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{{Short description|Dot-com company (1996–2007)}}
]
{{for|the genus of spiders|Bomis (spider)}}
'''Bomis''' is a ] company founded in ]. Its primary business is the sale of ] on the Bomis.com search portal. It was founded by ] and ]. Wales is also known as the founder of ] and the founder and president of the ]. Shell is a member of the board of trustees of Wikimedia and the current CEO of Bomis.
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{{use mdy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Bomis, Inc.
| logo = Bomis oval.svg
| company_type = Private company
| foundation = 1996
| founder = {{ubl | ] | Tim Shell | ] }}
| CEO = Tim Shell{{Sfn|Barnett|2005|p=62}}<ref name="wechselander" />
| location_city = ]
| location_country = United States
| locations =
| area_served =
| key_people =
| industry = ]
| products = {{plainlist|
*Bomis Premium<ref name="2013businessinsider"/><ref name="zittrain"/>
*Bomis Babes<ref name="evanhansen"/><ref name="nickmiller"/>
*''Bomis Babe Report''{{Sfn |Barnett|2005|p=62}}<ref name="rosenzweig"/>
*The Babe Engine<ref name="2013businessinsider"/><ref name="harryhenderson"/>
*Bomis Browser<ref name="robertwright"/>
}}
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| owner =
| num_employees = 10
| divisions =
| subsid = {{ubl | ] (2000–2003)<ref name="mahadevan"/><ref name="heatherhasan"/> | ] (2001–2003)<ref name="rosenzweig"/><ref name="canhistorybeopen"/> }}
| url = , archived at the ]
| screenshot =
| screenshot_size =
| caption =
| alexa =
| website_type = {{ubl | ] | ] }}
| language = English
| advertising = Yes
| registration = No
| launch_date = 1996
| dissolved = 2007<ref name="hutcheon"/>
| footnotes =
}}


'''Bomis, Inc.''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɒ|m|ᵻ|s}}, from ''Bitter Old Men in Suits'';<ref name="isaacson" /> rhyming with "promise"){{Sfn |Conway|2010|p=7}} was a ] best known for supporting the creations of free-content online-encyclopedia projects ] and ].<ref name="harryhenderson"/> It was co-founded in 1996 by ], Tim Shell, and ].<ref name="seybold" /><ref name="dibona"/><ref name="andrewlih"/> By 2007, the company was inactive, with its Misplaced Pages-related resources transferred to the ].<ref name="hutcheon"/><ref name="ayers"/>
On the Bomis.com site, Bomis creates and hosts ]s around popular search terms.
The rings are currently categorized broadly as "Babes", "Entertainment", "Sports", "Adult", "Other" and "Science fiction".{{ref|BomisWhatsnew}} The "Adult" and "Babes" categories are the most frequently updated by Bomis staff and include links to ].{{ref|BomisCumshot}} {{ref|BomisMILF}}


The company initially tried a number of ideas for content, including being a directory of information about ].<ref name= "paulanderson"/> The site subsequently focused on content geared to a male audience, including information on sporting activities, automobiles, and women.<ref name="thelunch"/><ref name= "davidweinberger"/><ref name ="clayshirky"/> Bomis became successful after focusing on pornography.<ref name="kuchinskas"/> "Bomis Babes" was devoted to ] images;<ref name="evanhansen"/> the "Bomis Babe Report" featured adult pictures.<ref name= "rosenzweig"/><ref name="canhistorybeopen"/> Bomis Premium, available for an additional fee, provided ].<ref name="zittrain"/><ref name ="kuchinskas"/><ref name= "rhysblakely"/> "The Babe Engine" helped users find erotic content through a ].<ref name = "2013businessinsider"/><ref name = "harryhenderson"/><ref name = "manguward"/> The advertising director for Bomis noted that 99 percent of queries on the site were for nude women.<ref name= "brainscan"/>
Bomis also ran an ] business called ''Bomis Premium'' at premium.bomis.com, closed in 2005. At a rate of USD 19.95 per month and USD 2.95 for the first three days, Bomis Premium offered access to pictures of 403 models (a total of 54658 pictures).{{ref|BomisPremium}} A typical series of pictures would show a female model undressing and posing, often with spread legs and shaved ]. A small number of pictures showed models posing with ]s. When dressed, models were often shown wearing Bomis ]s. In addition, there were also videos of the models performing various acts on themselves and with other female models.


Bomis created Nupedia as a free online ] (with content submitted by experts) but it had a tedious, slow review process.<ref name = "patrickseitz"/><ref name= "edemariam"/> Misplaced Pages was initially launched by Bomis to provide content for Nupedia,<ref name= "heatherhasan"/><ref name = "elisecraig"/><ref name = "brennenjensen"/> and was a ] venture (a Bomis subsidiary) through the end of 2002.<ref name="susanmeyer"/> As the costs of Misplaced Pages rose with its popularity, Bomis' revenues declined; these losses were compounded by the ].<ref name="neate"/> Since Misplaced Pages was a drain on Bomis' resources, Wales and philosophy graduate student ] decided to fund the project as a ].<ref name="neate"/> Sanger was laid off from Bomis in 2002.<ref name="spotlightsanger"/> Nupedia content was merged into Misplaced Pages,<ref name="johnkwaters"/> and it ceased in 2003.<ref name="mahadevan"/>
Until mid 2005, Bomis also featured a free ], called the ''Babe Report'', discussing news in the ] industry, reviews of various ] and ] web sites, and news about specific models. It prominently linked to Bomis Premium, and frequently posted updates about new models joining Bomis.


The non-profit Wikimedia Foundation began in 2003 with a ] composed of Bomis' three founders (Wales, Davis, and Shell)<ref name="andrewlih"/> and was first headquartered in ],<ref name = "ayers"/> Bomis' location.<ref name = "mehegan" /> Wales used about ]100,000 of revenue from Bomis to fund Misplaced Pages before the decision to shift the encyclopedia to non-profit status.<ref name="martinhickman"/> Wales stepped down from his role as ] of Bomis in 2004.<ref name= "noendtoit"/> Shell was CEO of the company in 2005, while on the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees.{{Sfn |Barnett|2005|p=62}} Wales edited Misplaced Pages in 2005 to remove the characterizations of Bomis as providing ],<ref name="elisecraig"/><ref name = "jonbernstein" /> which attracted media attention;<ref name= "rhysblakely"/><ref name="timelliott"/><ref name="danmitchell"/> Wales expressed regret for his actions.<ref name="elisecraig" /><ref name ="jonbernstein" /> '']'' gave Bomis the nickname "'']'' of the Internet",<ref name= "marshallpoe" /> and the term caught on in other media outlets.<ref name="neate" /><ref name = "givingupbillions" /><ref name="andrewkeen" /> Scholars have described Bomis as a provider of softcore pornography.<ref name= "brennenjensen" /><ref name="jeffhowe" />
== Role in the creation of ] and ] ==


==History==
Bomis is most notable for creating the online ] project ], and hiring ] to manage it. During the early stages of this project, Sanger began the development of ], which was originally intended as a sub-project and drafting platform for the more formally organized Nupedia. However, Misplaced Pages, with its much lower barrier to entry, rapidly outgrew its "parent", and soon became far larger than the main business of Bomis itself.


