Quotes By Jimmy Wales

My original concept was to provide a free encyclopedia for every single person in the world.

While I'm optimistic about the direction the world is headed, generally, I think there is a need for constant vigilance and pressure on repressive governments.

People who have achieved a public voice find it a mixed bag.

We don't need secrecy.

A huge amount of what goes on in the Middle East has to do with people being fed really bad information.

Mostly, I try to take a rational approach to life.

Almost anything is better than three network TV outlets completely controlling the national discourse with their nightly broadcasts. We've moved a long way from that, and that's important.

I don't worry. It's just not in my nature, really.

I have always viewed the mission of Wikipedia to be much bigger than just creating a killer website. We're doing that of course, and having a lot of fun doing it, but a big part of what motivates us is our larger mission to affect the world in a positive way.

Our growth rate continues to be staggering.

We've seen how grassroots journalism by blogs has had an impact at various points politically, as ordinary people have amplified stories that were being ignored by the traditional press.

Things work well when a group of people know each other, and things break down when it's a bunch of random people interacting.

People do fun and interesting things because they're fun and interesting.

There's a big tendency to gravitate toward a closed and proprietary approach too easily.

The Supreme Court has held that code is speech. And it doesn't matter that it's done on a computer or done face to face or done in a newspaper, reporting the facts of the world is protected speech.

If you see a blatant error or misconception about yourself, you really want to set it straight.

There's kind of this real social pressure to not argue about things.

I tend to eat things in fours. I'll eat four nuts, four grapes, four chips at a time. I don't know why. It's not really a superstition. I don't think anything bad will happen if I don't, but three potato chips doesn't seem right.

People are not fundamentally bad. It only takes the smallest of correctives to take care of that tiny minority that wants to disrupt the community.

I just get up every day and do what seems like the most interesting, fun thing to do.

Massive numbers of people are going to come online from cultures we don't normally interact with.

What can we put into the hands of people under oppressive regimes to help them? For me, a big part of it is information, knowledge - the ability to defeat propaganda by understanding it.

I have always liked the idea of going to print because a big part of what we are about is to disseminate knowledge throughout the world and not just to people who have broadband.

I have zero interest in sports of any kind - professional, college or international.

If I had some information, the last thing I would ever do with it is send it to Wikileaks.

I still believe there is a need to open up search and it will come eventually. It is very important to challenge the current models.

I think people have to recognise that the traditional modes of authority weren't that great.

I think that reality exists and that it's knowable.

I'm very much an Enlightenment kind of guy.

It just didn't occur to me, sitting at my computer, that I would end up travelling all over the world.