Britannica Takes Over the Wikimedia Foundation

An anonymous reader writes "The Encyclopaedia Britannica has initiated a "semi-hostile" takeover of Wikipedia. Wikipedia administrators, members of the Wikimedia Board of Trustees, Arbitration Committee members and several other cabalists will receive free access. However, their adminship powers will be stripped permanently."

Booriing

[opqdonut]

This april fools stuff is getiing really lame.

Re:Booriing

[Sgt O]

This is one time I'm soooo glad I did not get the first post w/o RTFA. I had completely fallen for it....

Re:Booriing

[TrappedByMyself]

I think the real April Fool's joke is getting people who aren't amused by the jokes to keep coming back to the site and post comments about them.

It's like going to the same store 3 dozen times in one day, buying the same shirt each time, and telling the cashier each time how much you really hate that shirt.

Re:Booriing

[websaber]

there's a reason http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/top100.html [museumofhoaxes.com] hasn't been updated for a while. Lack of material.

It's not about the shirt

[ari_j]

Although this obviously applies in no way to posting comments on Slashdot, I find that going to the same store 3 dozen times in one day, buying the same shirt each time, and telling the cashier each time how much you really hate that shirt can get you laid one time in 100.

Re:Booriing

[SocietyoftheFist]

Every year it does. A few really seemingly real well placed stories work better than all joke stories.

Re:Booriing

[ReeprFlame]

Ah man, I actually believed it was real until I saw the Seinfeld picture... Ugg

Re:Booriing

[FidelCatsro]

I remember a few classics on the BBC news over the years , there was only one per year though , they were well thought out , funny(after you worked out it was a joke ) and many of them remain true classics to this day ,in the field of practical jokes that is.
Its not really lame (taken each seperatly), its the fact that when every one is a joke people get sick fed up of them , too much of a good thing...

Too funny

[oliana]

Have you acutally read the Wikipedia article? It reads like a super special extended version of The Onion.

Re:Booriing

[miu]

It was getting lame 3 years ago, or whenever they changed from a couple joke articles to nothing but joke articles all day. It is now far beyond lame.

People like salt, people need salt, people don't want a big heaping bowl of salt.

Re:Booriing

[nadadogg]

Then go to other websites today, instead of crying in front of your computer here. I'm fairly certain, although I may be wrong, that other websites than slashdot, and it's targets, that do exist.

Re:Booriing

[miu]

That is exactly what I did, I forgot it was april fools and made the mistake of glancing at the slashdot front page.

So, no, I didn't spend the day crying and weeping about slashdot - I came, saw that there were nothing but stupid prank stories, posted a comment, and left.

Re:Booriing

[Johnny5000]

people don't want a big heaping bowl of salt.

speak for yourself!

*eats bowl of salt*

Re:Booriing

[SnowWolf2003]

Wouldn't it be more fun if the slashbots stopped trying to be the first to point out how smart and 1337 they are for spotting this as an april fools joke and instead posted real comments directly relating to the articles? Even try and improve on the joke. Post comments that would normally be expected from the slashdot crowd - outrage, humour, rebuttals, etc. We all know it's an april fools joke - instead of pointing it out, why not play along - it's a joke - i.e supposed to be fun. You're the boring one.

Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[rylin]

"Nothing for you to see here. Please move along."

That actually describes slashdot with 100% accuracy for April 1st.

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[Prod_Deity]

I agree with that whole heartedly.

I thought

[coolcold]

the date on /. is always April 1st

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[slashrogue]

Has anybody else noticed that almost every single article SOMEONE comes along and says "gee is it not clever that I got the 'Nothing for you to see here.' message? hahaha!" and they inevitably get mod points. Lame.

Re:Factual content on slashdot - a first?

[adamfranco]

"Nothing for you to see here. Please move along."

That actually describes slashdot with 100% accuracy for April 1st.

Bleh. I'm coming back tomorrow.

wtf?

[rovingeyes]

However, their adminship powers will be stripped permanently

I hope Britannica does something about this bad language crap.

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!

[afree87]

It was a joke!! Haha, oh Slashdot, you got us good!

Mod me down but..

[xtracto]

WTF, they publish this thing (i know it is funny) and they have just REJECTED my story about google increase in space (2GB) and Rich text format new features...

Cool! I guess that is not NEWS FOR NERDS... and really does not MATTERS....

Re:Mod me down but..

[Jugalator]

I'm sure they'll post three articles about the Google space increase later to compensate. ;-)

Re:Mod me down but..

[xtracto]

lol I can bet... but, they wont say "xtracto writes"
=oP

april fools

[sirvulcan]

These stories are just too easy to figure out this year.

