<![CDATA[Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline?]]>Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/d36a6548-57d3-4a95-b17a-45bffd344432/have-wikipedia-and-mozilla-passed-a-point-of-inevitable-declineRSS for NodeFri, 15 May 2026 04:33:59 GMTMon, 04 May 2026 05:35:58 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 13:49:27 GMT]]>@evan Interesting, i did not know they were depending so much on user traffic. i stand corrected.
in that case yes Wikipedia will be affected by AI absorbing most user traffic.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.oncrete.uk/users/nickapos/statuses/01KQW6D7ATH5F1KF5H9XQ7N13Ghttps://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.oncrete.uk/users/nickapos/statuses/01KQW6D7ATH5F1KF5H9XQ7N13GTue, 05 May 2026 13:49:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 11:26:20 GMT]]>@evan great thread.

I actively, intentionally, avoid summaries in search engines (e.g. with &udm=14 appended to Google searches), and choose Wikipedia as the most likely to be authoritative source, because I am searching for facts (or at least scientific consensus), rather than LLM statistically regurgitated convincing but almost certainly wrong slop.

But unless you go to the same effort as I do, I can see why Wikipedia's traffic will fall off a cliff.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.au/users/BernardSheppard/statuses/116521722210910227https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.au/users/BernardSheppard/statuses/116521722210910227Tue, 05 May 2026 11:26:20 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:53:46 GMT]]>@astraleureka @funcrunch digital sovereignty is a strong motivator.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521358264800022https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521358264800022Tue, 05 May 2026 09:53:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:53:17 GMT]]>@astraleureka @funcrunch I think there's a strong opportunity for national mirrors that synch dynamically with the Wikimedia Foundation ones. Canadian, European, Asian, and so on.

For us in Canada, we'd probably only mirror English, French, Mandarin, Punjabi, Arabic, Spanish and a few other languages practiced in Canada. Plus the dozen or so indigenous language versions.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521356341382085https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521356341382085Tue, 05 May 2026 09:53:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:22:46 GMT]]>@evan @funcrunch yep, the tech and the content is the easy part - it's pulling along the userbase that would be the really hard part. forks only tend to survive when there's sufficient momentum in community following imo

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.treehouse.systems/users/astraleureka/statuses/116521236359640884https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://social.treehouse.systems/users/astraleureka/statuses/116521236359640884Tue, 05 May 2026 09:22:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:08:21 GMT]]>@rasmus91 a lot of people are reluctant to churn their own butter these days, too.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521179632529015https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521179632529015Tue, 05 May 2026 09:08:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:04:37 GMT]]>@wlach some things are inevitable, and it's good to pay attention so that you can change before they become inevitable.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521164957842391https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521164957842391Tue, 05 May 2026 09:04:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:04:11 GMT]]>@evan It depends on the goal, I guess. In Mozilla's case, the goal is probably to keep growing the business, so... probably not.

Wikipedia is ostensibly not concerned with making profit at all; all they need to do is keep the lights on. Which they've traditionally done by asking their regular members and supporters for donations once a year. The amount of people willing to donate has probably gone down, but hopefully the ones that remain are just as passionate as ever. 😕

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.africa/users/GrahamDowns/statuses/116521163227275281https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.africa/users/GrahamDowns/statuses/116521163227275281Tue, 05 May 2026 09:04:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 09:03:34 GMT]]>@astraleureka @funcrunch there are a lot of mirrors and forks of Wikipedia already.

Link Preview Image
Wikipedia:Mirrors and forks - Wikipedia

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(en.wikipedia.org)

Dumps are available in multiple formats:

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Wikipedia:Database download - Wikipedia

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(en.wikipedia.org)

Kiwix provides great offline readers and downloads:

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Kiwix - Home

Kiwix is a nonprofit organisation making free knowledge accessible where the Internet is not. We create and support open technologies that bring the world’s knowledge Offline via our own open-source software dedicated to providing offline access to free educational content, and more…

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Kiwix (kiwix.org)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521160854024592https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521160854024592Tue, 05 May 2026 09:03:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 08:56:05 GMT]]>@rhelune @pizaaman always a good strategy.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521131397891486https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521131397891486Tue, 05 May 2026 08:56:05 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 08:55:21 GMT]]>@GrahamDowns is surviving enough?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521128572385555https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521128572385555Tue, 05 May 2026 08:55:21 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 08:54:50 GMT]]>@atomicpoet yeah, good point!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521126487376918https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521126487376918Tue, 05 May 2026 08:54:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 08:51:12 GMT]]>@rasmus91@fosstodon.org @evan@cosocial.ca Generals prepare for the war that has already passed,
and parents prepare their children for a world that no longer exists.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://misskey.ellidaf.ru/notes/alvydsuigbsp0017https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://misskey.ellidaf.ru/notes/alvydsuigbsp0017Tue, 05 May 2026 08:51:12 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 08:38:34 GMT]]>@samwilson something to look forward to!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521062539643053https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116521062539643053Tue, 05 May 2026 08:38:34 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 08:09:11 GMT]]>@evan i think it's really difficult to solve.

