User:Vgmddg/My Advertisement Policy

This is an essay.

It contains the advice or opinions of one or more Wikipedia contributors. This page is not an encyclopedia article, nor is it one of Wikipedia's policies or guidelines, as it has not been thoroughly vetted by the community. Some essays represent widespread norms; others only represent minority viewpoints.

Although as far as I know at the time that I am writing this Wikipedia is basically okay for money, I do have a couple of ideas for the ways that advertising could be introduced should Wikipedia need to turn to advertising.

Ground Rules[edit]

1.) The advertisements shown must be acceptable to be shown to children. This means that ads should not under any circumstances be for things like condoms or any other adult content.
2.) The advertisements must not flash, move with the screen, make noise, or be otherwise annoying to the user.

The advertisement must not in any way get in the way of the text.
There must not be any pop-up advertisements.

3.) It must be clearly stated that it is an advertisement.
4.) The companies advertised must be okayed before they are allowed to advertise.
5.) Registered users must have an opt-out button available to them in the preferences.
6.) The advertisements should be able to be blocked by a browser-based AdBlock system.

Previously Proposed Methods[edit]

Small Sidebar Ad[edit]

This method would use the extra space on the sidebar to display a small advertisement like in the first picture on the right. The ad can probably be for anything, but it should be a single, small, text-only ad. The ad should be small enough that you have to look for it to be able to find it.

My ideas[edit]

Advertisements with Facts[edit]

One possible idea could be that an advertisement can only be shown if it gives some sort of fact or statistic. The statistic can be about pretty much anything, but it must conform to the policies of Wikipedia, including WP:NPOV, WP:OR, WP:V, and/or WP:CITE.

Advertisements for Information Sources[edit]

Taking it one step further, it might be a good idea to make all of the advertisements link to sources of information that can be used in Wikipedia. The ads may be for encyclopedias like the Encyclopædia Britannica, or a neutral newspaper. The sources advertised should be professional, official, and well respected, and optimized for use in Wikipedia. This method of advertising is a win-win-win situation for everybody. It would benefit:

The source being advertised, as they would be able to get more customers.
The users of Wikipedia: Being a society that is inherently interested in information gathering, the advertisements will probably be more useful to them than just some random product.
Wikipedia: Once people get the source, they will probably be able to use it in Wikipedia articles. This means that not only will the base amount of information being added grow, but it will be better sourced too!

For best results, this should be enacted before Wikipedia gets into serious financial issues. This way, it looks more like a feature than just a last ditch effort to get money.