Re:april fools

[nomadic]

They're too easy to figure out every year. Actually back in the olden days, believe it or not, slashdot actually was clever on April 1st. You'd get real stories interspersed with an occasional almost-real one that actually fooled people. Then one year they started running really tiresome, obvious stories constantly, and they haven't stopped since.

damn it

[nomadic]

This really really sucks. Especially timing it for April Fools Day when people won't believe it's a real story.

Re:damn it

[hottoh]

At least this one is really funny.

Brittanica attacking wikipedia again, the Gonzales pic. Hell even homestar runner made the story.

OK...

[Aldric]

Haven't we had enough April Fool's jokes today already?

Worst April's fools ever

[abeybaby]

Did you really think anyone was going to fall for this? Mind you, it's probably got more truth in it than a lot of /.'s posts

Re:Worst April's fools ever

[EvilTwinSkippy]

I think the photoshop of Elian was a nice touch.

April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[RobotRunAmok]

Britannica taking over Wiki? Too bad it's only a fantasy. Short of Britannica putting its content on the Web free, this would be the next best thing.

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[Hiigara]

Your sarcasm needs work, or else you are seriously mistaken. A "semi-hostile" takeover of Wikimedia by an established dictionary entity would mean only one thing, they are trying to eliminate the free competition.

To assume that Britannica would release it's content or try to improve the Wiki is rather naive.

That, or I am a socialist with a grudge against anyone who seeks profit at the expense of the free exchange of information.

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[RobotRunAmok]

That, or I am a socialist with a grudge against anyone who seeks profit at the expense of the free exchange of information.

You might be. I know that I am a capitalist who is more than happy to pay a professional editor to ensure that the information is correct and not the product of a dare formulated in the back of a schoolbus.

Sure, I know *most* of the stuff in wiki is *usually* right, and it's certainly updated more frequently (for good or ill) than Britannica, but consistency trumps all.

Re:April Fools Day or My Birthday?

[RobotRunAmok]

So do it, who's stopping you from buying Britannica?

Nobody, Niblet. I have a subscription to the online edition, and it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. (In the Real World -- hell, even in the Academic World -- you can't use a Wikipedia citation and be viewed credibly.) My original [ironic] point was that a Britannica/Wiki marriage would be sweet if it combined the former's content with the latter's price structure.

Additionally...

[FooAtWFU]

The #wikipedia channel on Freenode has been shut down and now forwards to ##britannica. The Wall Street Journal also has an article [wsj.com].

And someone was futzing with our navigation [wikimedia.org] earlier. But it's better now. For now.

This one is funny

[NerdHead]

I got a laugh over this one. I hope the future ones are funny.

This, too, is great news.

[AtariAmarok]

I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves.

Oh Yeah???

[mfh]

I work at an encyclopedia sales company and to think of how much all this Wiki crap is going to weigh is really pissing me off!

Re:This, too, is great news.

[bwalling]

I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves

Well, all I've got is $50, so I'll just take the letter 'V'.

Re:This, too, is great news.

[ajs]

"I look forward to a salesman knocking on my door and selling me a 6 foot wide stack of Wikipedia volumes to fill my shelves."

Based on the picture, I think that would be "kicking in your door" ;-)

Printing wikipedia content and selling it

[presroi]

Actually, I am working on this right now. It will take some time to get this printed but there is no need to hurry.

No, not an April's fool

There's nothing like

[AtariAmarok]

"Don't forget about the random people who come into your house to edit it." There is nothing like trying to sleep through the nightly gunfire coming from the den as editors duke it out over details of the George W. Bush entry. And there are always bits of burnt paper from the "G" volume all over the floor the next day.

OT: Firefox

[m50d]

Did anyone else have firefox crash trying to first post in this story? 3 times in a row I loaded it and clicked reply only to have FF disappear and the quality feedback agent come up.

(Typing this in Opera, which seems to be fine)

Heh, April Fools crashes

[MrHanky]

Most of the apps I use regularly are more or less rock solid. I don't remember the last time one of them crashed -- before today. Today, Kopete has crashed at least 4 times, Firefox and Konqueror both crashed once each. And now neither Kopete nor Gaim will connect to MSN.

Coincidence?

Or maybe it was because I upgraded half of KDE's libraries without restarting KDE. An April Fools upgrade?

Re:Heh, April Fools crashes

[m50d]

Nope, I'm finding kopete won't connect to MSN for me either.

come on

[Sv-Manowar]

come on you guys, don't troll them for having a bit of fun. Google and Yahoo! do it - with google slurp and yahoo slacker

It's also a pretty funny story if you read it through, at least some people still have senses of humour

Re:come on

[nomadic]

Yes, but google and yahoo are actually clever about it.

