Gov/en/Portal:Onboarding/Glossary

💡 In simple words: this is a dictionary of all the special words WikiDeal uses, explained simply so newcomers can understand everything.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): This glossary sets the definitive, official terminology of the WikiDeal model, to be used exclusively in all documents, contracts and communications; superseded terms are listed and marked as unappropriate (not to be used). It covers the funding vocabulary (Subscription, WikiDeal token, Karma tokens, WIL, cash-out, bonding curve, Need-Driven Funding, Priority 1/Priority 2), governance and community concepts (Open Call, User Group, Ring of Trust, Living Lab, Subscription, Maturity Score), and WikiDeal's structural philosophy (deprivatisation, Exit to Community, co-opetition, immutable philosophies, Wikimedia-adapted portals and categories).

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Glossary

This glossary defines the official terminology of the WikiDeal model. Where previous terms have been superseded, the old terms are noted and marked as unappropriate (not to be used). These are the definitive terms: all documents, contracts, and communications should use these terms exclusively.

WikiDeal tokens (no guarantee*) 💰: The unit of conditional rights on WikiDeal. A WikiDeal token can be used both to pay for a subscription and to pay for services — but services only once the token has been activated by subscription revenue actually collected. Before activation, the tokens a person holds serve only to obtain subscriptions and to offer subscriptions to whomever they wish; they cannot yet be used for other acquisitions nor converted into a stablecoin. Activation comes only from the subscriptions effectively collected from other users, progressively, without guarantee. (Unappropriate — not to be used: Subscription Token, Cash Subscription Token, Reward.) See the Funding & Monetary Glossary.
Karma tokens 🔗: 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). "Karma token" is a working name and may change; previously called "WIL token". Exchangeable for services and goods within Rings of Trust (agreements between ≥2 User Groups). Not convertible to CHF directly. Value determined by the Karma Token Market algorithm, supply and demand for real services. Usage coefficients range from 1 (restricted) to 10 (widely accepted). Previously called "Miles Credits" and "WikiDeal Miles", deprecated terms. See Karma tokens →
Ring / Ring of Trust: An agreement between at least 2 User Groups that enables Karma token interoperability. Each Ring defines usage coefficients for complementary currency exchange. A User Group may participate in multiple Rings simultaneously.
Programme: A combination of multiple marketplaces enabling a global experience: e.g., housing + activities + training. Programmes are the operational backbone of WikiDeal. Each programme has defined steps, validation criteria, and WikiDeal tokens. WikiDeal has 12 programmes. A single marketplace (babysitting, pet-sitting) is NOT a programme, it is a service used within one or more programmes. See All 12 Programmes →
Karma Token Market: Programme #12. The algorithmic mechanism for valuing Karma tokens based on supply and demand within the WikiDeal ecosystem. Uses a double indicator: value of service × availability/frequency. Non-speculative, all data is public and community-auditable. See Karma Token Market →
Subscription: The foundational unit of WikiDeal participation. CHF 10 face value. Grants one vote in governance. Can be purchased directly, accumulated through platform activity, or received as a Donation. Required for Transactions and governance participation.
Open Call: WikiDeal's continuous invitation for community proposals to improve or partially substitute elements of the current model. Evaluated seasonally. Previously called "Concours de projets" (deprecated). Proposals fall into two types: Improvement (enhance Prototype 1) or Substitution (replace elements). "Divergence/fork" proposals are out of scope.
Living Lab: A research environment combining observation, synthesis, and pilot experimentation. Replaces "Open Observatory." The anchor Living Lab is Ecopol, member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). Living Labs produce reports, blog content, and pilot proposals for the Open Calls.
User Group: A community of WikiDeal members organised around a specific service category or geographic region. User Groups operate with local autonomy within WikiDeal's core principles. They set Commission rates, manage arbitration, and can launch their own bonding curve funding rounds.
social entrepreneurship: WikiDeal's economic philosophy: thousands of micro-s transacting on Infrastructure they collectively own, with Commissions at cost, surplus returned to community, and governance based on one-user-one-vote. Contrasted with macrocapitalism (value extraction by distant shareholders).
Deprivatisation: The process of progressively transferring platform ownership, value, and control from private hands to the user community. Distinct from nationalisation and traditional mutualism. WikiDeal's long-term goal is 100% community ownership with zero private shareholders.
Exit to Community (E2C): A transition model for organisations moving from founder/contributor control to community ownership. WikiDeal is designed as an E2C programme from inception, with progressive governance transfer built into its founding architecture.
Early Funders: Contributors who donated to WikiDeal before Prototype 1 launched, including founding team members and historical ambassadors. They receive 50 million memberships (separate from the bonding curve) and participate in 10% of each user membership purchase. Individual identities are kept confidential; aggregate figures are public.
Immutable Philosophies: Core values of WikiDeal that do not change regardless of Open Call outcomes: the membership system, community governance, transparency, and at-cost Commissions. NOTE: The term "Immutable Rules" is deprecated and must not be used, rules can change. Only philosophies are described as immutable.
Ring of Trust: A formal agreement between at least 2 WikiDeal User Groups enabling Karma tokens interoperability. Each Ring defines the usage coefficients for complementary currency exchange within its member groups. Rings are the foundation of the Karma token ecosystem. A User Group may participate in multiple Rings simultaneously.
Maturity Score: A composite indicator (1–5 stars) measuring the health and readiness of each WikiDeal marketplace portal. Based on 7 indicators: number of users, dissatisfaction rate, improvement proposals appreciated, urgency (bugs), deployment degree, tool interconnection, and usage decline prevention. Higher maturity = fewer Open Call resources needed. Reviewed quarterly by the Living Lab.
Open Call: WikiDeal's seasonal invitation for community proposals to improve or partially substitute elements of the current model. Evaluated on March 21, June 21, September 21, and December 21 each year. Prize pool: CHF 10,000 cash + 1,000,000 WikiDeal tokens. Open Call allocation is adjusted based on each use case's Maturity Score. See also: Open Calls & Maturity.
Deprivatization: The process of markets being reclaimed by users as commons: analogous to what Wikipedia did for encyclopedic knowledge. WikiDeal's mission is to deprivatize extractive digital markets (babysitting, transport, housing, fundraising) by replacing platform capitalism with community governance and at-cost Commissions. Inspired by Wikimedia Foundation's approach to knowledge.
Co-opetition: The WikiDeal model where User Groups simultaneously compete (for users, quality, Commission rates) and cooperate (sharing protocols, Infrastructure, Rings of Trust). Transparent co-opetition stimulates improvement without destructive rivalry. Inspired by Wikimedia's chapter model and cooperative movement principles.
Portal (Wikimedia-adapted): A WikiDeal marketplace dedicated to a specific service category (babysitting, taxi cooperative, microcredit, etc.). Analogous to a Wikimedia portal (a curated entry point to a topic area). Each portal has its own User Group, governance rules, Commission structure, and Maturity Score.
Category (Wikimedia-adapted): A classification system for WikiDeal pages and portals, inspired by Wikipedia's category system. Categories group related pages: e.g., Category:Marketplace portals, Category:Contracts, Category:Governance. Categories enable navigation and discovery across the WikiDeal knowledge base.

