up during an information meeting.
I knew there was a reason I got a set of actual encyclopedias. Not new, nor as extensive, but it's in my hands so filthy rich assholes are gonna have to come to my door to stop me from having access to information
You can also download Wikipedia for offline use via Kiwix, so that you always have the snapshot that won't ever change and enshittify.
The whole English Wikipedia takes up about 110 gigs, and it's 110 gigs well spent.
If your so called free society has laws to protect child murderers and racists but nothing to support the right to join a labour union it's not a free society. Go back to the beginning and try again.
God dammit. No more donations.
Oh god, is Darknet Wikipedia going to be what finally fucks these assholes?
Before then, download and keep and offline Wikipedia copy via Kiwix. It doesn't take as much space as people imagine - 111 GB for the English one, with pictures, if I recall collectly
I hope it's not grokipedia
I never would have heard about this if not for the fediverse
One of the reasons I am on the Fediverse is that it often highlights pieces not widely reported on mainstream media. This is not just one case
Wikimedia, what the actual fuck...
Can't wait for ol' Jimbo to come by with his hand out this year, "Please dear reader, won't you give us money to abuse our employees?'
What a good use for donations!
I'm not familiar with how unions work in the USA. Why does a union need to he recognized by a company? Just to have a formal communication pathway or is there more to it?
I do know the answer to this. In the US, the process goes roughly so:
Workers want to form a union. Workers sign authorization cards allowing a specific union to represent them. The union approaches the company and says, we have enough of your workers who want to join, (50% +1) will you voluntarily recognize that your workers have formed a union.
At this point it can go a few ways. The company can demand proof that there are 50%+1 workers authorizing the union to rep them. A neutral 3rd party will inspect the cards and attest this to the National Labor Relations Board office in that state. Like a public notary or professional witness. This protects the anonymity of the workers.
The company can immediately, or following this process recognize the union. They can go to the bargaining table and strike a deal with the workers, or enroll with the union under the area agreement and get the workers signed up.
The company can refuse, like wikimedia did, and demand it go to an election. A date is set and the workers come in to vote by anonymous ballot wether to be represented by the union.
If the company is some real shitheels they'll start dumping $$ into discouraging the workers from voting yes. They hire a union buster and hold captive audience meetings. The union buster tells the workers any kind of lies and bullshit they want, they are a 3rd party and therefore not liable for the bullshit they spout. They say the company will go bankrupt. The company can't afford to have union workers. Unions are corrupt and suck you dry with dues and don't deliver a better life for you and your family. Etc.
Companies frequently violate labor law during this time period. They give raises and benefits to anti-union workers. They fire union supporters (they will owe these workers back wages later). They lie to their workers, threaten the workers, intimidate the workers. Often this corrupts the election process and if the election fails, it can be overturned and repeated because of the illegal practices of the company and union busters. Their goal is to wear out and drive away pro-union workers by dragging the process on indefinately. When you see pickets, this is often what the picket is about. Informing the public that the company is mistreating the workers violating their right to form a union.
Wikimedia are some real shitheels.
they are a 3rd party and therefore not liable for the bullshit they spout.
Screw that liability BS so hard. You hire them to represent your company, you need to be accountable for what they do under your payroll.
I just hope the past generation (going on two now) have gotten people to see through the gaslighting and we can rise up against it this time.
That's exactly how it worked for my agency.
They were dragging new hires in and ordering them to sign away the union without knowing anything about them.
Whoa. Jones Day is not exactly cheap.
Wikimedia Foundation does not have problems with funds, quite the opposite.
There was a scandal about it a year or two ago. They have plenty, and this is where it goes.
Really?? WTF who sold out?? This can only be some sort of sponsored covert op.. The compromised crooks need to be sacked, yesterday!
God dammit, this is like the moment the Titanic first hit the iceberg. No matter how this labor issue is resolved, it will permanently demonize Wikimedia. No matter how valuable Wikipedia is or has ever been, current culture provides no foregiveness or path of redemption after an ethical transgression. Again, dammit, I love Wikipedia and have been donating steadily for years.
You really don’t need to donate to them. Wikipedia has enough money to run itself indefinitely. The foundation just keeps growing and wasting money on non-Wikipedia stuff.
Curious, what does Wikimedia actually invest in besides Wikipedia? It's still a non-profit, right?
As of June 30th, 2025 (this years report is pending), Wikimedia has $213 million invested in corporate bonds, stocks, mutual funds, mortgage-based and US Treasury securities. This is about a $30 million uptick from 2024:
Meanwhile, their actual hosting expenses sit at $3,5 million. Should they cut benefits and grants, they can last indefinitely on their assets appreciation alone.
Let's not say never. Because they can course correct but it has to be hard pivot:
The fact that Wikimedia foundation chose profits over people is absolutely disgusting.