Wonderful.

[xanderwilson]

One of the better ones I've seen so far today. Surely puts my [telltaleweekly.org] weak attempt to shame.

Day's early though.

Roll on this evening

[SFA_AOK]

We're in for one hilarious omelette [slashdot.org]!

Most obvious April 1st joke ever, look at link

[Weaselmancer]

Examine the story link. It's:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:April_1%2 C_2005/2005_Britannica_takeover_of_Wikimedia

April 1, right in the link. Obvious!

Boring Life

[bigtallmofo]

Wouldn't life be boring if every day was the same and that there weren't days like April 1st to break up the monotony of reading timely real news?

The jokes are a bit tired, but it's good to have a little variety.

Re:Boring Life

[ari_j]

timely real news

Dude, if you come to Slashdot for that, you have deeper issues.

WikBritPedAnnica

[FunWithHeadlines]

Following completion of the takeover, the following steps will be taken:

1. Reduce the number of articles online so that they will fit into a 27-volume set of printed books.

2. The person making this list will be sacked.

3. Reduce the use of fluffy language on Wikipedia, and make everything more stuffy.

4. The person who sacked the person making this list will be sacked.

5. More cheesey goodness!

6. Sack everyone else.

7. ?????

8. Profit!!!!

Re:WikBritPedAnnica

[EvilTwinSkippy]

7. Hire a bunch of Peruvian llamas to finish the edition at the last minute and at great expense.

Some nice bits ....

[gowen]

I like the new board of directors at the end... excerpts include

• Tony Blair, Director of Transparency and Accountability
  
• Al Gore (inventor of the algorithm)
  
• Robert Downey, Jr., Ambassador to Colombia and Jamaica
  
• Dr. Who, Minister of Time Travel
  
• Marty McFly, Vice Minister of Time Travel
  
• Ron Artest and Miles O'Brien, security guards.
  
• Bub the Zombie, Minister of NRRRGGGHH! BRAINS!!!!
  
• Terri Schiavo, Personal Assitant to Bub the Zombie
  
• Ian Brown, King Monkey
  

Re:Some nice bits ....

[tomstdenis]

Terri Schiavo, Personal Assitant to Bub the Zombie

Too soon, you have to wait 22.3 years [fanboyplanet.com] before something like that is funny.

Tom

Re:Some nice bits ....

[cmpalmer]

I don't know, I heard about a T-Shirt the other day that said something like:

"Forget Terri Schiavo, stop feeding Kirstie Alley"

and I thought it was funny...

Gotta relieve the tedium somehow...

[projectVORTEX]

Well, given that it is April Fools Day... I guess this was to be expected. It's a good way to chuckle about things, though. Now all we need is Intel taking over AMD or M$ taking over Google or somesuch and the day is complete!

Re:Gotta relieve the tedium somehow...

[menkhaura]

The day would be complete if AMD took over Intel and Google took over MS...

Libel?

[suwain_2]

When does an April Fools joke become libel? I can't see Encyclopedia Britannica seeing the humor in this one.

Re:Libel?

[spac3manspiff]

Good point, but libel for what?

So Funny!

[pgpckt]

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

Oy! That was a good one!

Where do the editors come up with these wonders?

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

April Fool?

[krygny]

I don't believe anything I read today.

Re:April Fool?

[Anne_Nonymous]

You'd be well served to make a regular habit of it.

Re:April Fool?

[Hatta]

I don't believe anything I read today.

Everything you read on April 1st is a lie.

Re:April Fool?

[krygny]

Everything you read on April 1st is a lie.

That's true. But I still don't believe it.

Panicked

[bostonsoxfan]

I panicked for a full second before I realized that it was April fools day. Props to the moderators for picking such a bad jokes. Is there going to be any real news today?

April 1

[vurg]

I believe April fool's should be moved to a different date since everybody is already prepared for it and the jokes aren't being appreciated anymore. How about making it a random date each year chosen by a committee or something. I think October fool's would definitely be something.

Wikipædia Britannica

[customiser]

I'm afraid it's true... The front page now reads:
Welcome to Wikipædia Britannica, the free-content encyclopædia that anyone can edit.

Where is the web-as-we-know-it heading? I sure hope that someone (maybe RMS [ssmaritime.com] and/or Lawrence [dvdjournal.com] Lessig?) can save us...

*PHEW*

[iehnll]

Damn you!

I almost went into cardiac arrest. Thank god it's april fools.

I don't believe it...

[slapout]

...And I won't believe it until I see the dupe posted. :-)

Limits

[jockm]

One April Fool's Story == Funny
A whole day of them == Annoying and Tedious

I'll be back tomorrow...

