Administered by:
*PRO NERD TIP*
Today I learned about "The Wikipedia Library Card". If you've been a WP editor for >6 months, have made >500 edits, at least 10 edits in the last month, and are not blocked for being a jerk, you can access a *ton* of paywalled content for free.
ScienceDirect, AAAS, The BMJ, both APAs, EBSCO, Springer, Nature, Wiley, and many more.
https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/about/
All those hours in 2005 spent editing sci-fi book articles finally paying off!
@paulwicks assuming you're using WP as an abbreviation for Wikipedia? It is often used as an abbreviation for WordPress. Threw me for about 3 seconds. Good to know. I have been meaning to do more editing and contributing.
Don’t do research into CBT if you’re looking for information on the therapeutic modality.
At least, not without the most “family friendly” modes of search.
;)
And, yeah, suddenly I need to revive a login that has been laying fallow for a while.
(Actually need to review lit on a rare medical complication and it’s frustrating sans access.)
@paulwicks
Definitely going to start adding some content to wikipedia tomorrow.
@paulwicks Whaaaaaaaaaattttttt???! 
= Me + Dog Free paywall content if you edit on Wikipedia. Yes, free. BMJ, Nature, Wiley, Science Direct, etc.
I qualify!
@paulwicks please note the edit count also works with Wiktionary, Wikimedia Commons, Wikidata, Wikisource and other Wikimedia projects.
@paulwicks OMG! I didn’t know this. And I tend to edit Wikipedia articles. Is this also the case when you edit other languages than English?
@paulwicks Thank you. That's awesome.
Also, I should have been editing more while logged in.
@paulwicks ooh! Thanks for the tip!
@paulwicks @orzelc Finally my Wikipedia account from 2007 pays off! A little disappointing that it doesn’t include the Physical Review journals, though.
@paulwicks this is the coolest thing I’ve heard all week! Thanks for sharing! 
@paulwicks I have occasionally thought about editing but never signed up. Maybe this will be the motivation!
@pradx @paulwicks Have used it multiple times for subscription to various services, very handy and highly recommended.
@paulwicks wow, interesting
@paulwicks I've been using it for a few years now for access to JSTOR and a few newspaper archives.
It's such a good exchange -- I help bolster undercited articles and expand stubs on Wikipedia, and in exchange the database access helps with my own research. I love it.
Please don't use "cretin" as a term of abuse, it is offensive.
It was used to deride people with congenital #thyroid deficiency, and like most words making fun of deformities or disabilities is out of use for good reason.
@paulwicks I'm a Wikipedia Library user and it's amazing. I've spent a ton of time just looking up random shit on newspapers.com.
@paulwicks And you can also apply through the Wikipedia Library for access to newspaper databases and things like Ancestry - lots of really wide paywalls you can skip around! There’s no timeline guarantee for those that have a second application step, but it’s usually just a matter of days.
@paulwicks This is awesome, even though I’ve never been nearly that active a Wikipedian. (I am a regular #WikimediaFoundation donor though.) The only downside is that it encourages paywalled citations that are unavailable to non-subscribers.
@paulwicks fellow 2005 Wikipedia editor here, I’ll check it out, I quit around 2010 because of the drama caused by the leadership that was affecting content, maybe at least it’s worth something…
@paulwicks Also, if you're in Germany you can become a patron of @stabi_berlin for free. Unlike most research libraries they make off-site access to most of their electronic ressouces available to patrons without institutional affiliation as well.
@sinensetin @paulwicks @stabi_berlin but you still have to get to Berlin to get your library card, right?
@Elwollito @paulwicks not sure. there used to be generous execeptions during the pandemic. not sure if they still apply / have been made permanent. can you advise, @stabi_berlin
@sinensetin @Elwollito @paulwicks you may use all of our online ressources for six weeks after an online-registration:
@stabi_berlin @Elwollito @paulwicks and beyond that you just schedule a city trip to amazing Berlin to make the registration valid for a year 
@paulwicks just tried and I was let in, even though I'm sure I haven't made any edits this month. The rest of the criteria I'm good on, though!
@paulwicks hmm, maybe finally some inspo to do more than just clean up graffiti and typos...
@paulwicks I've just started editing Wikipedia (after spending years donating money, now we donate time too!). I'll keep this in mind when I get the prerequisite stats!! Thank you
@paulwicks One of my hats is a freelance science writer - have to envy that you have access to all that lot!
@paulwicks This is awesome
@paulwicks I was the first developer on this project and I am THRILLED that you (and lots of people in your mentions) are finding it so useful.
@paulwicks Quite my impression, after i received it surprisingly this summer. Doesn't beat Sci-Hub, nevertheless a nice gesture.
@paulwicks and FTR you can find out how many edits you have on your preferences page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Preferences
@paulwicks holy shit! That's amazing! Thank you!
@paulwicks This was super-useful to me when I was trying to track down some historic government minister lists for Comoros and Guinea-Bissau.
I couldn't find very much online at all, and thought I was going to need to trek across town to the National Library to dig through their collection of historic Statesman's Yearbooks.
Then I discovered that The Wikipedia Library gives access to the Africa Research Bulletin, which had exactly what I was looking for.
@paulwicks this is such a useful bit of knowledge I'm almost willing to forgive your server for not being named "medstodon"
@paulwicks I didn't know this when I started editing, and then the Library Goddesses let me in.... I was stunned. I've used a bunch of the resources since too.
@paulwicks can you get HBO Max??
@paulwicks lol....cretin! such a funny word.