Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Governance: Difference between revisions

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{{KidsIntro|This page explains who makes WikiDeal's big decisions. The idea mixes three recipes: Wikipedia, where everyone helps write the rules; cooperatives, where users own the service; and Switzerland, where small teams lead at every level.}}

{{ExpertIntro|WikiDeal's governance is proposed as a hybrid of three sources: from Wikipedia and free software, an open legislative process with Condorcet voting; from cooperatives, at-cost management and user ownership; from Swiss structure, collegial executives of 5, 7 or 9 at three levels. Offered as a basis for discussion, within an Exit to Community trajectory.}}

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{{ArticleSummary|

* [[#hybrid-model|An innovation: a hybrid of three sources]]

* [[#who-decides-what|Who decides what]]

* [[#subscription-governance|Subscription as Governance Right]]

* [[#exit-to-community|Exit to Community]]

* [[#deprivatisation|Deprivatisation as a Process]]

* [[#state-of-the-art|State of the art]]

}}

__NOTOC__

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WikiDeal is designed as an '''Exit to Community''' programme. [https://e2c.how/ Exit to Community] (E2C) is an approach developed by the [https://www.colorado.edu/lab/medlab/exit-to-community Media Economies Design Lab] (University of Colorado Boulder) in partnership with the [https://zebrasunite.coop/ Zebras Unite] cooperative movement, describing a transition path for organisations that want to move from founder or contributor control to community ownership. The concept was developed in response to the dominant "exit to acquisition" model of startups, where the goal is always eventual sale or IPO.

In WikiDeal's case, the transition is built into the founding architecture. Ynternet.org Foundation ~~(illustrative example) holds~~ governance authority over the platform. This authority is meant to be transferred progressively to the user community as the platform grows, as governance tools mature, and as the community demonstrates the capacity to manage complex decisions. The foundation is meant to ensure the public-interest mandate is respected, while operational governance moves to users.

In WikiDeal's case, the transition is built into the founding architecture. Ynternet.org Foundation is intended to hold governance authority over the platform. This authority is meant to be transferred progressively to the user community as the platform grows, as governance tools mature, and as the community demonstrates the capacity to manage complex decisions. The foundation is meant to ensure the public-interest mandate is respected, while operational governance moves to users.

The founder ([[Gov/en/Portal:Meta/Credits|see credits]]) has committed in writing to surrendering all intellectual property rights to the foundation, receiving in return 50 million memberships (under the same Personal/Community mechanism as all funders). His formal influence over retained prototypes is limited to a minority share, ensuring that no single person (including the founder) can override community decisions on the model's direction.

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[[Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Open-Calls:Main|Open Call]] competitions are a key mechanism envisaged for accelerating deprivatisation: by inviting the community to propose alternative models, WikiDeal intends to institutionalise the idea that the current governance structure is always provisional, always open to improvement. No rule would be permanent except the rule that rules can be changed by the community.

== State of the art ==

The hybrid governance hypothesis combines three traditions that are each documented by a substantial literature: commons and free software governance, cooperative ownership, and Swiss collegial democracy. The works below are background references for this exploration.

* Elinor Ostrom (1990), ''Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action'', Cambridge University Press: [https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511807763 doi:10.1017/CBO9780511807763] · [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elinor_Ostrom author page on Wikipedia].

* Siobhán O'Mahony and Fabrizio Ferraro (2007), ''The Emergence of Governance in an Open Source Community'', Academy of Management Journal, 50(5): [https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.27169153 doi:10.5465/amj.2007.27169153].

* Eric S. Raymond (1999), ''The Cathedral and the Bazaar'', O'Reilly Media: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cathedral_and_the_Bazaar book page on Wikipedia].

* Johnston Birchall (2011), ''People-Centred Businesses: Co-operatives, Mutuals and the Idea of Membership'', Palgrave Macmillan: [https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230295292 doi:10.1057/9780230295292] · [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative cooperative on Wikipedia].

* Hanspeter Kriesi and Alexander H. Trechsel (2008), ''The Politics of Switzerland: Continuity and Change in a Consensus Democracy'', Cambridge University Press: [https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511790676 doi:10.1017/CBO9780511790676] · [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Switzerland politics of Switzerland on Wikipedia].

* International Cooperative Alliance (1995), ''Statement on the Cooperative Identity'': [https://ica.coop/en/cooperatives/cooperative-identity official page].

'''See also:''' [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Decision-Making|Decision-Making: who decides what]] · [[Gov/en/Portal:Voting/Main|Voting at WikiDeal: methods, rules, research]] (draft portal) · [[Gov/en/Portal:Institutions/Is-WikiDeal-a-DAO?|Is WikiDeal a DAO?]] (the organizational nature of WikiDeal)

~~[[Category:Migration June 2026]]~~