So, a quick comment on VC-funded companies with products in the fediverse.
My company, StatusNet, was venture funded. I don't know how we could have run identi.ca for so long for so many people without that funding.
I think it's hard to get a 10x return in markets where open standards prevail. But I'm happy to see people try.
As long as the fediverse remains diverse and competitive, and community, coop and family servers have a place, I'm not opposed to commercial companies participating.
@evan It’s hard to do anything without funding.
Despite this, people get pissed off when the reality is stated bluntly.
Many people get upset when I tell them that Mastodon and community admins require a way to fund their ventures. But people need to feed their families.
@atomicpoet I'm really, really excited about cooperative models. I think we're moving in the right direction there.
@evan @atomicpoet we've successfully run a forum with a cooperative for 13 years. It's a fantastic model if you've got some folks willing to volunteer time.
@tehstu @evan @atomicpoet fwiw, doma.dev has coop layer where we pool resources to get contractors and implement features. And #RaganaPress, a company for #TTRPG e-publishing I cofounded so far runs on people donating time to write (and draw) tabletop adventures. My biggest business, however, is very normal and not cooperative, but it's still a little wholesome, because we have a ban on redistribution of profits in the official company rules.
@tehstu @evan @atomicpoet as you can imagine, I'm not into making businesses for sale, nor do I respect VC (unless it's #VerifiableCredentials).