===Background===
For a while, Bomis not only provided ]s and ] for these projects, but owned some key items such as the associated ]s. However, with ever-rising costs, and a general reluctance to display advertising on the site - together with a desire to reflect the spirit of openness and neutrality central to Misplaced Pages - an alternative ownership model was sought. The ] was formally announced on ], ], and all related assets (both in terms of ] and ]) were transferred or donated to this ]. (See: ). Larry Sanger had by this time left the project, but Jimmy Wales retains a key role on the board of the Foundation, along with users elected from the Misplaced Pages community. The Foundation now funds the operation of Misplaced Pages (and its sister projects) through donations from various sources.
Jimmy Wales left a study track at ] as a ] to work in ] before completing his ].<ref name="edemariam">Edemariam 2011, p. 27</ref><ref name="givingupbillions" /><ref name="camillalong">Long 2012, p. 5</ref> In 1994 Wales was hired by ], CEO of finance company ], as a ]<ref name="andrewlih" /><ref name="chozick" /><ref name="chozick1">Chozick 2013, p. MM28</ref> focusing on ]s and ].<ref name="chozick" /><ref name="chozick1" /> Wales was adept at determining future movements of foreign currencies and ]s;<ref name="edemariam" /><ref name="givingupbillions" /> he was successful in ], became independently wealthy,<ref name="edemariam" /><ref name="givingupbillions" /><ref name="chozick" /> and was director of research at ] from 1994 to 2000.<ref name="jamesdoran">Doran 2006, p. 49</ref><ref name="tommcnichol">McNichol 2007</ref><ref>PC Quest 2012</ref> He became acquainted with Tim Shell from email lists discussing philosophy.<ref name="andrewlih" /><ref name="elisecraig">Craig 2013, p. 84</ref>


Wales wanted to participate in the online-based ] ventures which were increasingly popular and successful during the mid-1990s.<ref name="andrewlih" /><ref name="andrewkeen" /> His experience (from gaming in his youth) impressed on him the importance of networking.<ref name="andrewkeen" /> Wales was interested in ], experimenting with ] on the Internet<ref name="patrickseitz" /> and improving his skill at ].<ref name="joannaslater" /> In his spare time after work at Chicago Options Associates, Wales constructed his own ].<ref name="elisecraig" /> While at the firm, he noted the successful 1995 ] of ].{{Sfn |Barnett|2005|p=62}}<ref name="patrickseitz" />
Jimmy Wales has since started several other ]-based projects, affiliated to neither Bomis nor Wikimedia.


== References == ===Foundation===
{{multiple image
# {{note|BomisUpdates}} {{Web reference
| title=Bomis What's New |title=Bomis founders
|total_width=400
| url=http://www.bomis.com/whatsnew/
|width1=2048|height1= 3072|image1=Jimmy-wales-frankfurt2005-alih01.jpg|caption1=]|alt1=Man with short beard in a red shirt
| date=December 24
|width2=147|height2=223|image2=Tim Shell Wikimedia cropped to collar.jpg|caption2=]|alt2=Dark-haired man in black shirt
| year=2005
|width3=2848|height3=4288|image3=Michael_E._Davis.jpg|caption3=]|alt3=Light-haired man with goatee
}}
|footer=Bomis was founded by Jimmy Wales, Tim Shell, and Michael Davis.<ref name="seybold" /><ref name="dibona" /><ref name="andrewlih" />
# {{note|BomisCumshot}} {{Web reference
|caption_align=center
| title=Bomis Cum Shot Web Ring
}}
| url=http://www.bomis.com/rings/cumshot/
| date=December 24
| year=2005
}}
# {{note|BomisMilf}} {{Web reference
| title=Bomis MILF Web Ring
| url=http://www.bomis.com/rings/milfs/
| date=December 24
| year=2005
}}
# {{note|BomisPremium}} {{Web reference
| title=Bomis Premium Site
| url=http://premium.bomis.com/indexpotd.html
| date=December 24
| year=2005
}}


Wales co-founded Bomis in 1996,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Russell |first=Kyle |title=Misplaced Pages Was Started With Revenue From Soft-Core Porn |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/wikipedia-bomis-2013-6 |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> with business associates Tim Shell,<ref name="zittrain">Zittrain 2008, p. 133</ref><ref name="kuchinskas" /><ref name="susanmeyer">Meyer 2012</ref> and his then-manager Michael Davis,<ref name="seybold">Seybold 2006, p. 250</ref><ref name="dibona">DiBona 2005</ref><ref name="andrewlih" /> as a ] with joint ownership.<ref name="dibona" /><ref name="jyhanlee">Lee 2013, p 91</ref><ref>The Hamilton Spectator 2008, p. A14</ref> Wales was its chief manager.<ref>Friedman 2007, p. 121</ref> In 1998 he moved from Chicago to ] to work for Bomis,<ref name="manguward">Mangu-Ward 2007</ref><ref name="stacyschiff" /><ref name="danielhpink">Pink 2005</ref> and then to ] (where the company subsequently relocated).<ref name="mehegan">Mehegan 2006</ref>
== External links and sources==
{{Commons|Bomis}}
*
* – a seemingly random slogan from the list is displayed on each www.bomis.com page<!-- I don't have access to the actual code so I wrote 'seemingly random' here, even if it's using something like srand() it should probably be 'pseudo-random' -User:Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason -->
*


The staff at Bomis was originally about five employees.<ref name="dibona" /><ref name="brainscan" /> Its 2000 staff included programmer Toan Vo, Andrew McCague and ] Jason Richey;<ref name="dibona" /> Wales employed his high-school friend and ] in his second wedding, Terry Foote,<ref name="chozick" /><ref name="chozick1" /> as advertising director.<ref name="brainscan">The Economist 2008</ref> In June 2000, Bomis was one of five network partners of ].<ref>Du Bois 2000, p. 33</ref> The majority of the revenue that came in to Bomis was generated through advertising.<ref name="chelseaschilling" /> The most successful time for Bomis was during its venture as a member of the ] web portal NBCi; this collapsed at the end of the ].<ref name="chelseaschilling" />
]
]
]


Although Bomis is not an acronym, the name stemmed from "Bitter Old Men in Suits"<ref name="isaacson">Isaacson 2014, ''The Daily Beast''</ref> (as Wales and Shell called themselves in Chicago).<ref name="andrewlih" /><ref name="susanmeyer" /><ref name="jaredduval" /> The site began as a ],<ref name="kuchinskas" /><ref name="ayers" /> trying a number of ideas (including serving as an access point for information about Chicago).<ref name="paulanderson" /><ref name="isaacson" /> It later focused on male-oriented content, including information on sporting activities, automobiles, and women.<ref name="thelunch">The Globe and Mail 2012, pp. 89–91</ref><ref name="davidweinberger">Weinberger 2008, p. 138</ref><ref name="clayshirky">Shirky 2009</ref>
]

]
===Hosted content===
]
{{multiple image
]
| title = Bomis Babes
]
| total_width = 200
]
| height1 = 350
]
| image1 = Silvia_Saint_001.jpg
]
| caption1 = ]
]
| alt1 = Young woman in blond braids, wearing a white T-shirt
]
| height2 = 350
]
| image2 = Deanna Merryman 3 cropped.jpg
]
| caption2 = ]
| alt2 = Young woman with blond hair to shoulders, wearing a white T-shirt
| footer = ] and ] in Bomis {{nowrap|t-shirts}}<ref>''Bomis Magazine'' (March 2, 2000)</ref><ref>''Bomis Magazine'' (March 1, 2000)</ref><ref name="bomisdenuded">Cadenhead 2005</ref><ref>Daughn 2000</ref>
| caption_align = center
}}

Working from the ],<ref name="dangillmor">Gillmor 1999</ref> Bomis created and maintained hundreds of ]s on topics related to ].<ref name="marshallpoe" /> In 1999 the company introduced the Bomis Browser, which helped users block online ]s.<ref name="robertwright">Wright 1999</ref> Its webring on '']'' was considered a useful resource for information on '']'' (1999).<ref>Soriano 1999, p. 2E</ref> Additional webrings included sections helping users find information on the 1942 film '']'',<ref>Merlock 2000, p. 33</ref> ],<ref>Chester R (July 23, 1998), p. 25</ref> ],<ref>Ward 2000, p. 8</ref> ] of the ],<ref>LaPointe 1998, p. F10</ref> and the 1998 film '']''.<ref>Chester R (October 1, 1998), p. 21</ref> "Bomis: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ring", devoted to '']'', organized over 50 sites related to the program.<ref>QNP 1998, p. 17</ref> ] noted in her ''Beauty and Misogyny'' that in 2004 Bomis maintained "The Lipstick Fetish Ring", which helped users with a particular attraction to women in makeup.<ref name="sheilajeffreys">Jeffreys 2005, pp. 60, 181</ref>

Bomis became successful after it focused on ] and erotic media.<ref name="kuchinskas">Kuchinskas 2009</ref><ref>Szpilma 2014</ref> Advertising generated revenue which enabled the company to fund other websites,<ref name="zittrain" /><ref name="spiegel">Stöcker 2010</ref><ref name="bhaskar">Bhaskar 2013, pp. 158–159</ref> and the site published suggestive pictures of ].<ref>Spirrison 2006, p. 62</ref> In addition to Bomis the company maintained nekkid.com<ref name="timelliott" /> and nekkid.info,<ref name="2013businessinsider" /> which featured pictures of nude women.<ref name="2013businessinsider" /><ref name="nekkid">Nekkid.info 2002</ref> About ten percent of Bomis' revenue was derived from pornographic films and blogs.<ref name="2013businessinsider">Business Insider 2013</ref><ref name="stacyschiff">Schiff 2006</ref>

