Well, fund drives are annoying, whether they be for Wikipedia, NPR, or anything else. They are less annoying than ads, however, so I deal with them and don't complain. I just wish the banner would go away now that I've donated; instead, I still see the banner and have gotten an email asking me for more money.
Exactly. That's the problem with old media - you can't, for example, subscribe to the "clean" version of NPR, a magazine, or a newspaper after paying for it.
With online media you can. If Wikipedia went to the "with ads for free, no ads if you subscribe or pay a one time 'founders fee'" I think it would be much more successful.
