I've been watching YOU - warriors of the Wiki wonder! Such a precious phenomenon - because, when I want the clean clear skinny on say "digital signature", I don't go to pgp.mit.edu|www.pgpi.org, an U.S. Commerce site, nor Google, and certainly NOT Britannica; as Wikipedia has consistently proven to be where the real wealth is.
Needless preaching to the choir you say?? - maybe not. Wiki, GNU and Linus’ Law are all spawned from the same spirit - availing strategies which have achieved record breaking results with heretofore inconceivable despatch. Yet those gifted pioneers moving this new future forward appear to be unaware of the full realm of freedom forces being unleash and their world revolutionizing relevance. Ya think I'm laying it on a bit thick? Well -if so- then my goal over the next few short months is to demonstrate that indeed this perspective is really an understatement.
To continue, the most personally inspiring aspect of this whole marvel is the fact that it's unstoppablely unfolded without massive mega-dollars of funding! In fact, it can even be argued that the monetary status quo -which wholly engulfs us- constitutes a hostile proprietary environment that’s largely counterproductive to the needs of today’s avant-garde talent (requiring a new realm of recognition). Hmmm - lets just leave that thought hang for the moment...
OK - the big question of the hour seems to be if this dear movement must be wisely restrained to merely your precious products or if it should foolishly be given an opportunity to address an expanded range of challenges. I'm concerned the former 'wisdom' will reign. Before continuing however, this phenomena I'm fawning over merits its own term. How's "7F" (freedom fest fanatics forging fine faultless fruit)?
So if 7F can give us Wikipedia, GNU & Linux then why would one ever shy from its application in the arena of practical policy making unless it was fear of effectiveness? To be a bit fair, writing a quality encyclopedia IS hardly the same as doing a business plan, but neither is coding an OS! In other words if 7F can successfully accommodate the extremes we've already witnessed, then why can't we further tune it for yet more terrific transformations? However, I see very little about new 7F approaches. Instead, there appears to be this dangerous morbid attraction for delving into dirty dollar dilemmas - a sadly unfortunate degrading indulgence.
The biggest bumbling bugaboo bobbing about is a bastardized belief in the very nature of wealth. This ancient avaricious animal (a scarcity paradigm) adverts attention from our true assets and fixes the mind on conforming to hapless criteria. Is that what we want to be about?? Or can someone sense the power of a moral groundswell right under our proverbial feet?
All I'm trying to convey here is that in just 5 years you're a blooming top 16 website propelled to prominence without any big bucks. Now that folks, is truly & profoundly beautiful! Nevertheless there is this incredible spectacle of depending on donations. Yea, I know, when under the status quo's spell it all seem so natural. But please consider that you're NOT in some mere redistribution business like the UNITED WAY and multitudes of want-to-be clones. Because (like the GNU/Linux hackers) you are actually CREATING freed high quality wealth in the most real ways. Moreover, each & every party involved is enriched by the process (even the volunteers although not nearly to the extent they should be). And yes, I know tragic shortages of funds always occur when monetary elite channel funds in preferential ways. But this hardly means that some scarcity mentality is necessary nor that subjugation to any authoritarian proprietary money need be forever suffered.
I am not saying it's best to totally abandon donations & the whole 501c3 scene (just yet). But I certainly do believe we can build upon the wealth that's being constantly created by valiant volunteers and seize the power to transform the most basic precepts concerning wealth. And perhaps the best part is that this can be realized in full accord with 7F ideas.
Listen up, CREATING WEALTH & BEAUTY IS YOUR STRONGEST FORTE. OK? So why weaken yourself by pandering to false & pathetic scarcity principles wholly alien to the wiki spirit? Your proper placement for key endeavors should always be right at the very top. But let me just say that you will never be sterling players in the supplicant's area. There are just far too many of them who have already honed their curious craft to razor sharpness. Even if you should become honored & famed fund raisers that inevitably lures one into the sullen slippery slope realm of the lecherous lobbyist. And before you know it your previously free & wide open world starts shrinking to accommodate the mean & narrow minded precepts of the status quo.
The very existence of vastly varied cultures resulting solely from the segregation of populations is itself, an indisputable indictment of individuals' innate predisposition to assimilate cultural norms. So it is no surprise that so many minds -after years of turning to dollars for their very survival- form this impression that fiat currency is necessary and scarcity is the natural way of the world. They then run both their daily lives and organizations in accordance with the status quo's dictates. So even while we may be setting on top of a mountain of wealth, there is always the blind propensity to ignore our true assets and instead seek after rather dangerously deceptive currencies. But just as 7F (as expressed through WP) stands to obliterate the sordid sanctity of copyright; a well working alternative to FRNs (Federal Reserve Notes) could crack our dependence on that harmful mind warping illusion also.
So here's the idea. Embrace abundance. Focus on strengths. Place prime importance on continued high quality work/gifts. Expand upon the enrichment already created by awarding your own form of (monetary) *recognition* (remember? we left this hanging in 3rd paragraph above). Certainly any new monetary concept appropriate for 7F needs calls for a whole new level of integrity. So I'm suggesting a new order of raw individual OWNERSHIP that is thief-proof, indestructible, unforgeable & undeniable - plus basically cost free to a) create, b) store, and c) transfer. The object of ownership is called a "YeNom" since many of its features are the exact opposite of current proprietary money.
The above -to good to be true- characteristics are actually easy to actualize since -as you may have guessed- YeNoms are simply files that are GPG/PGP clear text signed first by the originator and finally by the recipient (should they wish to assume ownership). All active YeNom files are maintained in a highly accessible open source database available to anyone on the Internet (3rd party service providers most welcomed). A YeNom (text file) could be title to tangible goods, stock in an enterprise, pledged delivery of work/product or most anything else an originator might imagine. One especially attractive idea for wiki would be votes of moral support in the form of well considered comments on work & performance for worthy persons, particularly your volunteers/supporters.
This is rather reminiscent of the barnstar idea, but with higher expectations. YeNoms are highly objectified & most explicitly owned. They are also filed in a huge database open to the world with the ready ability to be transfered to new owners (the complete ownership history is embedded in all YeNoms). Esteemed personages endowed with more well earned regard than dollars can use YeNoms to critique and extol cohorts. This amplifies the value of their gestures for the whole community. This forum is also a great stage for high profile philanthropy through selectively purchas- ing individuals' YeNoms. In any case, being a YeNom owner avails significant appreciation potential with zero risks.
While this idea was originated with you all & the GNU/Linux hackers in mind, it's fully open for anyone's use. I'd also be happy to manage the database at my own expense up until it exceeds my abilities. Finally, while this is really a pretty simple idea, numerous points & details still remain uncovered. This email however, is already much too long, so I respectfully offer the following URL for more info: http://world1tours.com/wPress/home.html
Z.Clark