Comments on Inline...: Notes from iDemocracy Camp

when The popular comment layout is common, so it i...

2010-02-09T00:34:31.893+05:30

when The popular comment layout is common, so it is easily recognized scanning to post a comment. If the comment section is in a different format, then I am going to spend more time trying to decipher what everything means.

online education

IMHO, sustainability is not necessary for situatio...

2009-06-10T18:15:03.820+05:30

IMHO, sustainability is not necessary for situations where the NGO seeks to fix an existing government system.

In these cases, I think the NGO should have a clear exit strategy on how the process will be sustained. It is the government (funded by our taxes) that should be doing it in the long term, not the NGO.

IMHO, each NGO should strive to become sustainable...

2009-06-09T19:11:03.365+05:30

IMHO, each NGO should strive to become sustainable. But if done pre-maturely or hastily, it could make the NGO appear partisan or armed with an hidden agenda.

For eMoksha, our goal is to build trust and goodwill around the brand, before attempting to monetize existing efforts. The main reason being, current operating costs are not high enough to warrant diverting our attention/effort towards monetization.

I am one of those who hold the view that profit is...

2009-06-08T10:44:34.020+05:30

I am one of those who hold the view that profit is anathema for 'open' projects. The reason I do is because it, profit, irrespective of motive does have the tendency to skew priorities...

hey prashant, the point is also that ads from pol...

2009-06-07T12:32:55.637+05:30

hey prashant,

the point is also that ads from political parties were allowed. Even otherwise, just with google ads... people in the blogging community are aware of the little control that the publisher has on those ads(especially google ads! but what about the majority which is not familiar with this?), but invariably ads of political parties like in the recent elections advani's ads only show up considering content matches.... i am not suggesting that it is incorrect... but suggesting an alternate monetizing strategy, so that their credibility does not get lost out!

@edsley, putting up Ads served by a neutral 3rd pa...

2009-06-07T12:21:04.091+05:30

@edsley, putting up Ads served by a neutral 3rd party can hardly contribute to bias by the developers. I agree that if individual political parties were to directly put up banners on the sites, it might lead to credibility loss.

@arun, To clarify I have contributed to open source in my own small ways (googling my name should bring up a few). I dont see why anyone would want to contribute without no benefit from the process. I was actively involved when I was in college because OSS projects were living testimony of my development abilities. If you look at the Linux tree, you will see that a bulk of the contributions come from a very small set of folks (who work for corporations which indirectly benefit from the project). I wouldn't contribute to Wikipedia unless I am a regular user. My point of disagreement on OSM was very much in this aspect, unless I actually USE open street map regularly, there is no incentive for me to contribute. The road of least resistance to bring in additional contributors to OSM is by having a excellent services surrounding OSM.

P.S. I don't know enough to compare the Indian psyche with other cultures, but I'd lay my bets heavily that the concept of "self-center" didn't actually evolve from any one culture.

as they person who made that statement about india...

2009-06-07T11:34:18.439+05:30

as they person who made that statement about indian mentality, i stick by it. contribution by indians to community projects have been pathetic because they cant see any personal benefit from it.

everyone asks me why i contribute to wikipedia since i dont get paid. its the mentality.

arun

hey prashant, buy your phrase 'profitability" is a...

2009-06-07T11:08:47.037+05:30

hey prashant, buy your phrase 'profitability" is a crime, but in this case i guess it was more about credibility and unbiased view considering the vested intrest that profit making brings with it.