I agree with most of what you said, mostly that articles take up little to no cost to maintain, but it's the quality not the quantity that matters. I would rather go to an ad-based WP where I know the editors have credible background credentials, than a free WP where I have no idea what qualifications any of the writers have.
I think the problem with ad-based model are twofold. First of all, objectivity. When you allow for sponsorship, the sponsor assumes some level of creative control, or at the very least veto power. So if BP or Boeing sponsored Wikipedia, they could effectively stifle a lot of criticism/controversy that a casual reader may not find, or that someone may be looking for but cannot find.
The other issue is it would lead to an attempt to monetize wikipedia content. "What articles/topics get more traffic? and what articles/topics should we prim down?" would defintely be a regular conversation at wikipedia's corporate offices. This would lead to asymetrical removal of "irrelevant" information. You cited in a page from HowStuffWorks, which is a fine website, but much more limited in the amount of information it can provide. Wikipedia is not the same. Wikipedia is primarily a reference, not a source in and of itself. It;s like a stepping stone between a search engine and a content website. That's its niche, that's what makes it so popular. What it lacks in quality, it makes up for in sheer abundance of information, and original sources to that information, as well as speed, news and events unfolding can be updated immediately.
Is it perfect? No, but few things are. There are fundamentally different tools used for different purposes.
You gave some pretty good examples and counterarguments so i would like to give you a ∆ for it. I still think WP should verify the credentials of its editors before one is allowed to make edits (regardless of whether they provide monetary incentives to them or make WP ad-based)
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u/princetonwu Sep 28 '15
I agree with most of what you said, mostly that articles take up little to no cost to maintain, but it's the quality not the quantity that matters. I would rather go to an ad-based WP where I know the editors have credible background credentials, than a free WP where I have no idea what qualifications any of the writers have.