My daughter stated something the other day, i can't recall what, but my response was "go read the Wikipedia article, you'll know"

To which she replied "anyone can edit Wikipedia, and I'll have to read so much, I'll ask chatGPT instead"

I was stricken; you trust chatGPT, the bullshit machines over Wikipedia?

But i think it's a trend, and I think a lot of people would rather because they can get a "summary" and won't have to think.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/rasmus91/statuses/116520947020305968https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://fosstodon.org/users/rasmus91/statuses/116520947020305968Tue, 05 May 2026 08:09:11 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:57:30 GMT]]>@funcrunch both of those are economic games that depend on growth. They're fine examples. You can get boxed in on both games.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520901053464204https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520901053464204Tue, 05 May 2026 07:57:30 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:55:29 GMT]]>@mkljczk @anime_reference lol

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520893092109343https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520893092109343Tue, 05 May 2026 07:55:29 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:44:18 GMT]]>@evan Firefox had a transformative impact, providing the platform upon which the modern web could be built. I still can't stop thinking about the impact Thunderbird would have had on the world of digital communications if it had had the same resources and attention.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sociale.network/users/madbob/statuses/116520849140697164https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://sociale.network/users/madbob/statuses/116520849140697164Tue, 05 May 2026 07:44:18 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:34:28 GMT]]>I should also say that the Wikimedia editor community is a big drag on developing new interfaces for editing, since the editors are also the fact checkers. Getting a flood of new edits from ChatGPT users or Alexa users or Google search users is a WP editor's worst nightmare.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520810504815883https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520810504815883Tue, 05 May 2026 07:34:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:31:36 GMT]]>@evan@cosocial.ca @anime_reference@wetdry.world Wikipedia edits depend on autism.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://pl.fediverse.pl/objects/51574bfc-2973-4024-b6bc-13a76a7a3e12https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://pl.fediverse.pl/objects/51574bfc-2973-4024-b6bc-13a76a7a3e12Tue, 05 May 2026 07:31:36 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:29:22 GMT]]>@nickapos Wikipedia is *NOT* a lot more than user traffic.

Evan Prodromou (@evan@cosocial.ca)

@anime_reference@wetdry.world Wikipedia edits depend on page views. People edit the the pages when they read something that's untrue, clumsy, or misspelled. If they don't get page views, they don't get edits. Wikimedia Foundation revenue depends on page views. People donate to Wikimedia when they land on a Wikipedia page with a donation request banner. If there aren't page views, WMF doesn't get donations. Page views are a very big deal for Wikimedia.

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CoSocial (cosocial.ca)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520790436786088https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520790436786088Tue, 05 May 2026 07:29:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:28:22 GMT]]>@anime_reference here's my full response:

Evan Prodromou (@evan@cosocial.ca)

I like playing video games and board games with an economic component. In these games, you build farms or factories or mines or whatever, and they generate resources that you can use to build armies or research centres or monuments, which in turn let you build more farms and mines and so on.

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CoSocial (cosocial.ca)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520786500206319https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520786500206319Tue, 05 May 2026 07:28:22 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:27:56 GMT]]>@philip here's my long response.

Evan Prodromou (@evan@cosocial.ca)

I like playing video games and board games with an economic component. In these games, you build farms or factories or mines or whatever, and they generate resources that you can use to build armies or research centres or monuments, which in turn let you build more farms and mines and so on.

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CoSocial (cosocial.ca)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520784769102742https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520784769102742Tue, 05 May 2026 07:27:56 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to Have Wikipedia and Mozilla passed a point of inevitable decline? on Tue, 05 May 2026 07:27:25 GMT]]>@rhelune @pizaaman my long response is here.

Evan Prodromou (@evan@cosocial.ca)

I like playing video games and board games with an economic component. In these games, you build farms or factories or mines or whatever, and they generate resources that you can use to build armies or research centres or monuments, which in turn let you build more farms and mines and so on.

favicon

CoSocial (cosocial.ca)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520782779661383https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://cosocial.ca/users/evan/statuses/116520782779661383Tue, 05 May 2026 07:27:25 GMT