Slowcore HQ

Devotional polytheist living a monastic lifestyle centered on curiosity, simplicity, and joy.  Exploring the intersection of technology and spirituality.

We (admins @thecurioushermit and I) are putting the /slowcore-hq channel into extended hibernation. 

We haven't lost interest in the FC-seeded slowcore movement. To the contrary: we think it’s much-needed! 

However, the Farconomy doesn't have economic models to sustainably fund ongoing maintenance efforts for channels. 

Some projects have made inroads in the right direction. But without realistic prospects of adequate compensation to cover basic costs for responsible channel stewardship, we'll struggle with moderator attrition and burnout. (We apologize for the backlog of pending membership requests).

The channel deserves better.

It doesn’t seem fair or responsible to ask others to take over the channel under these conditions either, since channels are not a priority for WC.

Maybe one day we’ll get a chance to turn /slowcore-hq into a sustainable cozy corner. 

For now, thanks for your camaraderie, fellow sloth people. We appreciate you.

Keep moving slow and preserving things. 🐢 🐌

Writer, senior editor, music nerd, GenX eldergoth, monastery-bootstrapper. https://paragraph.xyz/@danicaswanson https://tinyurl.com/Black-Stone-Wordsmith

SlowCoLab

For awhile we seriously considered launching a token, but we didn't see a realistic path to long-term sustainability through that route. 

In hindsight, I'm convinced that our decision not to launch a token turned out to be part of what helped this channel feel more welcoming. As @beylin has written, the community is not the product.

Glad to hear you've appreciated this channel. Thanks for the kind words.

If we ever find a viable way to fund the maintenance work required for responsible channel stewardship, we'd love to consider reviving the channel.

In the meantime, we'd be happy to see others cast about the slowcore concept elsewhere. 

Be sure to visit /slow-co-lab too, if you haven't already.

Fellow sloth people.. The Facaster in me imagines a token and meme. 😅 

I understand and think this decision fits the channel so well. No rush to make it into something that doesn't fit or serve. Thank you for the thoughtful approach and amazing content. It was thought-provoking and added a flavor I didn't find in other spaces here.

I appreciate all your efforts and I'm glad you're prioritizing wellness. ❤️

Artsy-fartsy dog mom. Owner of /acrafterscove and I collab with /blxstonesnctuary. trishd.bsky.social

Thanks to you, too, for your work as a co-admin for the channel and the designer of our PFP. If we ever do find a way to make this channel economically sustainable, we'll reward that early work appropriately.

This is completely understandable. Thanks so much to you and @thecurioushermit for keeping the channel going as long as you have.

I'll always think back to the slowcore people lovingly while sipping tea from my sloth mug. 

We'll keep the spirit of slow alive in our lives, channel or not (although it'd be nice if we started to figure out ways to translate this into social spaces for humans).

These are tough problems! Glad you're thinking about them.

I think business models that rely primarily or exclusively on revenues from fans voluntarily supporting an individual writer (or even groups of writers) through subscriptions or crowdfunding campaigns are unlikely to be sustainable long-term. Most of those who make it work are receiving some sort of subsidy elsewhere, but that reality is often concealed.

One limiting factor is human labor. For most writers, I'm not convinced that the long-term returns will ever be sufficient to justify taking on the side-hustle labor (e.g., design, marketing, audience-building, and admin support for the crowdfund or subscription as a thing in itself) on top of creative work. Some do pull it off, but at what cost?

So should we publish deep dives "free" and monetize elsewhere? That's an open question I think about often, especially with the proliferation of AI. Here's an article I'm thinking about a lot lately:

https://www.combinationsmag.com/post-cognitive-income/

Thanks for the kind words and the suggestion. 

We considered crowdfunding but decided against it. We aren't convinced that it would be a long-term sustainable way to fund a small cozy corner channel that prefers to stay small. 

We've bootstrapped and self-subsidized the channel out of pocket for almost a year in the hopes that we'd eventually find a sustainable (non-extractive) economic model to support it. But our "runway" has come to an end, so that forced our hand.

For more of the thought process, see this thread.

building /cabin, advising /clanker and /farcon | grin.io

Thanks for the kind words and the suggestion. 

We considered crowdfunding but decided against it. We aren't convinced that it would be a long-term sustainable way to fund a small cozy corner channel that prefers to stay small. 

We've bootstrapped and self-subsidized the channel out of pocket for almost a year in the hopes that we'd eventually find a sustainable (non-extractive) economic model to support it. But our "runway" has come to an end, so that forced our hand.

For more of the thought process, see this thread.

https://warpcast.com/danicaswanson/0xc294f6a5

Thanks for your work. Really enjoyed this channel!

Have you considered just asking people to pay you what they feel. Maybe via hypersub or patreon?

Warpcast

 /degentlemen # 6
Father. GenX Memelord: /free-dad-advice   
Host: /degroleagues-gsn
Things I know: /weknowdis 
Things I don’t: /suckit

Merkle has been clear about their priorities, which have changed since this channel launched. I respect their work and I believe they're doing their best. 

But I think funding to sustain quality contributors (not just for engagement) is the biggest unsolved issue. The ecosystem as a whole needs to figure out how to fund work like this for the long term.

We are all wondering what exactly IS the priority for /warpcast 🤷

positioning rants 🚀; bringing you ✍️ /buildbetter, 🎙️ /artistspotlight and🎙️ /web3magic; De*** & open-source HW/SW enthusiast; https://nf.td/bfg

No, I'm not leaving FC. But I'll admit that I'm exhausted and having a tough time lately. Some days I question why I even still bother with crypto.

I'm also actively looking for clients elsewhere, which will reduce the time I'm able to spend here.

I can't speak for @thecurioushermit, but I think her academic schedule is ramping up, so...

With Cura at @openrank.
Experienced product marketer in digital identity & security solutions. Crypto-native and passionate about Web3 & blockchain innovation.

onchain reputation at karma3labs and @openrank

Thanks... actually @anmworld3 had already contacted me about Cura previously. I've read the Cura docs and I've recently used the Cura dashboard too. Nice work.

I'm glad to hear you're working on sustainable economic models to support moderation duties for channels. I'll definitely keep an eye on your work.

its a great point, we're trying to make channels not only a fun experience but also provide an economic model for the mods/community. would love to show you a demo of Cura. cc @anmworld3