The website included a segment devoted to erotic images, "Bomis Babes",<ref name="evanhansen">Hansen 2005</ref><ref name="nickmiller">Miller 2007, p. 17</ref> and a feature enabled users to submit recommended links to other sites appealing to a male audience.<ref name="camillalong" /> ] services provided by the site helped users find other websites about female celebrities, including ] and ].<ref name="andrewkeen" /> In the Bomis Babes section was the Bomis Babe Report, begun in 2000, with pictures of porn stars<ref name="rosenzweig">Rosenzweig 2013</ref><ref name="canhistorybeopen">Rosenzweig 2006</ref><ref name="hutcheon">Hutcheon 2007</ref><ref name="jaredduval" /> in a blog format.<ref name="hutcheon" /><ref name="chozick" /><ref name="chozick1" /> The Bomis Babe Report produced original erotic material,{{Sfn |Barnett|2005|p=62}}<ref name="hutcheon" /> including reports on ]s and celebrities who had posed nude.<ref name="hutcheon" /> It was referred to as ''The Babe Report'' for short.<ref name="timelliott">Elliott 2007, p. 22</ref>

Wales referred to the site's ] as "glamour photography",<ref name="mehegan" /><ref name="givingupbillions" /><ref name="jeffhowe">Howe 2008, pp. 58–60</ref><ref name="stinginthescorpions" /><ref name="johnbeveridge">Beveridge 2007, p. 68</ref> and Bomis became familiar to Internet users for its erotic images.<ref>Semuels 2008, p. E4</ref><ref>Bergstein (March 26, 2007)</ref><ref>Kopytoff 2007, p. C1</ref> During this period Wales was photographed steering a ] with a ], posing as a ] with a female professional model on either side of him. In the photograph, the women were wearing ] and ]s advertising Bomis.<ref name="hutcheon" /><ref name="chelseaschilling" /><ref name="billforman">Forman 2010</ref>

A subscription section, Bomis Premium,<ref name="2013businessinsider" /> provided access to adult content and ] material;<ref name="zittrain" /><ref name="kuchinskas" /><ref name="rhysblakely">Blakely 2005</ref> A three-day trial was US$2.95.<ref name="chelseaschilling">Schilling 2012</ref>
While Bomis Babes provided nude images of females to subscribers,<ref name="rhysblakely" /> Bomis Premium featured ] and female anatomy.<ref name="hutcheon" /> Bomis created the Babe Engine,<ref name="2013businessinsider" /> which helped users find erotic material online through a ].<ref name="harryhenderson">Henderson 2008, p. 500</ref><ref name="manguward" /> According to Bomis advertising director Terry Foote, 99 percent of searches on the site related to nude women.<ref name="brainscan" />

===Nupedia and Misplaced Pages===
]

Bomis is best known for supporting the creation of free-content online-encyclopedia projects ] and Misplaced Pages.<ref name="harryhenderson" /><ref name="spiegel" /> Tim Shell and Michael Davis continued their partnership with Wales during the 2000 Nupedia venture.<ref name="seybold" /> ] met Jimmy Wales through an e-mail communication group about philosophy and objectivism,<ref name="heatherhasan" /><ref name="paulanderson" /><ref name="danielhpink" /> and joined Bomis in May, 1999.<ref name="frauenfelder" /> Sanger was a graduate student working towards a PhD degree in philosophy, with research focused on ];<ref name="paulanderson">Anderson 2012, pp. 136–138</ref><ref name="clayshirky" /><ref>Lievrouw 2011, pp. 202–205</ref> he received his degree from ],<ref name="glynmoody">Moody 2006, p. 5</ref> moving to San Diego to help Bomis with its encyclopedia venture.<ref name="frauenfelder" /><ref name="reagle">Reagle 2010</ref> At the time Sanger joined Bomis the company had a total workforce of two employees with help from programmers.<ref name="frauenfelder" />

Sanger and Wales began Nupedia with resources from Bomis;<ref name="harryhenderson" /> at the beginning of 2000, the company agreed to provide early financing for Nupedia from its profits.<ref name="clayshirky" /><ref name="jeffhowe" /><ref name="lawrencelessig">Lessig 2009, pp. 156–157</ref> Nupedia went live in March,<ref name="rosenzweig" /><ref name="canhistorybeopen" /> when Wales was CEO of Bomis;<ref name="kensmyers">Myers 2006, p. 163</ref> Sanger was Nupedia's editor-in-chief.<ref name="patrickseitz">Seitz 2011, p. A3</ref><ref>Gobillot 2011, pp. 84–86</ref> Nupedia's reading comprehension was intended for high-school graduates,<ref name="deborahrollins" /> and Bomis set its goal: "To set a new standard for breadth, depth, timeliness and lack of bias, and in the fullness of time to become the most comprehensive encyclopedia in the history of humankind."<ref name="frauenfelder">Frauenfelder 2000, p. 110</ref><ref name="deborahrollins">Rollins 2000, p. 1786</ref>

Although Bomis began a search for experts to vet Nupedia articles, this proved tedious.<ref name="brennenjensen"/> In August 2000 Nupedia had more than 60 academics contributing to the peer-review process on the site, most with doctorates in philosophy or medicine.<ref name="nupedialaunchesopen">''School Library Journal'' 2000, p. S6</ref> Scholars wishing to contribute to Nupedia were required to submit their credentials via fax for verification.<ref name="koerner"/> At that time, Bomis was attempting to obtain advertising revenue for Nupedia<ref name="nupedialaunchesopen"/> and the company was optimistic that it could fund the project with ad space on Nupedia.com.<ref name="frauenfelder"/>

Misplaced Pages began as a feature of Nupedia.com on January 15, 2001,<ref name="joannaslater" /><ref name="robertcurley">Curley 2012, pp. 35–38</ref> later known as ].<ref name="chozick">Chozick 2013, p. 9</ref><ref name="kensmyers" /> ] created the ] to the website,<ref name="rclog">Starling rclog</ref> the creation of ] with the text "This is the new WikiPedia!"<ref name="FirstEdit">{{cite web |title=HomePage |author=office.bomis.com |date=January 15, 2001 |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=HomePage&oldid=908493298 |website=Misplaced Pages |publisher=Wikimedia Foundation |access-date=August 5, 2019}}</ref>{{efn|Wales would claim to have made the first edit to Misplaced Pages with "Hello, World!", but no such edit survives in archives and it has been speculated that it was made to a test wiki that was later deleted.}} It was originally intended only to generate draft articles for Nupedia,<ref name="heatherhasan" /><ref name="elisecraig" /><ref name="brennenjensen" /> with finished articles moved to the latter.<ref name="johnplewis" /> Misplaced Pages became a separate site days after the Nupedia advisory board opposed combining the two.<ref name="kensmyers" /><ref name="robertcurley" /> In September 2001, Wales was simultaneously CEO of Bomis and co-founder of Misplaced Pages;<ref name="petermeyers">Meyers 2001, p. D2</ref> Sanger was chief organizer of Misplaced Pages and editor-in-chief of Nupedia.<ref name="spotlightsanger" /><ref>Richardson 2004, p. 339</ref>

Nupedia was encumbered by its peer-review system,<ref name="patrickseitz" /><ref name="edemariam" /> a seven-step process<ref name="kensmyers" /><ref name="johnplewis" /> of review and copyediting,<ref name="heatherhasan" /> and Misplaced Pages grew at a faster rate.<ref name="ayers" /><ref>Twose 2007, p. 5</ref> In November 2000, Nupedia had 115 potential articles awaiting its peer-review process.<ref name="frauenfelder" /><ref name="johnplewis" /> By September 2001, after a total investment of US$250,000 from Bomis, Nupedia produced 12 articles;{{Sfn |Barnett|2005|p=62}}<ref name="koerner">Koerner 2006, pp. 115–117</ref><ref name="johnplewis" /> from 2000 through 2003, Nupedia contributors produced a total of 24 finalized articles.<ref name="elisecraig" /><ref name="ayers" /><ref name="kensmyers" /> Misplaced Pages had about 20,000 articles and versions in 18 languages by the end of 2001.<ref name="jennykleeman" />

