Re: [Snowdrift-design] Audio for intro-to-snowdrift video
While I really appreciate the insights and perspective from the story approach Michael presented, it feels far too contrived to me. I'd like to see if we can capture some feel of the story-style narrative without pushing the limits too hard. The problem I have with the story is that anything a little too far-fetched is hard to accept. People don't have the experience of living in a town that has no tax-funded public services. Perhaps if the story were described as a rural road out of town where there's no mayor or such, then it's just the individuals in the houses in the neighborhood dealing with the challenge of cooperation without an existing government structure for support. At any rate, the big issue is that Robert (alone among everyone in this regard, I think) feels that (A) we need to be able to talk to people about "solving the snowdrift dilemma" and the idea that e.g. Patreon doesn't "solve the snowdrift dilemma" etc. so have a core thing we get people to understand as "the snowdrift dilemma" which itself is the core cooperation dilemma, and so (B) any reference to toll-roads etc. shouldn't be a factor that people come to associate with "the snowdrift dilemma" because it brings up different dilemmas. I still do not agree with Robert's view, but I do think there's an important question about where the toll-road issue comes in when explaining things. So, I'm going to start a new thread on the discussion list about this question. One last point about Michael's story: I don't like the wordings that say "The same way it was hard for the townspeople to cooperate to clear the snowdrift, it's hard for people to cooperate to fund creation of 'public goods' that benefit us all." That and related wordings really push the idea that it's just a metaphor. I would rather say "the same dilemma applies to other public goods…" because that expresses that the snowdrift dilemma is an example, not just a metaphor. If we say "the snowdrift dilemma is an example of a public goods problem" that's just true completely and not a metaphor. When we say "software funding faces the snowdrift dilemma", it becomes a metaphor. Anyway, if we *directly* apply crowdmatching to the snowdrift problem, it's not a matching of volunteer time (although that's possible, it's not what we're doing). Instead, it's just crowdmatched funding to pay for the snow-plow. The accurate version of the story accepting a mayor and government is either (A) "so we passed a new tax to fund snow-clearing in the future" (that's it) or (B) "we tried to pass a new tax, but the people were opposed to new taxes, so came up with the best voluntary alternative: we set up a crowdmatching pledge where each of us agreed to pay a little bit times the number of donors to our snow-clearing fund, and thus we built up an adequate fund and were able to hire a snow-plow on our own terms, which meant no toll gates and billboards!" Anyway, will post to discuss list my bigger thought. signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ Design mailing list Design@lists.snowdrift.coop https://lists.snowdrift.coop/mailman/listinfo/design
Re: [Snowdrift-design] Audio for intro-to-snowdrift video
On 10/17/2016 09:16 AM, mray wrote:
>
>
As I mentioned in the meeting today, I think a more story-oriented, less
academic approach would be preferable (though it would be good to have
rigorous academic-style explanations available somewhere for those who
want them, but probably text and images rather than video would be fine
for that). I've drafted a script to illustrate what I mean. It's
longish - reading it aloud took me just over 2 minutes - and I'm not
suggesting it as a final draft, but more just something to illustrate a
different approach that I think could be more engaging for a wider range
of people. It has two voices - narrator and character, in order to
combine a personal story approach with a third-person explanatory approach:
```
{Narrator voice}
Here's a riddle for you: How is creating software, music, movies, etc,
like clearing a snowdrift?
{Character voice}
“A few years ago, the only road out of our town was blocked by a
snowdrift. If enough of us had worked together, we could have cleared it
in no time. But I wasn't going to spend hours shoveling it on my own, or
with just a few fellow shovelers. Seems everyone else felt the same way,
so the snowdrift just sat there. Nobody could get in or out of town for
days.”
“Eventually the snowdrift melted and a slick sales guy drove into town.
He offered us guaranteed snow removal in return for letting “Tolls R Us,
Incorporated” charge tolls, track our driving habits, and plaster the
roadside with 'smart' billboards that would show ads targeted to whoever
was driving by.”
“Nobody wanted tolls, surveillance, or billboards on our beautiful
scenic road. But nobody wanted to be trapped by a snowdrift again, either.”
“Just as our mayor was about to reluctantly sign on the dotted line,
some kid yelled out 'Stop! There's a better way!'”
“You know what? That kid's idea really worked! We call it
/crowdmatching/. Now, anytime a snowdrift needs clearing, a crowd of
people shows up, willing to spend 1 minute shoveling for every 10 people
who shovel too. Last time, 100 people showed up. With 100 people each
willing to shovel for 10 minutes, that poor snowdrift didn't stand a
chance!”
