Thanks very much, Megan. It's very nice to hear this. Pine
> Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2013 19:42:06 -0800 > From: Megan Hernandez <[email protected]> > To: Wikimedia Mailing List <[email protected]> > Subject: [Wikimedia-l] Readers love you > Message-ID: > <CAE1+vxPHbrLaibiteyEq8QBdK51K4DJw6fU5fX6=a1uaass...@mail.gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 > > Hi everyone, > > Each year that we run the fundraiser, readers write in really lovely notes. > Please take two minutes to listen to our readers. > > Enjoy! > > > The story I like to tell is that whilst I had heard of Wikipedia but only > looked at it a few times thereafter, when the 2004 Tsunami occurred the day > after Christmas, mainstream news organisations (TV, newspapers) were all > away from their offices. That day I turned to Wikipedia to try to > understand the scale of the event. It was Wiki editors 'on the ground' that > created the sort of information and coverage usually considered the > province of rolling news organisations only. This I now dub my 'Wiki > Epiphany'. > > > Wikipedia is an amazing service. Almost always, I am able to find > information on subjects I am interested in. Thanks and Kudos to all staff > and volunteers!! > > My world has been opened up time and time again by Wikipedia. From studying > Detroit and computer programming to finding unbiased information on > America's history, Wikipedia has been a beacon of free speech and > information for over ten years. Sometimes, I just sit in awe of the fact > that the greatest accomplishment of man was assembled mostly by volunteers, > people who just wanted to make the world a better place. > > Its made life easier for me and expanded my knowledge by allowing me to > more easily find trusted and verified information on the internet. It > organizes all the noise out there on the web and gives a great concise to > the point fact summary of what I want to know. Thank you and thank you to > the millions of volunteer editors. Wikipedia is a necessity in my life and > not just a luxury. > > Wikipedia is a source of unbiased information. The caveats and notes from > the editors alert to questionable information. The links within the > articles are amazingly helpful and have led me on wonderful information > expeditions. > > I'd like to thank the entire staff of wikipedia and its editors for my high > school graduation. > > It's impossible to put in words. I cannot imagine Planet Earth without it > [Wikipedia]. It has changed my life forever. > > My 17 year old son uses you constantly. You have made him a smarter human > being. > > You guys are ^^%$#&* unbelievably awesome, keep it up! > > web sites like Wikipedia are invaluable and I felt it my duty to try help > even if only a tad. > > so much of the Internet has turned into self serving and unreliable junque; > so I am very, very grateful for the Wiki resource. > > I regard "W" as the best and most reliable source of information available > anywhere. I don't know how you do it so please keep on with your Excellence > }i{ < That;s a butterfly for you > This is one of the best things on the internet. It goes back to the > original development of the internet and has remained ethical and true to > its origins. There appears to be no discrimination and it is available to > everyone at no cost. > > I am 60 years old and I am still so cruious and interested in so many > things. Wikipedia gives me reasonable information whenever I may want it. > > > I use wikipedia all the time and credit it more toward my education than > college did! > > > It's nice to see humanity get together without any external forces for a > common good! > > > I am inspired by the high quality of Wikipedia and the high ideals of its > founder and its myriad contributors and editors. What a magnificent > collaborative human achievement you are building! > > > It has simultaneously answered and given me more questions than I can > comprehend. > This represents to me what college should be like. Free and collective > knowledge by and for all. > > When I want to know something, I google it and 99% of the time Wikipedia > has what I want to know. Even drinking arguments, about what Biff from Back > to the Future is doing now, are solved by Wikipedia. It's all there. > > Without Wikipedia I would be about 30% less intelligent. :( > > it is like a gift from the gods of knowledge > > I am a teacher and a writer, and I am amazed how often Wikipedia is useful > to me. I consider Wikipedia to be one of the great democratic projects > maybe ever, and it is one of the reasons why I try to stay optimistic about > the world. Thank you. > > I honestly feel like the next generation of humans in general, will be much > smarter than the previous because of this site. Well, at least they will > know a whole lot more useless shit. I've heard (don't know for sure if it's > true, doesn't matter) that the bigger a person's brain is, typically, the > smarter that person is. So, if that is true, I think it's likely that > because of this site, in about 50 years, humans will have huge heads. Their > heads will look like the aliens' heads did in "attack from mars." If y'all > ever get into commercials for whatever reason, you could use that and > probably make it really funny :) > > It's like that reliable family member or friend who's an expert at > something or the other. > > I extend my heartfelt thanks to the men and women who tirelessly work on > keeping Wikipedia the wonderful website it is. > > There's nothing you can't find on Wikipedia, I'd be shattered if it was > shut down. > > As a computing and communications engineer I imagined an information > resource like Wikipedia before the Internet existed. I'm happy I didn't > have to be the one to build it. > > My 72 year old life is easier and more fun. I read a lot and look things up > all the time, and that is now easy. That itself is fun. > > It gives me hope and makes me feel connected to an invisible but powerful > community. And it settles lots of arguments before they get out of hand at > the dinner table!!! > > My Dad's addicted to Wikipedia. Seriously. I can't think of a single day > I've seen him not go on here at least once. The man craves knowledge, and > one blue link leads to another. Soon enough, he has dozens of tabs open > leading to a million different things. As I hear quite often, I am my > father's daughter. I was in third period US History today reading the page > on Dmitri Kabalevsky during our homework time. I came on here right now to > make sure it would be okay to refer to France as Gallia in the book I'm > attempting to write. I come on here so many times a day, you wouldn't even > believe. I absolutely love the system you all work so hard to run, and I > hope Wikipedia stays online and banner free for dozens of years to come! > You have my full support. :) > > 100 years ago they said we would have flying cars, instead we got smart > phones with access to almost every book ever written, fair trade. > > When i was a kid, I used to watch 'Star Trek". When Captain Kirk had a > question asked Mr. Spock and the computer with female voice. Wikipedia is a > combination of Mr. Spock and Computer. > > It was my constant savior through the pitch-black hell that was high school > and has guided me through college and into my career as a nurse. > > I have lived in the world without Wikipedia but it was darkish all the time > and I never want to live in our world without it again. > > Wikipedia is like a playground for me. I love you for what you do. > > It is easy to find reliable or at least semi-reliable information on just > about any person, place, or thing that exists. Even if it's something as > stupid as "white chocolate". The reason I was on wikipedia this evening. > Thank you. > > "Look it up" is what our dad always told us when we asked a question, even > if he knew the answer. Back then we ran to the encyclopedia or dictionary; > now it's Wikipedia. Different but the same. And beyond Wikipedia's being a > tool to learn something, it makes me happy to know there are smarties out > there, collaborating in this vital, fluid, living system, spreading > knowledge. Thank you! > > > I remember researching in the days of microfiche & card catalogs! This is > like having the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, the OED, and so much more > at your fingertips! > I just truly enjoy getting the succinct and straight info without a lot of > bullshit. > > > I passed my university degree, settled numerous arguments, checked sports > stats, researched my great grandfather and just today found out the > probable origin of sheep farming! The list goes on... and on… > > was one of those kids who read the encyclopedia for fun, so Wikipedia took > that to the next level. > > Wikipedia is what the internet can be. > > > I use Wikipedia to live my life. > > I, as an ordinary citizen, am able to learn and access information in a way > that would make preeminent scholars of 3000-odd years fall to their knees > and weep with joy and shock. > > > > -- > > Megan Hernandez > > Director of Online Fundraising > Wikimedia Foundation > > > ------------------------------ > ******************************************** _______________________________________________ Wikimedia-l mailing list [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/wikimedia-l, <mailto:[email protected]?subject=unsubscribe>
