I was looking for clarity on a subject the other day on the Wikipedia website when a message box popped up:
“Hi,” it began. This is the second time we’ve interrupted your search recently, but 98 percent of our readers don’t give; they keep reading. We ask you to help us sustain Wikipedia. All we ask is $2.75 if you can afford $2.75, or $25 if you can afford $25. We ask you humbly. Please don’t scroll away.”
It’s an annual thing, like the fund drive for the local Public Broadcasting Service station.
Wikipedia has been around for just over 20 years. It operates under the Wikimedia Foundation, a nonprofit that supports the free, online encyclopedia. The site has not been without its problems over the years — pages get hacked sometimes, and squabbles break out among volunteers.
