[davidcalloway]

I sometimes feel this way even about Google maps. On some level when I make a small contribution I'm aware that everyone doing so profits Google quite nicely.

But then again, I think that I've profited quite a bit from having Google maps as a resource, far more than the contribution I've made.

It feels much better to look at the fact that it's a place that people help share information useful to each other, which happens to profit a large company, than to only focus jealously on the fact that said large company has hit upon a way to monetize the sharing of this information.

Both things are true, and whether you think it's great or horrid really is a matter of perspective.