Why did Nupedia fail?

W: How did Wikipedia start?
M: Wikipedia was my second attempt creating a free encyclopedia for everyone. The first attempt was called Nupedia which was a failure. The model we used to try to create Nupedia was very top down, very academic , and not very much fun for the volunteers. I launched the Wiki in 2001, and it just grew, and grew and grew.
W: Why did you decide to allow users to edit Wikipedia?
M: The main reason we allow everyone to edit it is quality. It’ s about allowing for an open democratic dialogue to get the best possible entry that we can. The great beauty of the internet is that it allows for a huge range of people to participate constructively.
W: Does Wikipedia as it is now, fulfill the expectations you had when you started it?
M: I remember in the early days of the Wikipedia, looking at the list of the top 100 websites and seeing the encyclopedia reference site ranked around No. 50, I thought if we do a really good job, maybe we can make it into the top 100. Now we are the 5 th most popular website in the world with over 400 million people visiting every month. It’ s much bigger than I expected.
W: Would you run ads if the need occur?
M: We are opposed having advertising on Wikipedia, but we will do what it takes to keep Wikipedia alive. If one day, the public was no longer willing to support us to the degree that we needed, we will start with cost-cutting measures. We would eventually have to look at putting some ads in some skill part of the sight but it’ s not something that we even think likely to happen.