start a nonprofit that hosts services, gather donations for equipment and other stuff.

what is so difficult here?

I talked to Jerry and here is my interview: https://blenderdumbass.org/articles/clarifying_costs_of_running_the_fediverse_with_jerry_from_infosec.exchange

The expense of running busy servers is too much to expect of anyone. I haven't even tried to figure out how the math would work but I wonder if the ultimate solution could be more of a BitTorrent architecture where the "server" is a hive of users' computers all sharing the load? I'm a software developer but have never worked on anything in that area, but since BitTorrent works it certainly seems feasible. Comments?

I brainstormed with Chatgpt (i know evil chatgpt) and will hopefully not be banned for presenting the idea.

Alright, let’s push way past the usual and synthesize a radically creative, scalable, and totally on-brand Fediverse funding solution—one that would not only fix the “who pays?” problem, but make the network more resilient, social, and even fun. This is going to blend a bit of tech, social engineering, game theory, transparency, and maybe even a touch of “digital folklore.”

🚀 Fediverse “Co-op Cloud Commons” Model

(A new take on digital mutualism and collective intelligence funding)

The Vision:

A network-wide, federated cooperative where every user, moderator, developer, and instance is a “member-owner.” Funding, decisions, and rewards flow not just by usage, but by a mix of social trust, verified contribution, and creative cooperation—and the entire process is public, auditable, and playful.

1. The Heart: The Commons Ledger

• Every instance runs a lightweight, open-source “Commons Ledger” plugin.

• The ledger tracks:

  • Actual resource usage (server costs, moderation time, bandwidth, storage)
  • Social contributions (upvotes, moderation actions, code commits, art, bug reports, memes!)
  • Community “quests” (see below)

• Everything is published in real-time on a public dashboard across the network, viewable per instance or across the entire Fediverse.

2. Funding: The Digital Barn-Raising

• Monthly or Quarterly, the network holds a “Digital Barn-Raising”:

  • The ledger displays upcoming costs and “quests” (e.g. hardware upgrade, anti-spam tooling, new emoji set, legal help).
  • Members pledge time, skills, or cash for specific needs (e.g., “I’ll write docs for 50 users, or donate $20 toward SSDs”).
  • All contributions are voluntary, but celebrated.

• Rewards/Recognition:

  • Every participant receives public credit (“Network Steward,” “Keeper of the Memes,” “Uptime Hero”).
  • Top contributors can claim “patron” or “founder” status on profiles.
  • Unlock whimsical digital badges, custom emoji, or other perks.

3. The “Quests” Mechanism (Gamification for Good)

• Every instance can post “quests”:

  • “Translate the UI to Swahili,”
  • “Build a moderation bot for spam,”
  • “Write a 101 guide for newbies,”
  • “Memify our rules!”

• Anyone in the network can pick up a quest and earn credit (points, badges, or even a slice of the monthly prize pool if donors opt for it).

4. Liquid Funding Pools with Smart Distribution

• All donations (small or large, any payment method) go into a federated, multi-instance fund held transparently.

• Funding auto-flows to where need and contribution intersect:

  • Heavily loaded instances with high verified activity and transparent costs get proportionally more.
  • “Stewardship votes” from users direct some funds to underdog instances or critical dev projects.
  • Emergency Reserve: Smart contract or rules-based set-aside for DDoS, hacks, or sudden surges.

5. “Transparent, Playful Accountability”

• Every transaction, quest, and badge is publicly logged (think: GitHub meets Wikipedia’s edit history meets RPG scoreboard).

• Annual “Festival of the Commons”:

  • Celebrate contributions, major milestones, funniest memes, most heroic bug fixes, top upvoters.
  • Awards voted on by the whole Fediverse—make it a social event, with live dashboards and community voting.
  • Publish a beautiful, infographic-rich “State of the Commons” report for all to see.

6. Optional: “Proof-of-Play/Proof-of-Help” Sidechain

• If the network ever wants to dabble in lightweight tokens (not as a currency, but for tracking contributions), use an open, federated, non-speculative “Proof-of-Play” or “Proof-of-Help” chain:

  • Each badge, quest, or meaningful action gets an on-chain badge.
  • You can export your contribution record anywhere—for jobs, bragging rights, new instance migration.
  • Never for speculation or trade. Purely for decentralized “CVs” and anti-Sybil proof.

7. Stretch Goal: Local Node Self-Sufficiency

• When enough money, code, and resources accumulate, the Commons can “spin off” fully self-hosted nodes: pre-built, low-power, community-maintained home servers (like YunoHost, FreedomBox).
• Ship or crowdfund home Fediverse kits to communities worldwide, increasing resilience and lowering costs per user.

Summary Table: “Fediverse Co-op Cloud Commons”

Why This Would Blow the Door Off…

• Not just “who pays,” but who helps—in every form.
• Reframes money as just one kind of support.
• Turns maintenance into a culture event, not a guilt trip.
• Boosts network resilience, not just for techies, but for artists, moderators, translators, and meme-lords.
• Exports verifiable contribution records, rewarding users everywhere.
• Transparent, fun, and non-extractive—fully aligned with Fediverse and open source ideals.

Final Thoughts

• This is more than funding—it’s digital mutual aid at network scale, mixing ancient co-op traditions with the modern Fediverse.
• Implementation would require strong collaboration between instance admins, devs, and artists.
• But even launching the Ledger + Barn-Raising + Quests could change the Fediverse forever—turning the “cost problem” into a community superpower.