Latest revision as of 15:18, 25 July 2026

💡 In simple words: Neighbours can swap help, rides, food, or a spare room using Karma tokens: a friendly way to share instead of always paying cash. It is not money, more like a thank-you discount people give each other.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): The Time and Resource Bank and the Karma tokens are the same thing: "Karma token" is a temporary working name, expected to change. Karma tokens are not a currency: they are facilities, comparable to discounts, targeting unexploited resources (housing, transport, food, services). WikiDeal intends to bring the documentation that makes such exchanges safe and simple: compensatory measures, tutorials, alerts, advice, documented limits against abuse, and legal studies so that rings of trust work without disguised-salary risks.

Time and Resource Bank (Karma tokens)

Innovation, WikiDeal R&D

Origin	🟣 Cooperative Movement / SEL
Status	Under study (July 2026, proposal)

One concept, one working name

The Time and Resource Bank and the Karma tokens are the same thing. "Karma token" is a temporary working name, previously "WIL token" and, before that, "Miles Credits". By sharing unused resources and/or contributing as a volunteer, you can earn Karma tokens, usable within your Rings of Trust to get access to services and goods such as housing, transportation or food: a barter-style unit for otherwise unused resources in the functional economy, creating a citizen participation with an exchange network (initial hypothesis; not a currency in the legal sense). The name is a working name and may change. Finding a durable name is the subject of a draft open call. The concept is also described, from the Credits angle, on the Karma tokens page of the Economy portal.

Not a currency

Karma tokens are not a currency: they are facilities, comparable to discounts. The working hypothesis, under legal study, is that like discounts they would not be taxed. They target unexploited resources: unoccupied housing, food still perfectly edible but no longer sellable, under-used vehicles, and similar.

Examples:

a late check-in at 4 pm instead of noon;
transport at fuel cost on a trip already planned;
the loan of a holiday house in low season against a paint job.

The approach draws on the tradition of time banks (SEL, LETS) and cooperative resource-sharing movements.

What WikiDeal intends to bring

People are generally open to this kind of exchange, but the risk today is that it is complicated, insufficiently documented and insufficiently regulated. WikiDeal intends to bring everything needed, in a very simple form: compensatory measures, tutorials, alerts, advice.

When someone accepts an advantage, its limits are well documented, which prevents abuse and creates more motivation to give and accept such advantages.

Legal studies and rings of trust

Legal studies aim at creating rings of trust without disguised-salary problems or other legal risks, so that people dare to be generous, humanist and solidary again, without fear of being punished for it.

How it works on WikiDeal

Members offer and request resources and settle them in Karma tokens, which circulate within Rings of Trust. This intends to build local resilience and mutual support around non-monetary value. The matching and exchange mechanics are documented progressively as the platform evolves.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{KidsIntro|Neighbours can swap help, rides, food, or a spare room using Miles Credits — a friendly way to share instead of always paying cash.}}
+{{KidsIntro|Neighbours can swap help, rides, food, or a spare room using Karma tokens: a friendly way to share instead of always paying cash. It is not money, more like a thank-you discount people give each other.}}
+{{ExpertIntro|The Time and Resource Bank and the Karma tokens are the same thing: "Karma token" is a temporary working name, expected to change. Karma tokens are not a currency: they are facilities, comparable to discounts, targeting unexploited resources (housing, transport, food, services). WikiDeal intends to bring the documentation that makes such exchanges safe and simple: compensatory measures, tutorials, alerts, advice, documented limits against abuse, and legal studies so that rings of trust work without disguised-salary risks.}}
+__TOC__
-== Time & Resource Bank ==
+= Time and Resource Bank (Karma tokens) =
-''Innovation — WikiDeal R&D''
+''Innovation, WikiDeal R&D''
 {| class="wikitable"
@@ Line 8: / Line 10: @@
 | Origin || 🟣 Cooperative Movement / SEL
 |-
-| Status || Prototype 1 — In testing
+| Status || Under study (July 2026, proposal)
 |}
-=== What is it? ===
+<span id="same-thing"></span>
-The Time & Resource Bank lets members exchange housing, transport, food, and services using Miles Credits. It draws on the tradition of time banks (SEL, LETS) and cooperative resource-sharing movements, turning Miles Credits into a community currency for mutual aid rather than profit.
+== One concept, one working name ==
-=== How it works on WikiDeal ===
+'''The Time and Resource Bank and the Karma tokens are the same thing.''' "Karma token" is a temporary working name, previously "WIL token" and, before that, "Miles Credits". By sharing unused resources and/or contributing as a volunteer, you can earn Karma tokens, usable within your Rings of Trust to get access to services and goods such as housing, transportation or food: a barter-style unit for otherwise unused resources in the functional economy, creating a citizen participation with an exchange network (initial hypothesis; not a currency in the legal sense). The name is a working name and may change. Finding a durable name is the subject of a draft [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Call:Karma-Token-Naming|open call]]. The concept is also described, from the Credits angle, on the [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Karma-Tokens|Karma tokens]] page of the Economy portal.
-Members offer and request resources and settle them in Miles Credits, which circulate within [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Rings Of Trust|Rings of Trust]]. This builds local resilience and mutual support around non-monetary value. The matching and exchange mechanics are documented progressively as the platform evolves.
+<span id="not-a-currency"></span>
+== Not a currency ==
+Karma tokens are '''not a currency''': they are facilities, comparable to '''discounts'''. The working hypothesis, under legal study, is that like discounts they would not be taxed. They target '''unexploited resources''': unoccupied housing, food still perfectly edible but no longer sellable, under-used vehicles, and similar.
+Examples:
+* a late check-in at 4 pm instead of noon;
+* transport at fuel cost on a trip already planned;
+* the loan of a holiday house in low season against a paint job.
+The approach draws on the tradition of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time-based_currency time banks] (SEL, LETS) and cooperative resource-sharing movements.
+<span id="what-wikideal-brings"></span>
+== What WikiDeal intends to bring ==
+People are generally open to this kind of exchange, but the risk today is that it is complicated, insufficiently documented and insufficiently regulated. WikiDeal intends to bring everything needed, in a very simple form: '''compensatory measures, tutorials, alerts, advice'''.
+When someone accepts an advantage, its '''limits are well documented''', which prevents abuse and creates more motivation to give and accept such advantages.
+<span id="legal-studies"></span>
+== Legal studies and rings of trust ==
+Legal studies aim at creating [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Rings Of Trust|rings of trust]] without disguised-salary problems or other legal risks, so that people dare to be generous, humanist and solidary again, without fear of being punished for it.
+<span id="how-it-works"></span>
+== How it works on WikiDeal ==
+Members offer and request resources and settle them in Karma tokens, which circulate within [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Rings Of Trust|Rings of Trust]]. This intends to build local resilience and mutual support around non-monetary value. The matching and exchange mechanics are documented progressively as the platform evolves.
 ----
-'''See also:''' [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Main|All innovations]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Main|R&D Portal]]
+'''See also:''' [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Karma-Tokens|Karma tokens (Economy)]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:Economy/Rewards|Rewards explained]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Rings Of Trust|Rings of Trust]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Dual Credits|Dual Rewards]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Main|All innovations]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Main|R&D Portal]]
 [[Category:Migration June 2026]]
+[[Category:Innovation]]
 <!-- visible -->