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The Wikipedia Test

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  • What if there was a simple test to make sure every new internet regulation preserved the spaces and parts of the internet that you love the most?

    We get it; we really do. Lawmakers across the world are rightly focused on regulating powerful, for-profit platforms to mitigate the harms ascribed to social media and other threats online. When developing such legislation, however, some draft laws can inadvertently place public interest projects like Wikipedia at risk. At the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms, we have found that when a proposed law harms Wikipedia, in many cases it likely harms other community-led websites, open resources, or digital infrastructure.

    That is why we have created the Wikipedia Test: a public policy tool and a call to action to help ensure regulators consider how new laws can negatively affect online communities and platforms that provide services and information in the public interest.

  • What if there was a simple test to make sure every new internet regulation preserved the spaces and parts of the internet that you love the most?

    We get it; we really do. Lawmakers across the world are rightly focused on regulating powerful, for-profit platforms to mitigate the harms ascribed to social media and other threats online. When developing such legislation, however, some draft laws can inadvertently place public interest projects like Wikipedia at risk. At the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms, we have found that when a proposed law harms Wikipedia, in many cases it likely harms other community-led websites, open resources, or digital infrastructure.

    That is why we have created the Wikipedia Test: a public policy tool and a call to action to help ensure regulators consider how new laws can negatively affect online communities and platforms that provide services and information in the public interest.

    on the one hand they make some valid points on the other hand it's a little disgusting how much wikipedia execs get payed and how sweaty they get when they worry about having to pay content moderators. currently they just pocket most of the donations they get but with increased running costs that would get harder.

    don't get me wrong, wikipedia is an important project and they deserve fair compensation but grabbing $700k per year for managing it seems a bit steep eh? it's not like they're forging new business strategies and conquering markets. they have a very simple concept and just keep it running. a post it note on the ceo door with "keep going lads" on it might outperform them and save some money.

  • on the one hand they make some valid points on the other hand it's a little disgusting how much wikipedia execs get payed and how sweaty they get when they worry about having to pay content moderators. currently they just pocket most of the donations they get but with increased running costs that would get harder.

    don't get me wrong, wikipedia is an important project and they deserve fair compensation but grabbing $700k per year for managing it seems a bit steep eh? it's not like they're forging new business strategies and conquering markets. they have a very simple concept and just keep it running. a post it note on the ceo door with "keep going lads" on it might outperform them and save some money.

    Isn’t $700k per year really low for a CEO or high level exec of an extremely visible, important, high-profile firm?

  • Isn’t $700k per year really low for a CEO or high level exec of an extremely visible, important, high-profile firm?

    Just because it's low compared to other CEOs doesn't make it reasonable and justified. Also, Wikipedia isn't a "high-profile firm". It's (at least supposed to be) a non-profit that takes donations to keep the site running and free.

  • Isn’t $700k per year really low for a CEO or high level exec of an extremely visible, important, high-profile firm?

    Yes see comment above.

  • on the one hand they make some valid points on the other hand it's a little disgusting how much wikipedia execs get payed and how sweaty they get when they worry about having to pay content moderators. currently they just pocket most of the donations they get but with increased running costs that would get harder.

    don't get me wrong, wikipedia is an important project and they deserve fair compensation but grabbing $700k per year for managing it seems a bit steep eh? it's not like they're forging new business strategies and conquering markets. they have a very simple concept and just keep it running. a post it note on the ceo door with "keep going lads" on it might outperform them and save some money.

    While 700k may look like a lot (and by most objective measures it is), the skill set needed to run a successful non/not for profit is actually quite unique no matter how big or small it is. They do not work not like "normal" CEOs. Replace caring about share price, and moving the share price up effectively versus caring about voluntary donations from people who get nothing out of but perhaps a tax break. And you're competing not against other equities (stocks); you're competing against other non/not for profits for limited money and attention.

    Anyway, just saying I do not begrudge that level of compensation to the people running the last corner of the internet not filled with AI slop.