Bomis originally planned to make Misplaced Pages profitable,<ref name="sethfinkelstein">Finkelstein (September 24, 2008)</ref> providing staffing and hardware for its initial structure;<ref name="ayers" /> Misplaced Pages would not have survived without this early support.<ref name="rosenzweig" /><ref name="canhistorybeopen" /> Bomis provided ]s and ] for the projects, owning key items such as domain names.<ref name="neate" /> Wales used money from Bomis to maintain the Misplaced Pages servers in ].<ref name="2013businessinsider" /><ref name="chozick" /><ref name="chozick1" />

As the cost of Misplaced Pages rose with its popularity, Bomis' revenues declined as a result of the ].<ref name="neate"/><ref name="joannaslater">Slater 2011, p. B3</ref> In late 2000 Bomis had a staff of about 11 employees, but by early 2002 layoffs reduced the staff to its original size of about five.<ref name="dibona" /> Sanger was laid off in February 2002;<ref name="spotlightsanger">The Star 2007</ref><ref name="jaredduval" /> from January 15, 2001, through March 1, 2002, he was the sole paid editor of Misplaced Pages.<ref name="spotlightsanger" /> Sanger stepped down from his dual roles as chief organizer of Misplaced Pages and editor-in-chief of Nupedia on March 1, 2002, feeling unable to commit to these areas on a volunteer basis<ref name="spotlightsanger" /> and a dearth of "the habit or tradition of respect for expertise" from high-ranking Misplaced Pages members.<ref name="mahadevan" /> He continued contributing to community discussions, optimistic about Misplaced Pages's future success.<ref name="jaredduval">Duval 2010</ref><ref>Peterson 2002, p. C1</ref>

After Sanger's departure, Misplaced Pages was managed by Wales and a burgeoning online community.<ref name="glynmoody" /> Although Wales thought advertising was a possibility, the Misplaced Pages community was opposed to business development<ref name="dibona" /><ref name="marshallpoe">Poe 2006</ref><ref name="sethfinkelstein" /> and Internet marketing was difficult in 2002.<ref name="dibona" /> Misplaced Pages remained a for-profit venture (under the auspices of Bomis) through the end of 2002.<ref name="susanmeyer" /> By then it had moved from a ] domain name to ],<ref name="danielhpink" /><ref name="jennykleeman" /> and Wales said that the site would not accept advertising.<ref name="jennykleeman">Kleeman 2007, p. 4</ref>

Material from Nupedia was folded into Misplaced Pages<ref name="johnkwaters">Waters 2010, pp. 179–180</ref> and it was discontinued by 2003.<ref name="mahadevan">Mahadevan 2006, p. 15</ref><ref name="heatherhasan">Hasan 2011</ref>

===Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees===
{{multiple image
| title = Wikimedia Foundation Board beginnings
| total_width = 500
| width1 = 1865
| height1 = 611
| image1 = 2006 Bomis founders 06.jpg
| caption1 = The first Wikimedia Foundation Board consisted of the three Bomis founders.
| alt1 =
| width2 = 4288
| height2 = 2848
| image2 = WM2006 0044.jpg
| caption2 = Board members in 2004
| alt2 = Dark-haired man in black shirt
| footer = In 2004, community elections added two Misplaced Pages contributors to the board; Bomis' three founders retained their seats.<ref name="andrewlih" />
| caption_align = center
}}

By 2003 Misplaced Pages had grown to 100,000 articles in its English-language version, and it became difficult for Bomis to continue financially supporting the project.<ref>Kleinz 2011</ref> With Misplaced Pages a drain on the company's resources, Wales and Sanger decided to fund the project on a non-profit basis.<ref name="neate"/> Bomis laid off most of its employees to continue operating, since Misplaced Pages was not generating revenue.<ref name="susanmeyer" /> The company owned Misplaced Pages from its creation through 2003,<ref name="rosenzweig" /><ref name="canhistorybeopen" /> and Wales used about $100,000 of Bomis' revenue to fund Misplaced Pages before the decision to shift the encyclopedia to non-profit status.<ref name="martinhickman">Hickman 2006</ref>

In June 2003 Misplaced Pages was transferred to a nascent non-profit organization, the ],<ref name="rosenzweig" /><ref name="canhistorybeopen" /> which was formed as a charitable institution to supervise Misplaced Pages and its associated wiki-based sites.<ref name="kangwanchern" /><ref>Middleton 2009</ref> When the foundation was established, its staff began to solicit public funding<ref name="kangwanchern" /> and Bomis turned Misplaced Pages over to the non-profit.<ref name="jaredduval" /> All Bomis-owned hardware used to run Misplaced Pages-associated websites was donated to the Wikimedia Foundation,<ref name="ayers" /> and Wales transferred Misplaced Pages-related copyrights from Bomis to the foundation.<ref name="ayers" /> It was first headquartered in ],<ref name="ayers">Ayers 2008</ref> where Bomis was located.<ref name="mehegan" /> The foundation shifted Misplaced Pages's dependence away from Bomis, allowing it to purchase hardware for expansion.<ref>Heise Online (January 15, 2006)</ref>

The Wikimedia Foundation ] was initially composed of Bomis' three founders: Jimmy Wales and his two business partners, Michael Davis and Tim Shell.<ref name="andrewlih">Lih 2009</ref><ref>Kleinz 2004, p. 38</ref> Shell and Davis were appointed to the board by Wales,<ref name="wechselander" /> but after Misplaced Pages community members complained that the board was composed of appointed individuals,<ref name="andrewlih" /> the first elections were held in 2004.<ref name="ayers" /> Two community members, ] and Angela Beesley, were elected to the board of trustees.<ref name="andrewlih" />

In August 2004 Wales was chief executive officer of Bomis,<ref>Brooks 2004</ref> and on September 20 Misplaced Pages reached the million-article mark on an expenditure of $500,000 (most directly from Wales).<ref name="danielhpink" /><ref name="koerner" /> In November 2004 he told the '']'' he no longer controlled Bomis' day-to-day operations, but retained ownership as a shareholder.<ref name="noendtoit">Krueger 2004, p. 1E</ref> In 2005, Tim Shell was CEO of Bomis and one of the board members overseeing Misplaced Pages.{{Sfn |Barnett|2005|p=62}} Shell remained CEO of Bomis in 2006, becoming vice-president of the Wikimedia Foundation and continuing to sit on its board.<ref name="wechselander">Heise Online (October 28, 2006)</ref> Bomis co-founder Michael Davis became treasurer of the Wikimedia Foundation that year.<ref name="wechselander" /> Wales told '']'' in 2007 that although he retained partial ownership of Bomis, "It's pretty much dead."<ref name="hutcheon" /> According to the ], the Bomis website was last accessible with content in 2010;<ref name="lastaccessible">Bomis.com (February 24, 2010)</ref> when accessed in 2013 by the archive, it had a welcome message for ].<ref name="petabox">Bomis.com (August 15, 2013)</ref> When accessed in 2014 by the archive, the website featured a blank white page with a line of text saying "Hello, world!".<ref>Bomis.com (August 27, 2014)</ref><ref>Bomis.com (October 6, 2014)</ref>

==Aftermath==
{{multiple image
|title=Misplaced Pages edits about Bomis by Jimmy Wales
|total_width=400
|width1=1096|height1= 630|image1=2005 September 4 Jimbo Wales edits Jimmy Wales about Bomis.jpg|caption1=September 4, 2005|alt1=First of three side-by-side diffs
|width2=1096|height2=908|image2=2005 October 20 Jimbo Wales edits Jimmy Wales about Bomis.jpg|caption2=October 20, 2005|alt2=Second diff
|width3=1151|height3=755|image3=2005 October 28 Jimbo Wales edits Jimmy Wales about Bomis.jpg|caption3=October 28, 2005|alt3=Third diff
|footer=Edits to Misplaced Pages about Bomis made by ] were publicized by ].<ref name="evanhansen" /><ref name="francesromero" />
}}
In 2005, Wales made 18 changes to his Misplaced Pages biography.<ref name="rhysblakely" /><ref name="stacyschiff" /><ref name="francesromero" /> He removed references to Bomis Babes as ] and ],<ref name="rhysblakely" /> and Larry Sanger as co-founder of Misplaced Pages.<ref name="elisecraig" /><ref name="jonbernstein" /> Wales' actions were publicized by author ],<ref name="evanhansen" /><ref name="francesromero" /> attracting attention from US and UK media.{{efn|]' edits to Misplaced Pages to change information about Bomis and remove references to ] as co-founder of the site was reported in '']'',<ref name="rhysblakely" /> '']'',<ref name="evanhansen" /> '']'',<ref name="jonbernstein">Bernstein 2011, p. 34</ref> '']'',<ref name="francesromero" /> the '']'',<ref name="johnbeveridge" /> '']'',<ref name="timelliott" /> and '']''.<ref name="danmitchell">Mitchell 2005</ref>}} In 2011, ''Time'' listed Wales' 2005 edits in its "Top 10 Misplaced Pages Moments".<ref name="francesromero">Romero 2011</ref>