Re:Limits

[Peyna]

Your ID # is high enough that you've been here more than a year and should know that this is some what of a tradition on Slashdot. Nothing newsworthy will show up until after midnight.

That said, it's too bad this wasn't Saturday and we'd only have to deal with 23 hours of it.

Re:Limits

[jockm]

Yes and it is annoying and tedious every single year. And my point is just as valid every year as well. I have this vague hope that one year the powers that be will figure this out. They will pepper a day of legitimate news with one or two AF posts that are genuinely funny.

Next story?

[maxwell demon]

Microsoft buys Slashdot.
Linus Thorvalds buys Linux License from SCO.
Hubble Space Telecope observes Intergalactic Spaceship.
Space Probe Reveals: There is No Intelligent Life on Earth.
Harvard Researcher creates Dupe Detection Software. Soon to be Installed on Slashdot.

Re:Next story?

[BBird]

the fourth is not fool's news...

Re:Next story?

[ornil]

Harvard Researcher creates Dupe Detection Software. Soon to be Installed on Slashdot.

You forgot another one:

Duplicate Detection Software from Harvard to be Used by Slashdot

Sure..

[Xyl3ne]

What a bad April Fools joke.

It's so not fake.

[PxM]

I can't believe people think this is an April Fool's story. They even have a picture [wikipedia.org] on their site to prove that their story is true. We must rise up against our British Overlords who wish to control our information and tax our tea. Please, think of the children!

--
Want a free Nintendo DS, GC, PS2, Xbox. [freegamingsystems.com] (you only need 4 referrals)
Wired article as proof [wired.com]

Smart Slashdot Story Prediction Software Unveiled

[nmg196]

I was sent some clever software that predicts the next slashdot story with amazing accuracy. I compiled it and ran it myself and it's currently predicting the next story will be "Paris Hilton Recruited to Publicize Linux".

We'll have to wait and see... but if this works, there will no longer be so much incentive to subscribe to slashdot...

hmm...

[Teja]

nothing to see here, move along ;) It's probably time for all of this nonsense to end to time to move onto some real news. Meanwhile, here is a good list of sites [urgo.org] pulling a few pranks. Via [slashdot.org]

another one bites the dust

[dascritch]

1st April are so looooooong (perhaps because I donn't written mine yet ?)

Oh, for crying out loud. (n/t)

[ettlz]

Yeah, I waited 20 seconds, too.

Dammit!! I can't believe I fell for it.

[CyberSnyder]

I forgot it was April 1st.

Now time to start trickery of my own.....

check...

[SlashDread]

the date...

That was a good one...

[haplo21112]

...I hate April 1st...you actually had me for a second there...thats slight tinge of plausability.

enough already

[PureCreditor]

a couple of April Fools laughs is good, but to submit 10 stories of the same ridiculous nature is rather immature

Ha Haaah!

[blueZhift]

Ha haah! Made me look! Nice one.... Of course the sad thing is that stuff like this could really happen...

Stallman ... committed seppuku with a Frisbee.

[wiredog]

We should be so lucky.

Why Not?

[CSG_SurferDude]

Why Not?

E.B. could easily download all of Wiki-land, dump it onto their own servers, and then merge their own content with Wikipedia, and then sell advertising on their site to make $$$.

This isn't necessarily a bad idea. E.B. carries clout in the real world, and can have their own editors "Approve" modifications to articles before letting the rest of the world view them.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[GreyWolf3000]

They're going to have throw out a few "dud" 4/1 stories if they want to fool us with the clever ones. People will think that only the "obvious" ones are jokes. Otherwise, readers would carefully inspect every article.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[calibanDNS]

Otherwise, readers would carefully inspect every article.

That would be a blessing any day of the year.

Re:Cmon slastdot

[suso]

Actually, the next one that is coming up should have some great comments.

Or this one:

[AtariAmarok]

Politics: "Through a glitch between Zimbabwe's election computers and Slashdot, Cowboy Neal was elected president of Zimbabwe yesterday."

Re:Retaliation against /.

[OECD]

Here's the next joke article:

*Groan* I forgot what day it was... the longest day of the year for slashdot readers...

Re:Retaliation against /.

[bsd4me]

I think I am going to configure my computer to give me an electric shock every time I try to read Shashdot today...

And there it is

[Baron Eekman]

http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/01/ 141218&tid=163&tid=106 [slashdot.org].

Even worse...

[Grendel Drago]

No---the return of Jon Katz!

"In this post-Iraq war society..."

--grendel drago

Re:Google

[Thijs van As]

Actually, they doubled storage for GMail.

Have you already had some GoogleGulp?
http://www.google.com/googlegulp/ [google.com]