I would gladly have 2-3 lines of relevant Google ads shown to me everytime I visit wikipedia if it meant I didn't have to see Jimmy staring back at me for a few days.
I felt the same way ...so strongly that it took me several days to notice the little 'x' in upper right corner. However, after once having clicked box, wikipedia remembered for me (on all pages) that I did not want to be distracted by Jimmy's rugged good looks.
From my personal experience as a Wikipedia editor and contributor (which is a few years old; things may have changed) enough editors are opposed to advertising, and the Wikipedia community is conducive enough to the formation of angry mobs, that advertising is a non-starter.
