Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2022 December 9

= December 9 =

Donation drives
People list several reasons for why they mock Wikipedia. One of the main reasons is that 'anyone can edit it, so you never know if you're getting real information'. Solve two problems with one solution. Nobody likes donation drives; because it slows us down from getting to the page that we want. Instead of having donation drives; just charge people .50 cents to make an edit to an already existing page. The people who know the difference between real information, and the rantings of some fringe lunatic will gladly pay fifty cents to make sure the correct information is being posted. On the flip side, if it costs money to edit a page, then your average angst-ridden revolutionary won't be so keen to get their 10 seconds of fame for putting up a goofball idea as reality. 139.218.129.250 (talk) 00:02, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * No, that's a terrible idea. Nobody is shelling out hundreds of dollars a year for the privilege of helping build an encyclopedia. The donation drives are short-lived and if you make an account (free!) you can turn off the banners that display the ad. Matt Deres (talk) 01:08, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Hundreds? If only. I make on average 10,842 edits per year, leaving me $5,421 out of pocket per annum, or $103,000 since I started editing in 2003. Wikipedia would be nothing without me (*cough*) but even my Jovian generosity has its limits. --  Jack of Oz   [pleasantries]  18:57, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * You're making the assumption that loonies are not wealthy enough to afford to propagate their lies and delusions. Counterexamples: Donald Trump, Mike Lindell, etc. Clarityfiend (talk) 10:50, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Technically, since he said .50 cents, you would be spending only $54.21 per year. Though that's still too much. :) ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 20:06, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * At first glance, I thought you had added your user name to the list of "loonies" :-) Alansplodge (talk) 11:44, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I was thinking that the opposite of the OP's premise would happen. The average citizen would abandon Wikipedia, while the loonies would be more than willing to spend a little money to put their semi-baked ideas out there. ←Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots→ 15:20, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * I find the donation drives really useful, as they remind me I haven't donated for a while. --TrogWoolley (talk) 11:24, 9 December 2022 (UTC)
 * There are those who argue that you don't need to donate at all. See . --Viennese Waltz 07:48, 10 December 2022 (UTC)
 * Gosh how wrong you are! It is the driven loonies and the psychos who make money from harm that have infested most of the internet that are willing to spend their time and money like that! If you spend a little time on Wikipedia you'll notice the various editors who twist facts to get their thoughts across, whether it is how awful vaccination is and what they sell is better or some political slant like those right wingers trying to overthrow the German government or Chinese saying how wonderful it is that the Uyghurs are being helped become happy and productive citizens or plain psychos getting their kicks by seeing whether they can get people to hate and kill each other over animal welfare or the climate or evangelists saying that women's purpose is to conceive and they should not be diverted from that by too much education. It's so bad the more social or rational editors are often driven away by such people. There's lots of satisfying and productive things to do in he real world, aren't you just slightly surprised that enough such editors actully do contribute? NadVolum (talk) 18:20, 10 December 2022 (UTC)