WikiMania 2025 WikiDeal Proposal

WikiDeal: Applying Wikimedia Governance to Online Marketplaces

WikiDeal is a platform designed to foster a "citizen economy" by adapting Wikimedia-like governance models to online marketplaces of all types. WikiDeal's core concept is that deals can be co-designed on a MediaWiki platform with volunteers who share the collaborative spirit of Wikipedians. This process will offer flexible models for contracts, agreements, transaction use cases, compensation fees, reminders, and alerts. These will be linked to legal references. WikiDeal also aims to have these models endorsed by lawyers. This endorsement will be provided by open user groups that WikiDeal has recently launched (Spring 2025).

Context

Wikimania 2025 will be held in Nairobi. The theme for this year's conference is Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability. The deadline for submissions is March 31st, and the chosen format for this presentation is a poster (with an optional 5-minute lightning talk). This submission aims to align with at least one of the conference's core themes.

Theme of the Year

The theme "Inclusivity. Impact. Sustainability" highlights the vision for a Wikimedia movement that is accessible to all, fosters collaboration across diverse communities, and prioritizes long-term viability. As the movement celebrates its 20th anniversary, this theme underscores a commitment to addressing global challenges, promoting inclusivity, and ensuring the sustainability of free knowledge for generations to come.

Inclusivity: Wikimania will showcase regional and thematic groups as examples of inclusion, highlighting diverse volunteer groups, individuals, and affiliates collaborating equitably.
Impact: The event will facilitate learning and knowledge sharing about community initiatives, tools, event organizing, governance, online campaigns, problem-solving, and more.
Sustainability: Wikimania 2025 will be a forum to discuss strategies and priorities facing the Wikimedia movement, from technology to policy.

WikiDeal Overview

WikiDeal is a platform designed to adapt Wikimedia-like governance models to online marketplaces of all types, fostering a "citizen economy." The core concept is that deals can be co-designed on a MediaWiki platform by volunteers embodying the collaborative spirit of Wikipedians. This process aims to create flexible and legally-referenced models for various aspects of transactions, including contracts, agreements, fees, reminders, and alerts.

WikiDeal intends to have these models endorsed by lawyers through open user groups launched in Spring 2025.

Relevance to Wikimania Theme

This poster and accompanying lightning talk directly align with the Wikimania 2025 theme:

Inclusivity: WikiDeal promotes inclusivity by leveraging an open, collaborative platform built on the familiar MediaWiki technology. It aims to empower individuals and communities to participate in shaping the marketplace.
Impact: By creating a more transparent and equitable marketplace, WikiDeal seeks to have a significant impact on how online transactions are conducted, potentially fostering fair trade and economic empowerment.
Sustainability: The platform's non-speculative business model and "Exit to Community" financing structure prioritize long-term sustainability and community ownership, mirroring the ethos of Wikimedia projects.

Benefits for Wikipedians

Wikipedians can leverage their existing skills in using MediaWiki to contribute to WikiDeal by helping design the platform's structure, including portals, categories, and articles related to various deal models. This presents an opportunity for Wikipedians to generate income within a collaborative environment.

Business Model and Features

WikiDeal operates on a non-speculative business model focused on building a sustainable ecosystem with low commission fees. It supports a wide range of use cases, including peer-to-peer services (ticketing, transportation, freelance, rentals, buying/selling goods, loans, partnerships) and multi-stakeholder deals (leasing, social contracts, public-private partnerships, franchising, joint ventures).

Key features include:

Contract Models: Users can access, modify, and utilize various contract templates validated by legal professionals.
Simplified Arbitration: A system for efficient dispute resolution.
"Miles" Reward System: Contributions are rewarded with "Miles" for accessing benefits within the ecosystem.
Technology: Built on the robust MediaWiki platform.

Governance and "Exit to Community"

WikiDeal's governance model blends the open contribution of Wikipedia, Swiss direct democracy, and traditional cooperative principles. A central aspect is the "Exit to Community" financing structure, which allows users to collectively purchase the platform from investors, transforming it into a community-owned and governed entity, similar to Wikimedia projects.

Presenters

The poster and lightning talk will be presented by Théo Bondolfi and possibly Gabriel Siqueira, co-incubators of the WikiDeal project, which also includes Florence Devouard (VP from Ynternetl.org). Both presenters have experience in public speaking, including TEDx talks.

Alignment with Wikimania

This presentation will demonstrate how WikiDeal aligns with Wikimania's core themes, offering a concrete example of how the principles of open collaboration and community governance can be applied beyond encyclopedic knowledge to create a more inclusive, impactful, and sustainable economic system.

Examples

Services: WikiDeal facilitates peer-to-peer services such as ticketing, transportation, freelance contracts, and internships.

Rentals: Users can utilize WikiDeal for renting various items, including hosting, vehicles, and clothes.

Goods: The platform supports buying and selling goods, such as real estate, food, and machines.

Loans: WikiDeal can be used for money loans, including microcredits.

Partnerships: Users can establish various partnerships through the platform, such as employment agreements, prenuptial agreements, and co-owning arrangements.

Multi-stakeholder deals: WikiDeal supports complex transactions like leasing, social contracts for shared real estate, private-public partnerships, franchising agreements, and joint ventures.

Community solutions: WikiDeal can facilitate agreements and contracts for volunteering, ecovillage management, and increasing security in a neighborhood.

Skill sharing and training: WikiDeal can be used to create programs for transmitting skills, such as machine repair, with contracts that outline the steps and complexity of the training.

Supporting specific professions: WikiDeal aims to help midwives in remote areas develop their work while minimizing legal risks.

Open-source collaboration: WikiDeal can be used for updating open-source ecology projects.

Recovery and reuse: Users can trade underutilized goods to reduce waste.