Letter To Wikimedia Foundation

[kerravonsen]

Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 12:45:12 +1100
To: donate@wikimedia.org
Subject: Problems donating

To Whom It May Concern,

I have, in the past, donated money to support wikipedia.

However, this:
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/23/wikipedia-bans-editors-from-gender-related-articles-amid-gamergate-controversy
http://internet.gawker.com/wikipedia-purged-a-group-of-feminist-editors-because-of-1681463331

is the last straw.

Until you fix wikipedia's systemic bias against women, you will not get another penny from me. Before you say "we are not responsible" -- you are, because you are *financing* this toxic atmosphere. The buck stops with you.

Kathryn Andersen

Comments

[kaffy_r]

Well, damn. Please forgive the violent language of my icon, but it's about the one I have that seems best fitted to this hateful news. I guess I'll be sending a note to those folks as well. They'll get no more of my money - and I was so happy to have donated to them, too.
ETA: May I boost the signal with your links, and may I use the format and links of your letter to send my own to the Wikimedia Foundation?

[kerravonsen]

May I boost the signal with your links, and may I use the format and links of your letter to send my own to the Wikimedia Foundation?

Surely yes. 8-)

[kaffy_r]

Thank you!

[kerravonsen]

I put in the "before you say we are not responsible" bit because it's all over Wikipedia that the Wikimedia Foundation is not responsible for the content of Wikipedia, and that, indeed, there is nobody responsible for the content of Wikipedia because it is "the community" and "consensus" which sounds all very nice, but is really a weaselly method of removing accountability. Which is simply not acceptable with something as influential as Wikipedia.

[kaffy_r]

That's pure, unadulterated crap, all right.

[delphipsmith]

Wow. That is so hugely disappointing. They should have just locked the article like they do with Dubya and Iraq War etc. Banning real people one one side while banning sock puppets on the other side is seriously poor planning. With several thousand edits under my belt I've been involved in a couple of edit wars myself on Wikipedia, and they are difficult to stop, but this does not seem a useful solution...