💡 In simple words: WikiDeal needed a word for the small amount people pay. Subscription sounds easy and open, like a magazine; membership sounds like joining a club. WikiDeal picked subscription, but subscribers really would become members too, with a vote.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): Naming reflection, offered for discussion. Subscription and membership are presented as two sides of one coin: subscribers would in fact be members with voting rights. Membership can feel heavy, though obligations here would be minimal; subscription is more inclusive but less transparent about community-building. Initial hypothesis: subscription was chosen, while recognising it is a subscription for a membership.

Subscription or membership?

This page documents the reflection behind a naming choice. It is proposed as a basis for discussion, not as a settled truth.

Two sides of the same coin

Subscription and membership are two sides of the same coin. In the model being explored, the people who subscribe are members: subscribing would come with a right to vote, following the 1 user = 1 vote principle. The question is therefore not what subscribers would get, but which word describes it best.

The perception problem of "membership"

The word "membership" often suffers from a negative perception: the impression that it will take time, that democracy is complicated, and that it implies obligations.

In reality, the obligations envisaged here would be minimal:

receiving messages that stimulate participation;
accepting the civic incentive, meaning slightly better prices for the people who participate.

Nothing else special would be asked of members.

Strengths and limits of each term

Subscription is more general, encompassing and inclusive. Its limit: it is less transparent about the intention to create a strong community.
Membership is more transparent about the community intention. Its limit: it can generate a feeling of rejection among people who do not want to "be part of" something and hold on to their independence.

The choice made (initial hypothesis)

In order to be as encompassing as possible, the term "subscription" was chosen, while recognizing that what is proposed is a "subscription for a membership".

Beyond the play on words, these are questions of perception: it is considered more important to integrate and include people than to be rigid about exact terms.

Related scientific research

The naming reflection between subscription and membership touches research on collective action, member voice and the framing of choices. These references inform the discussion.

Albert O. Hirschman (1970), Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States, Harvard University Press: book page on Wikipedia.
Mancur Olson (1965), The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups, Harvard University Press: book page on Wikipedia.
Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman (1981), The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice, Science, 211(4481): doi:10.1126/science.7455683 · framing effect on Wikipedia.
Albert M. Muñiz Jr. and Thomas C. O'Guinn (2001), Brand Community, Journal of Consumer Research, 27(4): doi:10.1086/319618 · brand community on Wikipedia.
Johnston Birchall (2011), People-Centred Businesses: Co-operatives, Mutuals and the Idea of Membership, Palgrave Macmillan: doi:10.1057/9780230295292 · mutual organization on Wikipedia.

Gov/en/Portal:R&D/Innovations:Subscription-or-Membership