"Don't shoot the messenger!" (meaning me) Every time I look up something on Wikipedia, seems like Jim needs more millions. I'm not saying he doesn't really need it, want it, or that it's for a good cause. What I question is more ridiculous than that... Every time I see his face at the side of "an urgent appeal", I think he looks like someone else. Today it was Kevin Costner. One day, it was Danny Bonaduce. Try it yourself, don't look at the numbers.

Jimbo (my son advises me EVERYONE ON THE PLANET will know I'm referring to the creator of Wikipedia), still wants millions of dollars to keep his creation "free", but apparently, it's no longer urgent. His appeal is that if everyone reading his request donates five dollars within the next three days, Wikipedia can remain free. And you can deduct it from your taxes. I'm seeing those television commercials where for one dollar a day, you can save a child's life. I'm thinking of chain letters, that promise either dish towels or pot holders or maybe even money, if you just follow the call to arms, pass the same request to ten friends, co-workers, family members. I'm so wary of this type of thing, I rarely pass along funny emails along the same lines ( send this to ten strong women in your life and make their day). Jim, Jimmy, Jimbo, can I call you James? Take some advice from someone who uses your product, but believes nothing is free, never. There is always a price. Change your shirt; it must smell at this point, tilt your head differently, go for the direct eye contact approach, and try not to look like the actor who played the scientist in the movie Jurassic Park.

I have included the most updated appeal I could find. In the time it took me to write and link this, seems Jim took my advice but the photo is three years old and he looks like.....



An appeal from Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales
from wikimediafoundation.org, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike.

I got a lot of funny looks ten years ago when I started talking to people about Wikipedia.

Let’s just say some people were skeptical of the notion that volunteers from all across the world could come together to create a remarkable pool of human knowledge – all for the simple purpose of sharing.

No ads. No agenda. No strings attached.

A decade after its founding, nearly 400 million people use Wikipedia and its sister sites every month – almost a third of the Internet-connected world.

It is the 5th most popular website in the world – but Wikipedia isn’t anything like a commercial website. It is a community creation, written by volunteers making one entry at a time. You are part of our community. And I’m writing today to ask you to protect and sustain Wikipedia.

Together, we can keep it free of charge and free of advertising. We can keep it open – you can use the information in Wikipedia any way you want. We can keep it growing – spreading knowledge everywhere, and inviting participation from everyone.

Each year at this time, we reach out to ask you and others all across the Wikimedia community to help sustain our joint enterprise with a modest donation of $20, $35, $50 or more.

If you value Wikipedia as a source of information – and a source of inspiration – I hope you’ll choose to act right now.

All the best,

Jimmy Wales

Founder, Wikipedia
P.S. Wikipedia is about the power of people like us to do extraordinary things. People like us write Wikipedia, one word at a time. People like us fund it, one donation at a time. It's proof of our collective potential to change the world.