July 11, 2005
Wikipedia -- the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
One of the wonderful aspects of Wikipedia is that anyone can edit the information. If some five-year-old decides to throw a tantrum and mess up a page, previous editions are automatically saved so that it is easy to roll back to the previous versions. Some of the edits are actually quite funny and rather than consigning them to /dev/null, there is a special topic at Wikipedia where these gems are archived: Wikipedia:Bad Jokes and Other Deleted Nonsense Here is one example from April of 2005:Wikipedia:2005 Britannica takeover of WikimediaAnd of course, there is a photo of this event:
On 1 April 2005, Encyclopædia Britannica announced its immediate takeover of the Wikimedia Foundation (to be known henceforth as Wikimædia) and all of its projects, including Wikipedia (now Wikipædia), Wikisource, Wikiquote, Wikibooks, and Wikinews. Founder Jimmy Wales, giving a brief statement to the New York Times from his Maui compound, was reported to be "extremely plæsed" with the £133.7 million severance package given to each of the five trustees of the Wikimedia Foundation.
Despite the board's confidence, some Britannica investors privately indicated financial concerns about the deal, noting that "the Wikipedia wasn't really a free encyclopedia after all." Economy measures expected to be implemented as part of the agreement include an immediate restriction on previous contributors to Britannica. It's expected that to create or edit a page will now cost users £99.97/page in Ænglish. Affordable fee localization will be provided for Wikipædias of economically troubled states.
Wikipædia administrators, members of the Wikimædia Board of Trustees and Arbitration Committee members will receive free access. However, their adminship powers will be stripped permanently.
Prospective contributors are welcome to sign up at Encyclopædia Britannica's Web site and send proposals in outline format using Courier New exclusively.
Contributions handed in on time and in simple English will make the contributor eligible for a grand prize drawing of a rare 1956 photo of Margaret Thatcher. Contributors will in both word and deed release and indemnify in the sole possession of Encyclopædia Britannica and its heirs and trustees. Nothing in this agreement should be construed to release, exempt, hold harmless, or in any way free the contributor from the presumption that said party deserves what he gets. This agreement is made under the laws of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
Encyclopædia Britannica legal team completing transfer of Wikipedia assets from Jimbo Wales and his young Cuban friend.
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