Camerapedia:Community Discussions/Future of Camerapedia

This page has been created to host a debate on the future of Camerapedia. Don't forget to sign your posts on this discussion page, by using the signature button on top of the editing window.

I have created this page to host a debate on the future of Camerapedia, and more specifically to discuss how to incorporate the informal community into some sort of structure, in order to raise fundings to pay for the hosting service.

As you may know, the website's founder Lbstone has generously paid for the server for a number of years, out of his own pocket, and has taken care of the technical maintenance. This is a situation that is not sustainable, and the community needs to find alternative ways to guarantee its future.

A few weeks ago, I have offered Lbstone to enter a private discussion with him on that matter (see this message of mine). Through this discussion, I have learned developments that I wish had been made known to the general community earlier.

I am now setting up this page so that Lbstone can explain what are the options he is currently exploring, and into what sorts of negotiations he has already entered with third parties.

I have asked Lbstone to launch the debate himself, but this has not been done and I now feel like this cannot wait any longer. I will give more specific details of the situation myself tomorrow if he does not jump into the public discussion.

--rebollo_fr 07:29, 15 January 2011 (EST)

Here's a quick response from me on the mailing list. I hope it helps. My family has had a cluster of birthdays recently, so I'm busy focusing on them at the moment. Will jump in on this as soon as I can. Thanks!

http://groups.google.com/group/camerawiki/msg/dc09c1fb1337ecf1

--Lbstone 11:25, 15 January 2011 (EST)

I'm supposíng that we'll find a way keeping this great non-commercial encyclopedia alive, but if it needs a kind of rebirth I hope that we'll have reason to celebrate that birthday together ;-) U. Kulick 14:13, 15 January 2011 (EST)

I am waiting for Brandon to post his views and comments before I respond in detail. Unless that is known, much will be just stabbing in the dark. That notwithstanding, it should be noted that Camerapedia is a unique web resource that has been built by all contributors, myself included, pro bono publico (for the common good) without any remuneration--and under the implicit, and on occasion explicit, understanding that the intellectual property which has been donated by the contributors is not 'owned' by a party for commercial gain.--GitzoCollector 13:19, 16 January 2011 (EST)

Organization proposal

I am still extremely interested at hearing Lbstone explain his plans for the website's future. Waiting for that, I would like to make my own proposal to the community.

1. The money currently needed to run the website is in the order of $60 per month. This amount may be moderately revised upwards in the future if the traffic increases.
2. Some sort of structure is needed to raise that money. One option is to create a non-profit organization (see important note below); this is what looks most reasonable to me.
3. The members of the authoring community would have the choice to become members of the organization, by making a small contribution on an annual basis, with a low minimum amount.
4. The organization's founding board would be made of volunteer contributors with a good track record of constructive edits. The organization's statutes would be public, and elections might be organized later.
5. Donate tags would be placed on the website, and fund-raising campaigns would be made in order to drive more money if necessary.
6. In case of absolute necessity, unobtrusive advertising space or easily recognizable sponsored links might be sold on behalf of the organization. This would only be made after a public debate has been run.
7. The organization would compromise itself to function on a non-profit basis, and not to sell the website to a commercial third-party.
8. It is absolutely necessary that all the legal trademarks and domain names be transferred to the organization. Of course this would require that their current owner Lbstone either donates or sells them.

Important note: I have no particular knowledge of the US law, and I have no clear view of what is the legal status of a "foundation". However I do understand the inner workings of non-profit voluntary associations in my own country (France). Under that system, associations are tax-free and do not require any capital, provided they are not making a profit. I know for sure that Sylvain Halgand's huge French camera collecting site is managed through a system similar to that proposed above.

Here are further thoughts on more specific points:

• The technical maintenance of the website is certainly doable by volunteers. It is done by Halgand, and in many other websites involving complex databases. However this is a non-trivial task. I have a limited experience of running a Mediawiki site myself, but I would like to make an appeal at other volunteers who have experience of Mediawiki, PHP or MySQL.
• The amount of time needed to run the association is certainly not negligible. (Though any affirmation that running the association would actually cost money or require to hire staff would be ridiculous.) I may have to take advice from Halgand or from other associations that I know here. In any case, people having some accounting experience are welcome to come forward and give advice too.

--rebollo_fr 17:08, 17 January 2011 (EST)

That's an ambitious plan, and something I considered in trying to decide how to best continue to guarantee the future stability of this site. It's also a risky plan. The costs of running a wiki are not insignificant, and will only get larger as we continue to grow. In addition, the resources needed will increase too... and yes, that may include staff time. Volunteers are key to any wiki of course, however a growing site also needs an organization that can provide stability and consistent staffing over the long term. There is always the risk that any one person we rely on will move on over time. The best option for a the long-term is a stable, established, and reliable host with professional staffing to support the wiki and it's growth. I've been looking in to that and should have more information soon. --Lbstone 15:15, 18 January 2011 (EST)