kazuma wrote (9 May 2007):

A HUGE Thanks from an italian user…
How hard would be adding italian language? Is there any way I could help?

Kazuma

This is now (finally!) possible. I've sent you a PM with information for how to do this :)

Cheers,
Shane

i would much rather pay for my site or have to host some (wikidot locally managed not too intrusive) ads than invest myself heavily in wikidot only to see you fold because you're unwilling to have a viable business because people think everything should be free.

(i'm imagining that last bit, not accusing :)

Slow….very slow, due to inneficient code
Innacurate and inconsistent in page handling
Very buggy in lots of important areas
Simple, but really inflexible
Worry me that they won't scale to large Wiki sites

I am no expert and this Wiki software is not the easiest in the world to use, I have not even found out how to make a custom site template for that individual look and feel….but it works, it works well and it runs quickly. I await the new developments with interest, there are a few things I would like to see and mabye they will be in the new release.

Michal, you certainly are forward thinking.

I've grown used to ads (as if we have a choice) but was reaching the conclusion that I didn't want them on my sites. They are pollution, as you say. They sap the visitor's energy. I wasn't keen on having to pay to suppress ads either (as my sites are meant to be educational). No ads = greater credibility = no (obvious) ulterior motives. Imagine an ad-free oasis!

I got caught up in the dream of making a fortune from Ad Sense (which I've been using on my blogs). I've been rethinking —- not enough traffic ;)
And because the ads were for services/products I don't endorse (guilty by association). I'm happier when I focus on content that I think will be of benefit to visitors. So monetization has become a secondary consideration.

I'm curious to understand your business model. I want you to earn money! I bet you'll have insights for us. Thanks again for following your vision of the ideal wiki.

Way to go Michal

Kazuma

But, on a topical note, I like the idea of being different from everybody else in this manner. Quite frankly I was never too bothered by ads; perhaps I have been desensitized? On the whole I'd rather not have them, though. I applaud this decision.

::::KBS

In the early days of Wikidot the business model assumed that users will be allowed to create free Wikis but in exchange they will have to allow displaying some advertisements that would benefit us directly, not the authors. They would also have an option to pay some amount of $$ to get rid of ads.

But then we thought: no way. This is not how it should work. Although this is exactly what our wiki-competitors do, we do not like this model any more. Perhaps it is just time to be different from everybody else is doing. So a few weeks ago I have removed all the parts of Terms of Use and FAQ that mentioned ads and the lack of ads is also mentioned at the Features section.

So… your wikis will remain free and clean (from ads) as they are now.

There are some more things coming soon and I promise you that you will love it. They are the reason it has been a bit quiet here recently.

good luck! - michal