Funding and tokens

This section defines the financial, funding and subscription vocabulary of WikiDeal. These are the definitive terms; superseded terms are marked Unappropriate — not to be used.

Subscription (funding): The foundational unit of WikiDeal participation. Starting at CHF 1/month, it grants access to the platform, its services and its contract templates, and one vote in governance (one user, one vote). Subscription revenue is the primary source of funds that activates WikiDeal tokens. A subscription can be bought directly, accumulated through platform activity, or received as a gift.

WikiDeal token (full definition): The unit of conditional rights on WikiDeal. A WikiDeal token can ultimately be used both to pay for a subscription and to pay for services — but services only once the token has been activated by subscription revenue actually collected. Before activation, the tokens a person holds serve only to obtain subscriptions and, above all, to offer subscriptions to whomever they wish (helping others join the movement). They cannot yet be used for other acquisitions, nor converted into a stablecoin, because they have not yet been activated by the subscriptions that cover them. Activation comes from the subscriptions effectively collected from other users; simply distributing or offering subscriptions does not activate the distributor's own tokens for real services. Example: CHF 1,000 at the ×100 coefficient gives 100,000 tokens, i.e. about 10,000 subscription-years. (Unappropriate — not to be used: Subscription Token, Cash Subscription Token, Reward, Credits, Memberships, Miles.)

Activation: The process by which held WikiDeal tokens become usable for services beyond subscriptions (and for conversion into a stablecoin). Driven only by subscription revenue effectively collected on the platform, progressively, without guarantee of amount or date.

Donation (financial contribution): A financial gift to WikiDeal, made without any guarantee of repayment or token. A donation and the purchase of WikiDeal tokens are two separate, independent options: donors are aware of the distinction between making a donation and buying tokens.

Validated Work: Time, skills or resources (code, legal writing, translations…) contributed to an Open Call or a recognised task, formally validated by the community.

Personal Portion: The fraction of activated WikiDeal tokens a contributor retains for their own project. Taxable income for the contributor.

Community Portion: The fraction of activated WikiDeal tokens a contributor allocates to community projects from the WikiDeal catalogue. Acts as a second donation, not individually taxable.

Operational Budget: The minimum monthly revenue (indicatively CHF 25,000) required to keep the platform running. Prioritised over token distributions.

Commissions: Fees applied to transactions, calculated at real cost. Split between the User Group operating the service and the WikiDeal platform infrastructure.

Bonding curve: The public, auditable algorithm governing the coefficient applied when acquiring WikiDeal tokens (up to ×100 at the beginning), strictly bounded by actual funding needs. Nothing is promised: if few users subscribe, activation is slow or may not occur.

See also: 25 Innovations Open Calls & Maturity