{Narrator voice}
You might not be too concerned about snowdrifts, but we're all actually
in a similar situation with digital goods like music, software, movies,
news, and research.
The same way it was hard for the townspeople to cooperate to clear the
snowdrift, it's hard for people to cooperate to fund creation of 'public
goods' that benefit us all.
As a result, many good things don't get created at all, while others get
encumbered with artificial restrictions, ads, and surveillance.
The Snowdrift.coop crowdmatching system creates a viable way to provide
sustainable crowdfunding for projects that create free and open public
goods.
You just make a pledge that says, "Each month, l'll chip in a little for
each person who joins me!"
Working together, we can clear the path to a free and open future for
everyone!
```
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Re: [Snowdrift-design] Audio for intro-to-snowdrift video
When this video is complete, I'd like to make it into a series of gifs with text, to post on imgur (which, issues with the platform aside, has a large community that I think might be sympathetic to our cause) or elsewhere. ___ Design mailing list Design@lists.snowdrift.coop https://lists.snowdrift.coop/mailman/listinfo/design
Re: [Snowdrift-design] Audio for intro-to-snowdrift video
On 16.10.2016 02:19, Aaron Wolf wrote: >> It is like saying: "we could all work together or – fly over the >> snowdrift with our private helicopters, but patrol is too expensive and >> little timmy lost the helicopter keys!" >> > > No, because the one and only snowdrift dilemma is "how do we get a clear > road (and generally keep roads clear)?" We have not deviated from that > by saying that taxes or toll-roads are ways to get clear roads. Your > helicopter example suggests alternative ways around the entire issue of > transportation. Our dilemma is fixed on a very specific setting and has a defined amount of possible outcomes. A dilemma is nothing but a matrix of outcomes. The toll-roads are not part of any such matrix. That makes them by definition not part of our *Dilemma* even if we stick them inside our *Metaphor*. Dilemma != Metaphor I agree that you can invent a dilemma where toll-roads are part of a matrix - but that clearly isn't ours. "How do we get a clear road (and generally keep roads clear)?" is a question, not a dilemma. It may end up in one, but to do so you'd have to narrow down its outcomes. You'd have many possible answers to choose from: - shovel away the snow - heat up roads so they don't get covered by snow - control weather so it does not snow that much - build a roof over the roads - ... - ...you get the picture You could only end up with a dilemma if you chose one path and map all its possible outcomes to a matrix. So, the toll-road is *disguised* as a new solution out of our dilemma, when in fact it is not. It is ONLY part of a separate decision that may lead to the dilemma. That decision had multiple outcomes that are not mapped in any matrix/dilemma: 1. shovel snow (face the dilemma) 2. pay tolls 3. do both (support CC and use DRM) 4. climb over the snowdrift and walk (use only CC) 5. ... 6. ... The word "dilemma" unfortunately is easily used for the whole Metaphor. This makes it harder to understand that billboards, cameras and toll-roads are no alternative "way out" of the dilemma. They are only a metaphor for why you may agree to accept the challange to deal with a dilemma. I see a solution to all this by first pointing out that we agree that free/sharable goods are something we all appreciate; Neither mentioning "dilemma" in THAT context, nor stuffing it into the same metaphor as our dilemma. Just setting a premise. Keeping it "snow free" so to speak. After that we can go FULL DILEMMA and care about shovels and snow! ... >> >>> I think the unsolved problem is to organize financial project support in *direct relation* to the scope of public relevance. – Which is where we can often spot a shocking discrepancy: Relevance != $upport Our goal is to leverage exactly and only at this point. >>> >>> Yes, the nuanced truth is that it's a continuum from no support to full >>> potential, and we rarely are at either extreme. But that's too nuanced >>> for the video, unless we take the time to express this further (like >>> talking of some people who love shoveling snow). >>> >> >> I can see how talking about "releveant projects" vs. "projects" can make >> that difference already. As you said it does not have to transport all >> nuances. It is enough if we somehow limit participation instead of >> underlining our goal to be open for everything (which would be the >> expected default I guess) >> > > Right, but for the video, I think "relevant" is implied. Why would we be > talking about anything irrelevant? > Because all free work is relevant to most of us, as a concept, even the "non-relevant" work. signature.asc Description: OpenPGP digital signature ___ Design mailing list Design@lists.snowdrift.coop https://lists.snowdrift.coop/mailman/listinfo/design
