So, the discussion has been going on for quite some time (many years now) as to the commercial content on the Wiki. Unfortunately, and much too often lately, we have been caught hosting links to outright thieving sites who persistently add themselves back into the wiki under new names that are impossible to identify until money has already been stolen.

The purpose of the commercial links in the Wiki, early on, was to give a special boost to commercial entities who accepted Bitcoin in order to reward them for coming on-board so early, and to encourage others to do so. There is no longer any reason to do that—simple Google and other search engines are better at it, and paid listings were done, and better, at other sites anyway.

bitcoin.it is a volunteer service, for the edification of its readership. The technical content is relevant (though sometimes a bit out-of-date,) and those parts of it are strong enough that some people have even included large chunks of it in their books.

It is no longer serving that purpose. The commercial aspect of it can't be verified; it can't be patrolled; it can't be vouched-for. All it is is a linkdump/liability.

In terms of *acquiring* Bitcoins, and in terms of widely-affecting events such as exchange exit scams or the history of Bitcoin, some commercial aspects should remain in place.

But in terms of pointing towards businesses?

What's the point when we can't do these businesses the justice and courtesy of effort they deserve?

Really, the businesses themselves should be building their own collective directory. A commercial effort would fare better, would provide a more trustworthy place to point users to, and could provide membership in ways that the Bitcoin Wiki—really, really can't.