Misplaced Pages policy warned users not to edit their own biography pages,<ref name="evanhansen" /><ref name="danmitchell" /> with its rules on autobiographical editing quoting Wales: "It is a social faux pas to write about yourself."<ref name="rosenzweig" /> ] said, "It does seem that Jimmy is attempting to rewrite history",<ref name="evanhansen" /><ref name="rhysblakely" /> and began a discussion on the talk page of Wales' biography about ].<ref name="evanhansen" />

Wales called his actions fixing mistakes,<ref name="elisecraig" /> but after Cadenhead publicized the edits to his biography he expressed regret for his actions.<ref name="harryhenderson" /><ref name="citizendiumfounder">Bergstein (April 2, 2007)</ref> In ''The Times'' Wales said that individuals should not edit their own Misplaced Pages biographies,<ref name="rhysblakely" /> telling ''The New Yorker'' that the standard applied to himself as well.<ref name="stacyschiff" /> Wales warned that the activity should be discouraged because of the potential for bias:<ref name="rhysblakely" /> "I wish I hadn't done it. It's in poor taste."<ref name="elisecraig" /><ref name="jonbernstein" />

Bomis was called the "''Playboy'' of the Internet" by '']'',<ref name="marshallpoe" /> and the sobriquet was subsequently used by publications including '']'',<ref name="givingupbillions">''The Sunday Times'' 2011</ref> '']'',<ref name="neate">Neate 2008</ref> '']'',<ref>Buckland 2011, p. 1</ref> '']'',<ref name="tedgreenwald">Greenwald 2013, p. 82</ref> ''The Torch Magazine'',<ref name="johnplewis">Lewis 2013</ref> and the 2007 book '']'' by ].<ref name="andrewkeen">Keen 2008, pp. 41–42</ref> Wales considered the "''Playboy'' of the Internet" nickname inappropriate,<ref name="tedgreenwald" /> although he was asked in interviews if his time at Bomis made him a "porn king".<ref name="manguward" /><ref name="paleycenter">Paley Center for Media 2014</ref><ref name="elizabethtai">Tai 2013</ref> The 2010 documentary film about Misplaced Pages, '']'', discussed this characterization of Wales by journalists.<ref name="paleycenter" /><ref name="truthinnumbers">Glosserman 2010, Time index 34:30</ref> Wales, interviewed in the film, called the characterization inaccurate and explained that his company responded to content demand from customers.{{efn|Wales stated in the 2010 documentary '']'': "You know the press has this idea that I am a porn king. I really wasn't a king of anything, frankly, you know? Because at the time, when we looked at it, we were just like, 'Okay, well, this is what our customers will want, let's follow this.'"<ref name="truthinnumbers" />}} In later interviews, he responded to "porn king" questions by telling journalists to look at a page on ] about pornography related to ].<ref name="manguward" /> According to a 2007 article in '']'', "If he was a porn king, he suggests, so is the head of the biggest Web portal in the world."<ref name="manguward" />

==Description of site==
'']'' characterized Bomis as "an Internet marketing firm... which also traded in erotic photographs for a while."<ref name="brennenjensen">Jensen 2006</ref> Jeff Howe wrote in his 2008 book, ''Crowdsourcing: How the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business'', about "one of Wales's less altruistic ventures, a Web portal called Bomis.com that featured, among other items, soft-core pornography."<ref name= "jeffhowe" /> In his 2008 book, '']'', legal scholar ] wrote that "Bomis helped people find 'erotic photography', and earned money through advertising as well as subscription fees for premium content."<ref name="zittrain" /> '']'' described the site as on "the fringes of the adult entertainment industry",<ref name="stinginthescorpions">Finkelstein (December 18, 2008)</ref> and '']'' called Bomis.com an "explicit-content search engine".<ref name = "kangwanchern">Chern 2008</ref> '']'' described it as "a search portal... which created and hosted Web rings around popular search terms&nbsp;– including, not surprisingly, a lot of adult themes."<ref name="tommcnichol" />

