 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 Wikipedia before the decision to shift the encyclopedia to non @-@ profit status . Wales stepped down from his role as CEO of Bomis in 2004 . Shell served as CEO of the company in 2005 , while on the Wikimedia Foundation board of trustees . Wales edited Wikipedia 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 . 
