PediaPress, VDM Publishing, Making money off Wikipedians' work? Options Rating

[HRIP7]

Interesting thread on the Foundation list.

What with about 150,000 Wikipedia books out by the Alphascript and Betasricpt imprints of VDM Publishing (nudging towards 10% of the 2 million book titles that amazon offers), Pediapress keeping 90% of the proceeds they make off the Wikipedia book feature in the left sidebar, the issue of who makes money off Wikipedians' work (while the Foundation asks the public for donations) will no doubt gain in importance over the coming years.

Isn't it funny that all these companies are German? I wonder who in Wikimedia Germany has a finger in those pies.

This issue has a greater potential for killing Wikipedia than poor administration, porn scandals and BLP disasters taken together. The moment "teh community" realises they work their butts off to make some fat cat fatter, the air will go out of the balloon.

[Emperor]

I'm resurrecting this thread.

Does anyone else have a firm opinion about PediaPress? Are they legit? Would you install the extension in your own encyclopedia-like MediaWiki?

[Fusion]

Would you install the extension in your own encyclopedia-like MediaWiki?

Only if I had a wiki with some decent articles on it that people might actually want. I myself have no such.