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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* {{cite book|pages=60, 181|title=Beauty and Misogyny: Harmful Cultural Practices in the West|first=Sheila |last=Jeffreys|year=2005|publisher=]|isbn=978-0-415-35182-9|author-link=Sheila Jeffreys}}
* {{cite journal|title=Access for All|first=Brennen |last=Jensen|journal=]|volume=18|issue=18|date=June 29, 2006|publisher=Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.|url=http://philanthropy.com/article/Access-for-All/58278/|access-date=September 30, 2014|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930015805/http://philanthropy.com/article/Access-for-All/58278/|archive-date=September 30, 2014}}
* {{cite journal|url=http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Qualitaetsoffensive-289422.html|title=Qualitätsoffensive: Freie Online-Enzyklopädie Misplaced Pages stellt die Weichen für die Zukunft|journal=]|publisher=]|first=Torsten |last=Kleinz|access-date=February 15, 2014|language=de|page=38|date=2004|volume=2004 |issue=14|archive-date=March 9, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110309040220/http://www.heise.de/ct/artikel/Qualitaetsoffensive-289422.html}}
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* {{cite book|pages=|title=The Best of Technology Writing 2006|first=Brendan I.|last=Koerner|year=2006|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-03195-5|url=https://archive.org/details/bestoftechnology0000unse/page/115}}
* {{cite book|title=The Cult of the Amateur|isbn=978-0-385-52081-2|first=Andrew|last= Keen|author-link=Andrew Keen|year= 2008 |publisher=]|pages=41–42|title-link=The Cult of the Amateur}}
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* {{cite journal|journal=The Torch Magazine|date=Fall 2013|volume=87|issue=1|first=John P.|last=Lewis|title=Misplaced Pages: Is it the Library of Babel?|url=http://www.ncsociology.org/torchmagazine/lewis.pdf|access-date=January 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201153223/http://www.ncsociology.org/torchmagazine/lewis.pdf|archive-date=February 1, 2014|publisher=International Association of Torch Clubs; North Carolina Sociological Association|issn=2330-9261}}
* {{cite book|title=Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy|isbn=978-0-14-311613-4|first=Lawrence|last=Lessig|author-link=Lawrence Lessig| year=2009|publisher=Penguin Books|pages=156–157}}
* {{cite journal|title=Nupedia Launches Open-Content Model|journal=School Library Journal|volume=46|issue=8|date=August 2000|page=S6|publisher=Library Journals, LLC. A wholly owned subsidiary of ]|via=]: General OneFile}}
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* {{cite book|title=Good Faith Collaboration: The Culture of Misplaced Pages|first=Joseph Michael|last= Reagle|pages=35–36, 41, 120|publisher=The MIT Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-262-01447-2}}
* {{cite book|page=339|title=Anarchitexts: A Subsol Anthology|first=Joanne |last=Richardson|year=2004|publisher=Autonomedia|isbn= 978-1-57027-142-7}}
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* {{cite magazine|first=Frances |last=Romero |magazine=] |date=January 13, 2011 |url=https://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2042333_2042334_2042587,00.html |access-date=January 19, 2014 |title=Top 10 Misplaced Pages Moments&nbsp;– World Wide Wiki: Who Founded Misplaced Pages? |archive-date=November 10, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110030812/http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0%2C28804%2C2042333_2042334_2042587%2C00.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite journal|url=http://chnm.gmu.edu/essays-on-history-new-media/essays/?essayid=42|title=Can History Be Open Source?|first=Roy|last=Rosenzweig|journal=The Journal of American History|volume=93|issue=1|date=June 2006|pages=117–146|access-date=January 17, 2014|doi=10.2307/4486062|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100425130754/http://chnm.gmu.edu/essays-on-history-new-media/essays/?essayid=42|archive-date=April 25, 2010|jstor=4486062}}
* {{cite book|title=Clio Wired: The Future of the Past in the Digital Age|isbn=978-0-231-52171-0|first=Roy |last=Rosenzweig |year= 2013|pages=54, 81, 258–261|publisher=]}}
* {{cite magazine|url=http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/07/31/060731fa_fact|first=Stacy|last=Schiff|author-link=Stacy Schiff|title=Annals of Information: Know It All&nbsp;– Can Misplaced Pages conquer expertise?|magazine=]|date=July 31, 2006|access-date=January 19, 2014|quote=Four years later, he moved to San Diego, where he used his savings to found an Internet portal. Its audience was mostly men; pornography—videos and blogs—accounted for about a tenth of its revenues.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140930011944/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/07/31/know-it-all|archive-date=September 30, 2014}}
* {{cite news|first=Patrick|last=Seitz|title=The Wizard of Misplaced Pages Click: Jimmy Wales sparked the go-to information site|work=]|date=June 15, 2011|page=A3|publisher=Investor's Business Daily, Inc.|via=]}}
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* {{cite book|chapter=Chapter 5: Personal Motivation Meets Collaborative Production|title=Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations|first= Clay |last=Shirky|author-link=Clay Shirky|publisher=Penguin Books|year=2009|isbn=978-0-14-311494-9|title-link=Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations}}
* {{cite news|title=The man with all the answers|first=Joanna|last=Slater|work=]|publisher=The Globe and Mail Inc.|date=January 15, 2011|page=B3|location=Toronto, Canada|via=]}}
* {{cite news|work=]|date=February 26, 1999|title=The faithful have a galaxy of Web sites to visit|first=Csar G.|last= Soriano|page=2E|publisher=Gannett Company, Inc.|via=]}}
* {{cite news|title=For the record, Misplaced Pages has some roots in Chicago |work=]|location=Chicago, Illinois|date=December 4, 2006 |first=Brad|last=Spirrison|page=62|publisher=Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.|via=]}}
* {{Cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/spiegelwissen/0,1518,715592,00.html|language=de|access-date=October 14, 2012|work=]|date=August 31, 2010|title=Eine Weltmacht im Netz|first=Christian|last=Stöcker|archive-date=September 10, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100910020849/http://www.spiegel.de/spiegelwissen/a-715592.html}}
* {{cite news|title=Spotlight : Lawrence Mark "Larry" Sanger|date=April 2, 2007|work=]|location=Amman, Jordan|publisher=Al Bawaba (Middle East) Ltd.|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Spotlight+%3A+Lawrence+Mark+%22Larry%22+Sanger.-a0183540400|access-date=September 30, 2014}}
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* {{cite news|title=Mr Misplaced Pages's knowledge quest|first=Helen|last=Twose|date=November 10, 2007|work=]|location=Auckland, New Zealand|page=5|publisher= APN Newspapers Pty Ltd.|via=]}}
* {{cite news|work=]|location=Sydney|date=September 9, 2000 |title= Living in the '70s; R2 The '70s Reviews|first=Cotton |last=Ward|page=8; Section: Computers, Icon|publisher=John Fairfax Publications Pty Ltd|via=]}}
* {{cite news|language=de|work=]|oclc=183307820|location=Basel, Switzerland|title=Ich will kein Diktator sein|first=Daniel W. |last=Szpilma|date=September 1, 2014|access-date=September 27, 2014|publisher=Basler Zeitung Medien|url=http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wissen/bildung/Ich-will-kein-Diktator-sein/story/31641515|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140905182358/http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wissen/bildung/Ich-will-kein-Diktator-sein/story/31641515|archive-date=September 5, 2014}}
* {{cite book|pages=179–180|title=The Everything Guide to Social Media|first=John K.|last=Waters|year=2010|publisher=Adams Media|isbn=978-1-4405-0631-4}}
* {{cite book|page=|title=Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder|first=David|last=Weinberger|author-link=David Weinberger|publisher=Holt|isbn=978-0-8050-8811-3|year=2008|title-link=Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder}}
* {{cite news|work=]|date=April 8, 1999|title='Webbies' honour best of the Internet|first=Robert|last=Wright|publisher=Toronto Star Newspapers, Ltd.|via= ]}}
* {{cite book|title=The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It |url=https://archive.org/details/futureoftheinternetandhow00zitt |page= |isbn=978-0-300-14534-2|first=Jonathan|last=Zittrain|author-link=Jonathan Zittrain |year= 2008 |publisher=]}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
;Primary sources
* {{cite news|title=Bomis.Com Browser Kills Pop-Up Advertising!|date=March 8, 1999|agency=]|location=San Diego, California|page=9941|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bomis.Com+Browser+Kills+Pop-Up+Advertising!-a054029681|access-date=January 17, 2014|archive-date=January 19, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140119051423/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Bomis.Com+Browser+Kills+Pop-Up+Advertising!-a054029681|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite news|title=Upstart Open Content Encyclopedia Threatens to Displace Britannica, Encarta|agency=]|date=November 9, 2000|location=San Diego, California|url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Upstart+Open+Content+Encyclopedia+Threatens+to+Displace+Britannica,...-a066763343|access-date=January 18, 2014|archive-date=February 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201104123/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Upstart+Open+Content+Encyclopedia+Threatens+to+Displace+Britannica,...-a066763343|url-status=dead}}
* {{cite web|title=Bomis What's New|url=http://www.bomis.com/bomisreport/|access-date=July 14, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100118074538/http://www.bomis.com/bomisreport/|archive-date=January 18, 2010}}
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.bomis.com/about/bomis_faq.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724210118/http://www.bomis.com/about/bomis_faq.html|archive-date=July 24, 2008|access-date=October 14, 2012|title=Bomis FAQ|url-status=dead|publisher=Bomis}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.freedomsnest.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060323230349/http://www.freedomsnest.com/|archive-date=March 23, 2006|title=Freedom's Nest|access-date=October 23, 2011}}
* {{cite news|url=http://www.nekkid.info/ |publisher=Internet Archive |title=Nekkid.info |access-date=December 27, 2013 |date=January 14, 2002 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140120022941/http://www.nekkid.info/ |archive-date=January 20, 2014 }}
* {{cite news|url=http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2001-October/000657.html|title=A question|work=Misplaced Pages-l|first=Jimmy|last=Wales|author-link=Jimmy Wales|date=October 28, 2001|access-date=December 30, 2013}}
* {{cite news|url=http://lists.wikimedia.org/pipermail/wikipedia-l/2003-June/010743.html|title=Announcing Wikimedia Foundation|first=Jimmy|last=Wales|date=June 20, 2003|access-date=December 30, 2013|author-link=Jimmy Wales|work=Misplaced Pages-l}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links | wikt= no| commons=Category:Bomis | b=Category:Bomis | n=Bomis | q=Bomis | s=Category:Bomis | v=Category:Bomis | voy= no| species=no | d=Q935818 | mw=no | display=Bomis}}
* at the ]
* ], at ]
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{{Wikipediahistory}}

{{Portal bar|Companies|Florida|Internet|Nudity|Erotica and pornography|Human sexuality|United States}}

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Latest revision as of 03:41, 17 November 2024

Dot-com company (1996–2007) For the genus of spiders, see Bomis (spider).

Bomis, Inc.
Type of businessPrivate company
Type of site
Available inEnglish
Founded1996
Dissolved2007
HeadquartersSt. Petersburg, Florida, United States
Founder(s)
CEOTim Shell
IndustryDot-com
Products
  • Bomis Premium
  • Bomis Babes
  • Bomis Babe Report
  • The Babe Engine
  • Bomis Browser
Employees10
Subsidiaries
URLbomis.com, archived at the Internet Archive
AdvertisingYes
RegistrationNo
Launched1996

Bomis, Inc. (/ˈbɒmɪs/, from Bitter Old Men in Suits; rhyming with "promise") was a dot-com company best known for supporting the creations of free-content online-encyclopedia projects Nupedia and Misplaced Pages. It was co-founded in 1996 by Jimmy Wales, Tim Shell, and Michael Davis. By 2007, the company was inactive, with its Misplaced Pages-related resources transferred to the Wikimedia Foundation.

The company initially tried a number of ideas for content, including being a directory of information about Chicago. The site subsequently focused on content geared to a male audience, including information on sporting activities, automobiles, and women. Bomis became successful after focusing on pornography. "Bomis Babes" was devoted to erotic images; the "Bomis Babe Report" featured adult pictures. Bomis Premium, available for an additional fee, provided explicit material. "The Babe Engine" helped users find erotic content through a web search engine. The advertising director for Bomis noted that 99 percent of queries on the site were for nude women.

