QUOTE(Wikifan @ Thu 8th March 2012, 4:46am)
e begging seriously?
Begging is certainly not below me (I care about this project, have given a year of my life to it already, want to see it completed, and lack the means to do so without support) but "begging" is not how I would characterize my appeal.
The reason I wouldn't call it begging is because my request is really an offer.
I am saying that if you want:
an honest film about Wikipedia to be available to the world;
a film that is humorous and accessible, not a boring info-doc or film essay that would only appeal to people already deeply interested in Wikipedia;
a film that has a chance actually to get people thinking about Wikipedia differently;
a film that will lead to constructive discourse about the Wikipedia, not just sweeping generalizations of unreliability, etc.;
a film with the potential to make Wikipedia a better encyclopedia and community;
then help me to raise the required funds and my partners and I will give you that film.
We have a mixture of characters and stories (thanks largely to cooperation from folks at Wikipedia Review) that shed light on the behind-the-scenes reality of Wikipedia. But these stories are not simple. They are complicated, multi-faceted stories that expose the subtleties not only of how Wikipedia functions, but of how truth and authority function.
I come to this project as a Wikipedia outsider. I admit, when I began this project, my point of view was pretty limited. I had known a devoted Wikipedia vandal in college (Cognition), and the impression I got from my interactions with him left me with the feeling that Wikipedia was just short of worthless.
But in researching this film my perspective has shifted. I have been exposed to more sophisticated and compelling criticisms of Wikipedia than I ever had encountered previously. Still, as I started understanding Wikipedia's flaws more clearly, an increased astonishment developed for what Wikipedia has been able to accomplish, in spite of its flaws.
My perspective now is that Wikipedia is a very valuable project with a lot of potential, but with concerns that need to be addressed. My perspective is also that those concerns are often not addressed very well by the community, or even acknowledged. People seem to get defensive right away, and all hope for communication is lost.
My hope is that by making a quirky and humorous film, I will be able to raise substantial concerns about Wikipedia without anyone feeling attacked or made to be defensive. My goal as a filmmaker is to tell the truth, and to tell it in a way that people will be able to relate to. And that is what
we are offering with this project.
Sorry for the long rant, but I am passionate about this, and it would be a shame for this project to be ignored simply because it can only be completed by means of what you might call "e begging."