Culture: Jimmy Wales on Wikipedia’s future: We’ll make it easier to edit
- We have to support our old power users because they build the site. But we also need to have a ramp for new users.
- Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales • Explaining the the encyclopedia’s next move, as it celebrated its tenth anniversary, involved simplifying its complex editing process. “If you click edit and you see some Wiki syntax and some bizarre table structure — a lot of people are literally afraid,” he explained. “They’re good people and they don’t want to break something.” This would be the probable next step for the site to expand its audience from 400 million to what Wales hopes is 1 billion by 2015. Despite this, the organization has no plans to change its model, which involves fundraising, usually involving Jimmy Wales‘ Joe-Millerish mug. Happy birthday, kids, and we’re sorry you’re no longer the most-famous Wiki-leader, Jimmy (friggin’ Julian)! source