Bomis created Nupedia as a free online encyclopedia (with content submitted by experts) but it had a tedious, slow review process. Misplaced Pages was initially launched by Bomis to provide content for Nupedia, and was a for-profit venture (a Bomis subsidiary) through the end of 2002. As the costs of Misplaced Pages rose with its popularity, Bomis' revenues declined; these losses were compounded by the dot-com crash. Since Misplaced Pages was a drain on Bomis' resources, Wales and philosophy graduate student Larry Sanger decided to fund the project as a nonprofit. Sanger was laid off from Bomis in 2002. Nupedia content was merged into Misplaced Pages, and it ceased in 2003.

The non-profit Wikimedia Foundation began in 2003 with a board of trustees composed of Bomis' three founders (Wales, Davis, and Shell) and was first headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, Bomis' location. Wales used about US$100,000 of revenue from Bomis to fund Misplaced Pages before the decision to shift the encyclopedia to non-profit status. Wales stepped down from his role as CEO of Bomis in 2004. Shell was CEO of the company in 2005, while on the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees. Wales edited Misplaced Pages in 2005 to remove the characterizations of Bomis as providing softcore pornography, which attracted media attention; Wales expressed regret for his actions. The Atlantic gave Bomis the nickname "Playboy of the Internet", and the term caught on in other media outlets. Scholars have described Bomis as a provider of softcore pornography.

History

Background

Jimmy Wales left a study track at Indiana University as a PhD candidate to work in finance before completing his doctoral dissertation. In 1994 Wales was hired by Michael Davis, CEO of finance company Chicago Options Associates, as a trader focusing on futures contracts and options. Wales was adept at determining future movements of foreign currencies and interest rates; he was successful in Chicago, became independently wealthy, and was director of research at Chicago Options Associates from 1994 to 2000. He became acquainted with Tim Shell from email lists discussing philosophy.

Wales wanted to participate in the online-based entrepreneurial ventures which were increasingly popular and successful during the mid-1990s. His experience (from gaming in his youth) impressed on him the importance of networking. Wales was interested in computer science, experimenting with source code on the Internet and improving his skill at computer programming. In his spare time after work at Chicago Options Associates, Wales constructed his own web browser. While at the firm, he noted the successful 1995 initial public offering of Netscape Communications.

Foundation

Bomis foundersMan with short beard in a red shirtJimmy WalesDark-haired man in black shirtTim ShellLight-haired man with goateeMichael DavisBomis was founded by Jimmy Wales, Tim Shell, and Michael Davis.

Wales co-founded Bomis in 1996, with business associates Tim Shell, and his then-manager Michael Davis, as a for-profit corporation with joint ownership. Wales was its chief manager. In 1998 he moved from Chicago to San Diego to work for Bomis, and then to St. Petersburg, Florida (where the company subsequently relocated).

The staff at Bomis was originally about five employees. Its 2000 staff included programmer Toan Vo, Andrew McCague and system administrator Jason Richey; Wales employed his high-school friend and best man in his second wedding, Terry Foote, as advertising director. In June 2000, Bomis was one of five network partners of Ask Jeeves. The majority of the revenue that came in to Bomis was generated through advertising. The most successful time for Bomis was during its venture as a member of the NBC web portal NBCi; this collapsed at the end of the dot-com bubble.

Although Bomis is not an acronym, the name stemmed from "Bitter Old Men in Suits" (as Wales and Shell called themselves in Chicago). The site began as a web portal, trying a number of ideas (including serving as an access point for information about Chicago). It later focused on male-oriented content, including information on sporting activities, automobiles, and women.

Hosted content

Bomis BabesYoung woman in blond braids, wearing a white T-shirtSilvia SaintYoung woman with blond hair to shoulders, wearing a white T-shirtDeanna MerrymanSilvia Saint and Deanna Merryman in Bomis t-shirts

Working from the Open Directory Project, Bomis created and maintained hundreds of webrings on topics related to lad culture. In 1999 the company introduced the Bomis Browser, which helped users block online pop-up ads. Its webring on Star Wars was considered a useful resource for information on Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). Additional webrings included sections helping users find information on the 1942 film Casablanca, Hunter S. Thompson, Farrah Fawcett, Geri Halliwell of the Spice Girls, and the 1998 film Snake Eyes. "Bomis: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ring", devoted to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, organized over 50 sites related to the program. Sheila Jeffreys noted in her Beauty and Misogyny that in 2004 Bomis maintained "The Lipstick Fetish Ring", which helped users with a particular attraction to women in makeup.

Bomis became successful after it focused on X-rated and erotic media. Advertising generated revenue which enabled the company to fund other websites, and the site published suggestive pictures of professional models. In addition to Bomis the company maintained nekkid.com and nekkid.info, which featured pictures of nude women. About ten percent of Bomis' revenue was derived from pornographic films and blogs.

The website included a segment devoted to erotic images, "Bomis Babes", and a feature enabled users to submit recommended links to other sites appealing to a male audience. Peer-to-peer services provided by the site helped users find other websites about female celebrities, including Anna Kournikova and Pamela Anderson. In the Bomis Babes section was the Bomis Babe Report, begun in 2000, with pictures of porn stars in a blog format. The Bomis Babe Report produced original erotic material, including reports on pornographic film actors and celebrities who had posed nude. It was referred to as The Babe Report for short.

Wales referred to the site's softcore pornography as "glamour photography", and Bomis became familiar to Internet users for its erotic images. During this period Wales was photographed steering a yacht with a peaked cap, posing as a sea captain with a female professional model on either side of him. In the photograph, the women were wearing panties and T-shirts advertising Bomis.

A subscription section, Bomis Premium, provided access to adult content and erotic material; A three-day trial was US$2.95. While Bomis Babes provided nude images of females to subscribers, Bomis Premium featured lesbian sexual practices and female anatomy. Bomis created the Babe Engine, which helped users find erotic material online through a web search engine. According to Bomis advertising director Terry Foote, 99 percent of searches on the site related to nude women.

Nupedia and Misplaced Pages

Twelve casually-dressed people
Bomis staff, summer 2000. From left to right standing: Tim Shell, Christine Wales, Jimmy Wales, Terry Foote, Jared Pappas-Kelley, Liz Campeau (Nupedia employee standing almost completely behind Rita Sanger), Rita Sanger, Jason Richey, Toan Vo and Andrew McCague. Seated: Jeremy Rosenfeld, Larry Sanger.

Bomis is best known for supporting the creation of free-content online-encyclopedia projects Nupedia and Misplaced Pages. Tim Shell and Michael Davis continued their partnership with Wales during the 2000 Nupedia venture. Larry Sanger met Jimmy Wales through an e-mail communication group about philosophy and objectivism, and joined Bomis in May, 1999. Sanger was a graduate student working towards a PhD degree in philosophy, with research focused on epistemology; he received his degree from Ohio State University, moving to San Diego to help Bomis with its encyclopedia venture. At the time Sanger joined Bomis the company had a total workforce of two employees with help from programmers.

Sanger and Wales began Nupedia with resources from Bomis; at the beginning of 2000, the company agreed to provide early financing for Nupedia from its profits. Nupedia went live in March, when Wales was CEO of Bomis; Sanger was Nupedia's editor-in-chief. Nupedia's reading comprehension was intended for high-school graduates, and Bomis set its goal: "To set a new standard for breadth, depth, timeliness and lack of bias, and in the fullness of time to become the most comprehensive encyclopedia in the history of humankind."

Although Bomis began a search for experts to vet Nupedia articles, this proved tedious. In August 2000 Nupedia had more than 60 academics contributing to the peer-review process on the site, most with doctorates in philosophy or medicine. Scholars wishing to contribute to Nupedia were required to submit their credentials via fax for verification. At that time, Bomis was attempting to obtain advertising revenue for Nupedia and the company was optimistic that it could fund the project with ad space on Nupedia.com.

Misplaced Pages began as a feature of Nupedia.com on January 15, 2001, later known as Misplaced Pages Day. Someone working from the office.bomis.com server created the first edit to the website, the creation of HomePage with the text "This is the new WikiPedia!" It was originally intended only to generate draft articles for Nupedia, with finished articles moved to the latter. Misplaced Pages became a separate site days after the Nupedia advisory board opposed combining the two. In September 2001, Wales was simultaneously CEO of Bomis and co-founder of Misplaced Pages; Sanger was chief organizer of Misplaced Pages and editor-in-chief of Nupedia.

