Subscriptions
Embracing the Gift Economy
Published: 2023-10-16
Dear Readership/Listenership,
In response to community suggestions, subscriptions have been enabled.
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The greatest contribution which you are making to this newsletter is the gift of your time. I thank you deeply for this.
This is support. Money just pays bills or buys a microphone.
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Because no restrictions will be placed on accessing material it is immaterial as to which funds delivery method you may choose. Note, both BuyMeACoffee and Substack resolve to one payment processor, called "Stripe". [I can feel an article coming on ...]
Philosophy
On offer at this newsletter are over 2 years of publishing. This amounts to about 350 articles and 50 podcasts. These and everything else to come are offered for your interest as a gift, my participation in a gift economy.
I first came across this mixed barter/financial gift economy when reading Eric S. Raymond's Homesteading the Noosphere which followed The Cathedral and the Bazaar. These essays remain a major contribution to understanding the Free Software Movement. They form part of that author's role in re-branding Free Software into Open Source Software.
My embrace of the gift economy follows that of Caitlin Johnstone. If you would like to understand the manner in which I am approaching this gifting I've not found a better explanation of the motivation and philosophy behind it than hers. This is an excerpt from her article:
My patronage system is set up to be as close to a gift economy as possible, where I put out the best quality daily work I can regardless of whether I received any donations that day and patrons donate without getting anything in return beyond having donated. Anyone is allowed to re-publish my work or use it in any way they like, including making money off of it, with or without attribution, free of charge. [snip details of suggestions for monetizing redistribution]
This gift economy approach is what I suspect a healthy and awake human society will have in the future, so that’s what I try to embody in my livelihood.
Surveillance
Over a year ago when this newsletter enabled email notification a Public Service Announcement was made. It provided information about the surveillance which is inherent in Substack's email notification and monitoring. For this change, enabling subscriptions, the same warning is re-issued. The financial data exchange between you and the publishing account of YesXorNo will be recorded and potentially sold or used in other ways by Substack and its payment processor Stripe.
I am reminded of James Corbett and Evan Pilato who maintain an additional very different type of payment method, that of sending cheques in the post. This old, traditional form of payment delivery now appears subversive. I feel tempted to establish something similar. My motivation would be a little nostalgia and to require the surveillors to do some more work for their data.
Sources
Homesteading the Noosphere, Eric S. Raymod, Thyrus Enterprises/Eric S. Raymond's Home Page, 2002-08-02
The Cathedral and the Bazaar, Eric S. Raymond, Thyrus Enterprises/Eric S. Raymond's Home Page, 2002-08-02
Authoritative source: You're browser will warn you about an incorrect certificate. Explaining why you can ignore (accept) this warning for Mr Raymond's homepage would take too long. We'd have to revisit strange decisions made at Netscape in the 1990's during the later part of first Crypto War. Hence, the alternate URL used above which I am confident Mr Raymond would accept. The same reasoning is used for the Homesteading reference [authoritative].
Annual Write-Up On What I’m About And What I’m Doing Here, Caitlin Johnstone, CAITLIN JOHNSTONE, 2021-12-02
Subscriber Surveillance: A Public Service Announcement including the Fine Print, YesXorNo, 2022-08-10
Interesting Articles: 2023, late June, YesXorNo, 2023-06-23
Editorial: Audio Downloads with a Postscript on Gödel, YesXorNo, 2022-11-11
Culture
J. Haydn - Hob III：72 - String Quartet Op. 74 No. 1 in C major, performed by Festetics Quartet, ComposersbyNumbers, uploaded 2014-07-12
Copyleft: CC0
If I was not running low on fiat currency right now (I am experiencing 'self-publishing poverty') I would do a paid subscription for sure. I am however always extremely wealthy when it comes to defining my wealth by the diversity, quality and quantity of heirloom seeds I have saved from my garden, so if you would be interested in accepting heirloom seed donations as a gift I am all in for embracing the gift economy :)
Jeff,
Thanks again for your continued support.