[swalling]

Except Wikipedia is a non-profit and the content produced is under a free license. The founder of Wikipedia and the few employees are the least wealthy people to run a top 10 website.

[minitech]

I agree that the Wikipedia model is better, but Stack Exchange posts are also under a Creative Commons license.

[YetAnotherNick]

Nobody contributes to Wikipedia or Stackoverflow because of license. Most contribute because humans like sharing information with other people. If Wikipedia's eyeballs are low, people wouldn't contribute.

[LeonB]

Some people would still contribute. It’s an intrinsic drive. (But I agree with your point in general)

[swalling]

“If Wikipedia’s eyeballs are low, people wouldn’t contribute”

People were contributing well before it was a top 10 website. That’s how it got kickstarted in the first place.

[YetAnotherNick]

But people knew that the content is easily accessible over internet and the usage would grow. If the content is only available in say one library in a random city, people wouldn't contribute for free.