Nupedia was encumbered by its peer-review system, a seven-step process of review and copyediting, and Misplaced Pages grew at a faster rate. In November 2000, Nupedia had 115 potential articles awaiting its peer-review process. By September 2001, after a total investment of US$250,000 from Bomis, Nupedia produced 12 articles; from 2000 through 2003, Nupedia contributors produced a total of 24 finalized articles. Misplaced Pages had about 20,000 articles and versions in 18 languages by the end of 2001.

Bomis originally planned to make Misplaced Pages profitable, providing staffing and hardware for its initial structure; Misplaced Pages would not have survived without this early support. Bomis provided web servers and bandwidth for the projects, owning key items such as domain names. Wales used money from Bomis to maintain the Misplaced Pages servers in Tampa, Florida.

As the cost of Misplaced Pages rose with its popularity, Bomis' revenues declined as a result of the dot-com crash. In late 2000 Bomis had a staff of about 11 employees, but by early 2002 layoffs reduced the staff to its original size of about five. Sanger was laid off in February 2002; from January 15, 2001, through March 1, 2002, he was the sole paid editor of Misplaced Pages. Sanger stepped down from his dual roles as chief organizer of Misplaced Pages and editor-in-chief of Nupedia on March 1, 2002, feeling unable to commit to these areas on a volunteer basis and a dearth of "the habit or tradition of respect for expertise" from high-ranking Misplaced Pages members. He continued contributing to community discussions, optimistic about Misplaced Pages's future success.

After Sanger's departure, Misplaced Pages was managed by Wales and a burgeoning online community. Although Wales thought advertising was a possibility, the Misplaced Pages community was opposed to business development and Internet marketing was difficult in 2002. Misplaced Pages remained a for-profit venture (under the auspices of Bomis) through the end of 2002. By then it had moved from a .com domain name to .org, and Wales said that the site would not accept advertising.

Material from Nupedia was folded into Misplaced Pages and it was discontinued by 2003.

Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees

Wikimedia Foundation Board beginningsThe first Wikimedia Foundation Board consisted of the three Bomis founders.Dark-haired man in black shirtBoard members in 2004In 2004, community elections added two Misplaced Pages contributors to the board; Bomis' three founders retained their seats.

By 2003 Misplaced Pages had grown to 100,000 articles in its English-language version, and it became difficult for Bomis to continue financially supporting the project. With Misplaced Pages a drain on the company's resources, Wales and Sanger decided to fund the project on a non-profit basis. Bomis laid off most of its employees to continue operating, since Misplaced Pages was not generating revenue. The company owned Misplaced Pages from its creation through 2003, and Wales used about $100,000 of Bomis' revenue to fund Misplaced Pages before the decision to shift the encyclopedia to non-profit status.

In June 2003 Misplaced Pages was transferred to a nascent non-profit organization, the Wikimedia Foundation, which was formed as a charitable institution to supervise Misplaced Pages and its associated wiki-based sites. When the foundation was established, its staff began to solicit public funding and Bomis turned Misplaced Pages over to the non-profit. All Bomis-owned hardware used to run Misplaced Pages-associated websites was donated to the Wikimedia Foundation, and Wales transferred Misplaced Pages-related copyrights from Bomis to the foundation. It was first headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida, where Bomis was located. The foundation shifted Misplaced Pages's dependence away from Bomis, allowing it to purchase hardware for expansion.

The Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees was initially composed of Bomis' three founders: Jimmy Wales and his two business partners, Michael Davis and Tim Shell. Shell and Davis were appointed to the board by Wales, but after Misplaced Pages community members complained that the board was composed of appointed individuals, the first elections were held in 2004. Two community members, Florence Devouard and Angela Beesley, were elected to the board of trustees.

In August 2004 Wales was chief executive officer of Bomis, and on September 20 Misplaced Pages reached the million-article mark on an expenditure of $500,000 (most directly from Wales). In November 2004 he told the St. Petersburg Times he no longer controlled Bomis' day-to-day operations, but retained ownership as a shareholder. In 2005, Tim Shell was CEO of Bomis and one of the board members overseeing Misplaced Pages. Shell remained CEO of Bomis in 2006, becoming vice-president of the Wikimedia Foundation and continuing to sit on its board. Bomis co-founder Michael Davis became treasurer of the Wikimedia Foundation that year. Wales told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2007 that although he retained partial ownership of Bomis, "It's pretty much dead." According to the Internet Archive, the Bomis website was last accessible with content in 2010; when accessed in 2013 by the archive, it had a welcome message for PetaBox. When accessed in 2014 by the archive, the website featured a blank white page with a line of text saying "Hello, world!".

Aftermath

Misplaced Pages edits about Bomis by Jimmy WalesFirst of three side-by-side diffsSeptember 4, 2005Second diffOctober 20, 2005Third diffOctober 28, 2005Edits to Misplaced Pages about Bomis made by Jimmy Wales were publicized by Rogers Cadenhead.

In 2005, Wales made 18 changes to his Misplaced Pages biography. He removed references to Bomis Babes as softcore pornography and erotica, and Larry Sanger as co-founder of Misplaced Pages. Wales' actions were publicized by author Rogers Cadenhead, attracting attention from US and UK media. In 2011, Time listed Wales' 2005 edits in its "Top 10 Misplaced Pages Moments".

Misplaced Pages policy warned users not to edit their own biography pages, with its rules on autobiographical editing quoting Wales: "It is a social faux pas to write about yourself." Larry Sanger said, "It does seem that Jimmy is attempting to rewrite history", and began a discussion on the talk page of Wales' biography about historical revisionism.

Wales called his actions fixing mistakes, but after Cadenhead publicized the edits to his biography he expressed regret for his actions. In The Times Wales said that individuals should not edit their own Misplaced Pages biographies, telling The New Yorker that the standard applied to himself as well. Wales warned that the activity should be discouraged because of the potential for bias: "I wish I hadn't done it. It's in poor taste."

Bomis was called the "Playboy of the Internet" by The Atlantic, and the sobriquet was subsequently used by publications including The Sunday Times, The Daily Telegraph, MSN Money, Wired, The Torch Magazine, and the 2007 book The Cult of the Amateur by Andrew Keen. Wales considered the "Playboy of the Internet" nickname inappropriate, although he was asked in interviews if his time at Bomis made him a "porn king". The 2010 documentary film about Misplaced Pages, Truth in Numbers? Everything, According to Misplaced Pages, discussed this characterization of Wales by journalists. Wales, interviewed in the film, called the characterization inaccurate and explained that his company responded to content demand from customers. In later interviews, he responded to "porn king" questions by telling journalists to look at a page on Yahoo! about pornography related to dwarfism. According to a 2007 article in Reason, "If he was a porn king, he suggests, so is the head of the biggest Web portal in the world."

Description of site

The Chronicle of Philanthropy characterized Bomis as "an Internet marketing firm... which also traded in erotic photographs for a while." Jeff Howe wrote in his 2008 book, Crowdsourcing: How the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business, about "one of Wales's less altruistic ventures, a Web portal called Bomis.com that featured, among other items, soft-core pornography." In his 2008 book, The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It, legal scholar Jonathan Zittrain wrote that "Bomis helped people find 'erotic photography', and earned money through advertising as well as subscription fees for premium content." The Guardian described the site as on "the fringes of the adult entertainment industry", and The Edge called Bomis.com an "explicit-content search engine". Business 2.0 Magazine described it as "a search portal... which created and hosted Web rings around popular search terms – including, not surprisingly, a lot of adult themes."

Footnotes

  1. Wales would claim to have made the first edit to Misplaced Pages with "Hello, World!", but no such edit survives in archives and it has been speculated that it was made to a test wiki that was later deleted.
  2. Jimmy Wales' edits to Misplaced Pages to change information about Bomis and remove references to Larry Sanger as co-founder of the site was reported in The Times, Wired, New Statesman, Time, the Herald Sun, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.
  3. Wales stated in the 2010 documentary Truth in Numbers? Everything, According to Misplaced Pages: "You know the press has this idea that I am a porn king. I really wasn't a king of anything, frankly, you know? Because at the time, when we looked at it, we were just like, 'Okay, well, this is what our customers will want, let's follow this.'"

References

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