Discuss Pros & Cons of Joining CIVIL Community

[PamelaJohn]

Discuss the potential member and community benefits and any implications of joining the Civil decentralized marketplace for sustainable journalism.

What Is Civil

Civil is a lot of things.

• A protocol, or a set of ethical rules which everybody in the Civil network agrees to observe as laid out in the Civil Constitution.
• A network of websites
• An open source publishing platform using Ethereum blockchain technology to track changes/updates and to slow down would-be hackers (What is a blockchain?)
• A decentralized marketplace for sustainable journalism (like an OS Patreon)
• A member cooperative where each member has a vote about which mission-aligned organizations can be added to the coop.

How is Civil Funded?

In June, Civil launched its First Fleet of publishers with grants to mission-aligned network partners. David Moore's Sludge was part of that initial group. On September 18, 2018, Civil will launch a token sale of the CVL cryptocurrency. People or organizations can purchase CVL tokens and have a vote in the way the community takes shape. In October, a Second Fleet of publishers of written word, video, podcasts and, ultimately, open source coders!) will be invited to make an initial purchase of CVL tokens to become members in the network and publish their work on the Civil platform--so Civil is also funded by member dues.

How Does ProgCode (Entity) and ProgCode Members Benefit Monetarily?

ProgCode receives a subscription rate for each subscriber. ProgCode content contributors (i.e., similar to our Network Voices Medium contributors) would be able to receive "micro-tips" for the content their followers like). ProgCode members can enter into Ethereum Smart Contracts for the services they provide to other Civil Network members. Those contracts can specify payment in fiat currency (U.S. dollar or U.K. euro) or CVL tokens or some combination of both.

Sludge As A Use Case

David Moore's Sludge is an example of an independent, digital newsroom which launched its publication in June 2018 on the Civil platform as part of the First Fleet of newsrooms. Other First Fleet newsrooms published by Civil are here. From the about section of the Sludge page:

Besides an initial investment from the Civil Media Company, Sludge is exclusively funded by our readers and members. We never take money from advertisers, interest groups, or corporations, so we are solely focused on providing information that our members value. Because we don’t rely on advertisements for revenue we never produce “clickbait” to pay our bills and we never shy away from topics that challenge powerful interests.

Sludge members contribute $5/month (or $9/month with the added perk of a Sludge coffee mug) and receive exclusive access to member forums and behind-the-scenes access to our team of reporters. Sludge’s reporters host members-only Q&A sessions to dig in deeper on stories, answer questions about process, and get to know our members and what areas of research they care about.

Member publications buy into the coop using CVL tokens which will be sold beginning September 18, 2018. More details on CVL cryptocurrency.

Discussion Points

What is the initial amount of tokens required to be purchased to participate in the Second Fleet of newsroom publishers? What are the Pros and Cons of moving away from Medium and using Civil in addition to Patreon to raise small dollar contributions?

Benefits

How does this change relate to our core values and mission statement?

Decision Making

Seeking consent to continue research, investigation and discussion of the viability of ProgCode joining the Civil network.

Reference link(s)

Civil Civil Constitution Token Sale How to Launch a Civil Newsroom Sludge What is a blockchain How Do Ethereum Smart Contracts Work? David Moore's Medium piece about Sludge & Civil NYTimes piece explaining the potential practical benefits of a social ID across platforms

[stephenscapelliti]

Here's another Medium piece by a non-tech CIVIL employee, which describes the platform structure in layperson's terms. It omits an explanation of why it's tied to cryptocurrency. https://blog.joincivil.com/a-non-blockchain-y-person-explains-civil-d9f59d5d2c96

[PamelaJohn]

Read 8/24/2018 Medium post "Why Join The Civil Economy" which spells out the cost and effect of tiered contributions levels which seem inaccessible due to ProgCode budget.