[okfn-discuss] New crowdfunding system in the works exclusively for Free/Libre/Open resources

Sat Dec 8 01:18:49 UTC 2012

My instinct is that if you can't explain how much people will be
expected to give (or even, in a sentence, what model might determine
how much they will give), they won't give at all. So I'd urge you to
simplify the model. But I wish you luck either way :)

On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 4:37 PM, Aaron Wolf <wolftune at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Thomas,
>
> Thanks for the interest.
>
> I'm actually not sure the best way to describe our concept in fewest words,
> but it isn't actually exponential, more like quadratic. The growth is more
> linear in that donors later down the line don't have a bigger impact than
> the initial ones, i.e. it isn't actually exponential.
> But the concept is similar. We want the support to grow, much like how
> auction values can grow beyond what people initially bid after they see
> others bid more, but in our case everyone chips in, they are just more
> willing to do so as they see that others are doing the same.
>
> So, to answer your question: there is NO maximum truly. But there IS
> control. Donors will fund an account which they control still, and so we
> cannot take more money from donors than the amount they put into their
> account. But we do want there to be some pressure to add to the account and
> not fall through on their pledge. We have ideas about optional ways to split
> or reduce donations when the amounts get higher, but that is a wonderful
> problem to have.
>
> I would love to get more feedback or involvement from you after you've
> looked over our proposals.
> Here's an invite code for you:
> http://snowdrift.coop/invitation/9514777464dbaecb
>
> Cheers!
>
> --
> Aaron Wolf
> wolftune.com
>
>
> On Fri, Dec 7, 2012 at 5:18 PM, Thomas Kluyver <thomas.kluyver at cantab.net>
> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Aaron,
>>
>> This sounds really interesting, I look forward to seeing the results.
>>
>>
>> On 7 December 2012 20:46, Aaron Wolf <wolftune at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> 3. We have designed a novel mechanism to address the problems with
>>> encouraging as many people as possible to join the community. A simplistic
>>> explanation is: each pledge starts near zero and increases only when more
>>> people pledge as well. Essentially, each donation is contingent on everyone
>>> else donating; like matching funds but achieved geometrically across
>>> everyone in the system, growing further with each new donor.
>>
>>
>> Just to check, I assume there will be a way for individual donors to cap
>> their donation? This sort of exponential increase sounds a bit scary from a
>> donor point of view.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>> Thomas
>>
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