Reader Challenge: What does Wikipedia programmer Brandon Harris really want?

Loyal followers of Erasable Pen will know that exactly a year ago we conducted a Reader Challenge almost identical to this one, when Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales made his much ballyhooed personal appeal to the masses. Well, this year, Mr. Wales has handed the baton to his programmer Brandon Harris, and once again we're left to wonder what the f*ck these people want.

Instead of following the Wikipedia link to answer this question though, we'd rather hear what you have to say. So, what do YOU think Wikipedia programmer Brandon Harris wants out of this deal? I'll kick things off with my own personal opinion:

I think Brandon Harris wants us to help him complete his collection of Star Wars books from Timothy Zahn's New Jedi Order series.

But that's just my opinion. Now it's time for you to weigh in. Use the comments section to tell us what Wikipedia programmer Brandon Harris is angling for, and we'll use modern science to determine if you're right. Whoever has the most accurate response will win a $25 gift certificate to Sam Goody. OK, ready? Let's do this.

And the winner is...

Well folks, it's time to bring our latest Erasable Pen Reader Challenge to a merciful close. We let this contest run for a couple months, in part because I was too lazy to update the blog, but also because my wife was leading the competition for a while. She'll be the first to tell you that I rarely laugh out loud (LOL) when she speaks, so it would seem somewhat disingenuous for me to hand her the prize. Instead I had to wait for someone else to enter the contest. Thankfully Jill Aki did, and she's our winner!

Rather than just sending Jill the Hickory Farms catalog we had promised as the first-place prize, we decided to go ahead and actually order her something from the catalog. Here's Jill with her haul!


You see, it pays to enter the Erasable Pen Readers Challenge! To recap, we asked our faithful readers to explain what Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales was appealing for in his recent flurry of banner ads. Here's an example of the ads Wales was running:


Jill's winning entry?: "skoal - always there in a pinch"

Yeah, I don't know what it means either. But somebody had to win.

Reader Challenge: What does Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales really want?

If you've spent any time on Wikipedia lately, you're probably quite familiar with these perfectly-lit photographs of the site's founder Jimmy Wales. Jimmy is making a personal appeal to us, but from the look of these images it's hard to know what exactly he wants. Thankfully, that's what Erasable Pen Reader Challenges are for! What do YOU think Jimmy wants? Please provide your answers in the comments section, preferably in the voice of Jimmy Wales. The winner will receive a free copy of the 2010 Hickory Farms catalog.

To get things started, here's what I think might be on Jimmy's mind:

Do you think I'd make a good high school health teacher?
Please say yes.

I'm thinking of starting a Radiohead cover band.
Is it OK if we practice in your basement?