Wikipedia asking for donations!

[french frank]

I must confess I've never contributed ... but Wiki is, of course, an extremely useful public reference these days and I'm sure S_A might well contribute in future!

Scoundrel!

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

....yep, £10 every now and again....of course i never use it, all my know-ledge comes from Look and Learn annuals....

[Nick Armstrong]

....yep, £10 every now and again....of course i never use it, all my know-ledge comes from Look and Learn annuals....

Yes I surprised myself by forking out a tenner willingly the other day!

(So far I've resisted The Guardian's requests for the 'less than the price of a cup of coffee guv' ... )

[french frank]

(So far I've resisted The Guardian's requests for the 'less than the price of a cup of coffee guv' ... )[/COLOR]

You fool! They sent me a very strong canvas shopping bag (with The Guardian written on it ) in return for my £49 for online access. I know you can have online access without paying the £49, but you don't get a canvas shopping bag …

[Nick Armstrong]

You fool! They sent me a very strong canvas shopping bag (with The Guardian written on it ) in return for my £49 for online access. I know you can have online access without paying the £49, but you don't get a canvas shopping bag …

I'll live...!

[Sir Velo]

Ah, the spirit of Christmas 2016.

Bah! Humbug!

[muzzer]

I was happy to send wiki a few bob a couple of months ago when asked but see they are asking again now, and felt a bit hmmm at this for some reason. The Graudina can go whistle for its coffee I'm afraid. And yes I do read it.

[Flay]

Gosh, I must be extravagent. I gave twenty quid

It's money well spent though, when one sees the overwhelming advertising elsewhere.

[Dave2002]

I was happy to send wiki a few bob a couple of months ago when asked but see they are asking again now, and felt a bit hmmm at this for some reason. The Graudina can go whistle for its coffee I'm afraid. And yes I do read it.

I think the problem is that although they try to keep track of you, and send you those "nice" personal emails from Jimmy Wales, really of course it's all done by computer algoritms and programs. Sadly they don't seem to have anyone capable of writing code which has a line like:

If X has already paid any time in the last 9 months, skip this and exit.

I was miffed a year or so back when I still got all the nag reminders even after I'd coughed up. Maybe they need more money, to employ better programmers!

If it bothers you, don't contribute next time, otherwise just accept it as a stupid technical problem which is unlikely to cause any real harm.

[Sir Velo]

I think the problem is that although they try to keep track of you, and send you those "nice" personal emails from Jimmy Wales, really of course it's all done by computer algoritms and programs. Sadly they don't seem to have anyone capable of writing code which has a line like:

If X has already paid any time in the last 9 months, skip this and exit.

I was miffed a year or so back when I still got all the nag reminders even after I'd coughed up. Maybe they need more money, to employ better programmers!

If it bothers you, don't contribute next time, otherwise just accept it as a stupid technical problem which is unlikely to cause any real harm.

Of course it could be super sophisticated, knowing how often you visit wiki and sending reminders according to your level of usage. I use it several times a day on average so feel it only fair that I cough up when asked.

[Cockney Sparrow]

I too contribute.

I rather like that they do not track me, my computer IP address etc (or, presumably spend more money on software) to the level that they tie up that I made a contribution and so don't put up the request banner. I feel observed and tracked enough already by the large internet entities.....

[Dave2002]

I too contribute.

I rather like that they do not track me, my computer IP address etc (or, presumably spend more money on software) to the level that they tie up that I made a contribution and so don't put up the request banner. I feel observed and tracked enough already by the large internet entities.....

That's a very good point.

I am getting very, very irked by the highly obtrusive tracking nowadays, which manages to delve into my emails and tracks web pages I look at, and then shoves product adverts in articles I want to read (without the adverts). Often the "systems" are a bit behind the times, as I may have already bought the particular product being forced in front of me. A technical "solution" would be to do better, and track me even further to see if I've actually bought stuff in the last five micro seconds, but on reflection, after reading your post, I'd rather they didn't bother at all.

I just can't believe that Tim Berners Lee and others who developed the WWW intended all this to happen. It sucks.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

My son recently contributed to a charity by text. I was proud of him for doing this. Almost immediately he received a phone call to ask him for more. That simply isn't on.

[french frank]

If it bothers you, don't contribute next time, otherwise just accept it as a stupid technical problem which is unlikely to cause any real harm.

Isn't that the only sensible reaction? They ask for money, if you want to give, then give. If not, don't.

I get regular requests from charities with whom I have a regular DD. In those cases, I would seldom make an additional donation. But who knows? They may catch me when I'm feeling lackadaisical

They all take the view that if you don't ask, you don't get; and an appeal will end up in profit.

"The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. is a nonprofit charitable organization dedicated to encouraging the growth, development and distribution of free, multilingual, educational content, and to providing the full content of these wiki-based projects to the public free of charge. The Wikimedia Foundation operates some of the largest collaboratively edited reference projects in the world, including Wikipedia, a top-ten internet property.

Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. That’s our commitment."

[kernelbogey]

I've just had another email from Jimmy. I was all poised to write back and say 'I already gave' when on reading it, it was obvious that they knew that and were quite clearly asking for more - would I give the same again etc. I don't mind this but it suggests that they have an unexpected need.

As to other comments here on charities. My daughter worked until recently in the charity sector. All charities are under pressure as people are giving less and demand increases (wars, famine, government cuts etc).

The adverts that say things like 'Text "blanket" to this number' are strategies for obtaining your mobile number - so don't be surprised when you get a call asking for another donation.