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Well, that is interesting. I went through the new account procedure to setup my WT membership and got right in, no waiting. It could be, since I have been a good donor to Wikipedia for several years, that the WT:Social hookup process queried the Wikipedia database using my email address as a key and figured out that I was some kind of “good guy” or whatever. I should think, following the WP formula, that a donation would not be required initially. Kind of a deterrent to joining. Kind of a negative incentive there.
The Internet, and the websites on it, continue to evolve and to survive. I am a retired website developer for a large municipal utility company, and so I do have some knowledge of how all this works, or doesn’t. Regarding paid access vs. free access, my observations are thus: there are 100% free websites, news outlets, etc. that you just join — email address validation, and so on, and you are in. Those sites are littered with advertising, so-called “clickbait”, etc. Then there are sites that are on a lower budget that invite you to donate, but may or may not restrict access if you do not. I support a few of these. Then there are the websites that *require* a fee, or a donation, for access. I belong to and support some of these sites too.
I think that this new nascent thing, WT:Social, is in an embryonic state where Jimmy Wales wants to make it a success, and his policy of refusing to accept advertising money will make his endeavor a challenge, and will also make his concept, in my opinion, “cleaner” in this regard i.e. free from sponsors’ influences. But the facts are that unless you have a lot of disposable money to spend on such an endeavor, people/members will need to step up and contribute. One of the earlier experiments like this was, and still is, the WELL, the “Whole Earth ‘Lectronic Link”. Free at first, then donations gladly accepted… (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_WELL). The truth is, if there is something out there, anywhere, that people had to expend their time & energy on that is of value to someone, someone will be asked to pay for it. It’s only fair. The “free lunch” argument. Radio, TV, books, magazines, and Internet content.
I am so far positive about WT:Social. I would like to see it succeed, and I am willing to donate to its cause.
My first WT:Social post!
I have always liked Wikipedia, and I do donate $$ to them every year. I like the founders’ concept of user involvement in WP. There were those in the early days that said it could never work, never last, and yet it has. Some colleges and universities have begun to accept Wikipedia-based articles as legitimate, with proper citations. I appreciate that WP carries no advertisements.
I have been a Facebook member for 10 years now. I like it. So many of my friends are on it, and, I have become reacquainted with former high school students I once taught long ago, and formerly long lost family members. There is something positive to be said for an Internet based social network as large as FB. We shall see the growth of WT, or not. Some things don’t catch on as expected. I hope that it does.
Something that many folks might not realize is that there are still pockets of population in the U.S. (and as well, around the world) that live in remote rural areas not served by telephone or broadband Internet. I live in such an area. I have a cell phone, but it is of no use here because there is no cellular service. And no broadband. My Internet connection is via satellite up and down, as is the Internet service for many of my neighbors here. That’s what I’m using right now. After I click “submit”, my data packets will go through my satellite modem, out to the dish, then 28,000 miles up to the “bird” (satellite), then repeated 28,000 miles back down to earth to an Internet gateway somewhere, and finally, to anyone reading this message. It’s pretty magic. It’s also pretty expensive 🙁
So, with no phone, I keep in touch with my friends and neighbors who also choose to live in and around this remote area, and others living in the cities via Facebook messenger, or email. We’ll have to see how many flock to WT:Social. I’ll still keep my FB account running. As far as so-called “clickbait”, it doesn’t really apply to me because I never click, so I take no bait. I’m a savvy surfer on the ‘net.
Thinking back on the evolution of the Internet (the public version, not DARPA), I remember moving from dial-up BBS (bulletin board services) to browser-based Internet when AOL came out. If you’re old enough, you may remember those endless CDs showing up in your post box inviting you to join AOL for… what was it, $7/month? Can’t remember. Steve Case was the CEO, and I can remember emailing him about a problem I was having with AOL, and he personally replied. I also remember when he sent out a bulk email, announcing with great joy that AOL had achieved a membership of 10,000! Whoa! I still kept up with my BBS dial-up accounts, but AOL was the new force in town. The BBS often required long distance telephone charges, whereas AOL with it’s web browser utility did not. It wasn’t long before the vast majority of BBS sites went away. There are still a few with toll-free phone numbers for those still on dial-up.
So, the evolution of the Internet user experience in a nutshell. I will be active here on WT, and will look forward to others coming aboard. I will spread the news at our tiny town post office tomorrow. That’s our “nerve center” of the town. Which, BTW, is Darwin, CA. Look it up just for fun.
Namaste, Max