  • While 700k may look like a lot (and by most objective measures it is), the skill set needed to run a successful non/not for profit is actually quite unique no matter how big or small it is. They do not work not like "normal" CEOs. Replace caring about share price, and moving the share price up effectively versus caring about voluntary donations from people who get nothing out of but perhaps a tax break. And you're competing not against other equities (stocks); you're competing against other non/not for profits for limited money and attention.

    Anyway, just saying I do not begrudge that level of compensation to the people running the last corner of the internet not filled with AI slop.

    But the donations are only necessary because of inflated salaries. It's like saying we have to pay this pastry chef because the pastry chef loves to eat their own cake. They're just feeding themselves.

    The cost of server infrastructure is comparatively tiny so if they'd run it lean it'd have enough cash to last ages already. Also posting a banner on their site with massive reach isn't exactly rocket surgery.

    I know there are worse things but I strongly dislike nonprofits wasting donation money.

  • What if there was a simple test to make sure every new internet regulation preserved the spaces and parts of the internet that you love the most?

    We get it; we really do. Lawmakers across the world are rightly focused on regulating powerful, for-profit platforms to mitigate the harms ascribed to social media and other threats online. When developing such legislation, however, some draft laws can inadvertently place public interest projects like Wikipedia at risk. At the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that hosts Wikipedia and other Wikimedia platforms, we have found that when a proposed law harms Wikipedia, in many cases it likely harms other community-led websites, open resources, or digital infrastructure.

    That is why we have created the Wikipedia Test: a public policy tool and a call to action to help ensure regulators consider how new laws can negatively affect online communities and platforms that provide services and information in the public interest.

    You act like they want us to have access to information they don't have full control over. I'm pretty sure that's a really low priority for most of them.

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    arararagi@ani.socialA
    You are on Lemmy world, you are already in an echo chamber that even defederates from pirate focused instances.
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    S
    Just moved. It sucks. Why is everything so bloated with microsoft and poorly imemented.
  • 41 Stimmen
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    Yes. I can't use lynx for most of the sites I am used to go with it. They are all protecting themselves with captcha and other form of javascript computation. The net is dying. Fucking thank you AI-bullshitery...
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    E
    Well fuck me I guess lol
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    Haha, it's funny that you went that far. I think the reason why I notice it and you don't, is the 4k factor. My screen is 1920x1200 iirc.
  • AI cheating surge pushes schools into chaos

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    Sorry for the late reply, I had to sit and think on this one for a little bit. I think there are would be a few things going on when it comes to designing a course to teach critical thinking, nuances, and originality; and they each have their own requirements. For critical thinking: The main goal is to provide students with a toolbelt for solving various problems. Then instilling the habit of always asking "does this match the expected outcome? What was I expecting?". So usually courses will be setup so students learn about a tool, practice using the tool, then have a culminating assignment on using all the tools. Ideally, the problems students face at the end require multiple tools to solve. Nuance mainly naturally comes with exposure to the material from a professional - The way a mechanical engineer may describe building a desk will probably differ greatly compared to a fantasy author. You can also explain definitions and industry standards; but thats really dry. So I try to teach nuances via definitions by mixing in the weird nuances as much as possible with jokes. Then for originality; I've realized I dont actually look for an original idea; but something creative. In a classroom setting, you're usually learning new things about a subject so a student's knowledge of that space is usually very limited. Thus, an idea that they've never heard about may be original to them, but common for an industry expert. For teaching originality creativity, I usually provide time to be creative & think, and provide open ended questions as prompts to explore ideas. My courses that require originality usually have it as a part of the culminating assignment at the end where they can apply their knowledge. I'll also add in time where students can come to me with preliminary ideas and I can provide feedback on whether or not it passes the creative threshold. Not all ideas are original, but I sometimes give a bit of slack if its creative enough. The amount of course overhauling to get around AI really depends on the material being taught. For example, in programming - you teach critical thinking by always testing your code, even with parameters that don't make sense. For example: Try to add 123 + "skibbidy", and see what the program does.