Michael Essany takes a stab at it Options

[thekohser]

Michael Essany wrote an Intuit blog piece a while back. While he spent a paragraph talking about me, he never bothered to interview me or to let me know when he published the story.

If you'd like a little chuckle, read his story, then read this (note the author?), check this out, and see this and this.

Hmm...

[Somey]

Where is he getting the term "Switzerland Syndrome"? That's a misapplied analogy if there ever was one.

Switzerland's long-standing policy is to avoid/eschew participation in conflict that's going on elsewhere in the world, including among countries on its own borders. When last I checked, Switzerland does not invite other countries into Switzerland to fight there, just so it can take advantage of all the publicity, and all while saying it doesn't really care much who wins (as long as the result isn't embarrassing enough for them to be criticized in some way). However, it is willing to provide a safe haven for the combatant's money, which may explain the use of this flawed analogy (i.e., it's how Wikimedia Foundation folks like Jay Walsh, quoted in the blog, tend to see it).

The best physical analogy for Wikipedia's mode of operation would be something like a paintball battlefield, other than the fact that they're not charging any money to use it (at least not directly). Of course, if they were charging money to use it, they would also be expected to clean up the paint splatter themselves.