Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last month

When I posted yesterday about Frequency, the federated photo-sharing service;

https://mastodon.nzoss.nz/@strypey/114679152915697804

... various technical difficulties distracted me from the main thing I wanted to comment on. Which is the false dichotomy that digital services can either be paid for via ads, or individual subscriptions. As @jesseplusplus points out, the subscription model of apps can be collective rather than individual. That's the model for the Bridge Seat hosting co-op I've been working on.

#subscriptions
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last month

(1/?)

@jesseplusplus
> Subscriptions are hard and expecting everyone to have one can exclude the very folks that need an alternative place

100%. Yet you're also right that these services require workers, who deserve to be paid. So the sweet spot is making it easy and normal for those who can pay to subsidise those who can't.

There's a range of ways of doing that which work in theory. We're still in the early stages of figuring out which ones will work, under which circumstances.
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last month

(2/?)

The Bridge Seat concept is that community groups and organisations pay a monthly subscription for a managed server, to host accounts for their members. Similar to what @snikket_im are doing, offering managed Snikket group chat servers to groups;

https://snikket.org/hosting/#frequently-asked-questions

Whether it will work for us depends on how many orgs can afford a subscription, and how many of those we can convince of the benefits.
Strypey
@strypey@mastodon.nzoss.nz  ·  activity timestamp last month

(3/3)

@jesseplusplus
> I have yet to see if my group / family subs are the right way to approach it

One precedent you could look at is CloudIsland.nz. @aurynn made it a paid service from day 1, but says right upfront;

"If you can't afford our subscription fee but would like to join anyway, please reach out via the contact information above!"

https://cloudisland.nz/about