[Fsfe-france] Re: The Community is the Company

[TonStanco]

Sorry for the long delay in response. I became very busy immediately after 
the last round and have been going to NY to met RMS for the last 2 days, 
which had very long commutes.

BTW, do you mind if we post these email exchanges on our site to help explain 
the CommCo?

> First, thanks for your time and patience, I finally understood why it
> could work.

It was fun. Thanks for your time and patience, too. Understanding the CommCo 
requires keeping a lot of new ideas in the air simultaneously, so it is not 
easy.

It is so complex that after the logic is worked out as best as we can, the 
only way to be sure is to test it by experiment. The proof is in the success. 
There is a very simple test to perform and that is to float it in a very 
small IPO. The purpose of the IPO will not be to raise money (which was the 
purpose of an IPO in the Industrial Age), since the amount raised will be de 
minimis ($50,000-100,000), but to test the CommCo structure. 

The theory is that in the Intellectual Age, the entities don't been money, 
but they do need community and a focal point. If I am right in the logic, the 
CommCo will grow from almost nothing to be the largest software company and 
replace all of the proprietary companies within 10 years. This is a big 
expectation, I know, but it follows from the efficiency gains of the free 
software development methodology that closed proprietary code cannot compete 
with. In a sense, proprietary companies are selling blocks of ice and we have 
just invented refrigeration.

>  I will think about this (I like building systems, especially social
>  ones), so I'll try to send you my results by the next weekend, I hope.

That would be very cool. I look forward to them.