Wikimedia Foundation director resigns after uproar over “Knowledge Engine” | Ars Technica

" ... Tretikov's resignation comes at a time of unprecedented tension between the community of editors and the Board of Trustees that runs the Wikimedia Foundation. Last month, a newly appointed board member stepped down after hundreds of editors signed a 'vote of no confidence.' Following that resignation, a second uproar arose over a $250,000 grant from the Knight Foundation to help Wikimedia Foundation create a 'knowledge engine' that would improve search. Some activist Wikipedia editors had been asking to see documentation about the Knight Foundation grant for several months, but Wikimedia was not forthcoming with the details. Earlier this month, documents related to the grant were leaked to and published by The Signpost, Wikipedia's online newspaper. In a special report, The Signpost published the 13-page grant agreement and ran an article asserting that the 'Knowledge Engine' would be, contrary to statements by Jimmy Wales and other board members, some type of generalized Internet search engine. 'The presentation contrasts the ideals and motivations of commercial search engines—they 'highlight paid results, track users' internet habits, sell information to marketing firms'—with those of 'Wikipedia Search', which will be private, transparent, and globally representative,' wrote The Signpost. 'It repeatedly stressed that 'no other search engines carry these ideals' ..."