Observatory: Online Community Migrations to WikiDeal
| Migration Observatory | |
| Type | Community onboarding & tracking |
| Target | Existing communities, cooperatives, platforms |
| Principle | Keep your brand, use WikiDeal contracts |
| Status | 🟡 Active — accepting migrations |
1. Why Migrate to WikiDeal?
Many online communities and cooperatives already have an existing user base, their own branding, and established workflows. However, they often face:
- Rising platform costs and fees
- Loss of control over their data and contracts
- Legal uncertainty around their agreements
- Declining activity or "platform fatigue"
WikiDeal offers a commons-based alternative: communities can keep their branding, logo, and identity while migrating their contractual Infrastructure to WikiDeal. The key difference: all contracts signed by users become WikiDeal contracts — validated by lawyers on the WikiDeal wiki, governed by transparent terms, and backed by the community arbitration system.
2. The Migration Principle
| What you keep | What changes |
|---|---|
| Your logo and visual identity | Contracts are WikiDeal contracts (lawyer-validated) |
| Your community and user base | Terms & conditions reference the WikiDeal wiki |
| Your domain name and branding | Arbitration via WikiDeal's arbitration authority |
| Your internal governance | Data hosted on commons Infrastructure (Swiss hosting) |
| Your pricing model | Transparent Commission model (1–2% at cost) |
3. Target Communities
🚕 Taxi & Ride-sharing Cooperatives
Local taxi cooperatives competing with Uber who want to abandon proprietary databases and move to a commons-based contract system with shared Infrastructure — without the corporate overhead.
🏠 Cooperative Housing & Real Estate
Communities managing cooperative housing, shared living spaces, or community land trusts that need standardised, lawyer-validated contracts for their members.
💰 Microcredit & Mutual Aid Networks
Existing microcredit circles, tontines, or mutual aid groups that want transparent, auditable contracts and a proper arbitration framework.
👶 Childcare & Babysitting Networks
Parent groups and babysitting cooperatives that (illustrative example) operate informally and want to formalise their agreements. WikiDeal's pilot portal.
🐕 Pet Care Communities
Pet sitting and dog walking networks seeking standardised service contracts.
📚 Tutoring & Education Cooperatives
Groups of tutors, teachers, or mentors who want to offer their services through a commons-based platform with fair contracts.
🔧 Tool Libraries & Sharing Economies
Tool lending libraries, makerspaces, and sharing cooperatives that need lending agreements and liability contracts.
🎵 Artist & Freelancer Collectives
Musician cooperatives, freelance designer collectives, and artist guilds seeking fair contract templates and transparent Commission structures.
💔 Mediation & Separation Services
Existing mediation services for unmarried couples who want to use WikiDeal's amicable separation framework.
🌐 Any Existing Platform in Decline
Any application with existing users that is losing momentum and wants to migrate to a commons environment shared with others who share the same values and mechanisms.
4. Migration Process
The community leader or cooperative board contacts WikiDeal (via the platform, email, or Telegram).
A WikiDeal facilitator evaluates the community's needs: number of users, types of contracts, branding requirements, data migration needs.
WikiDeal maps the community's existing agreements to WikiDeal contract templates. New templates are created on the wiki if needed.
Volunteer lawyers on WikiDeal review and validate the adapted contracts for the community's jurisdiction.
User data is migrated (with consent) to WikiDeal's Infrastructure. The community keeps its branding and domain.
The community goes live on WikiDeal. Users sign new WikiDeal-based contracts. The old platform can be maintained in read-only mode during transition.
WikiDeal provides ongoing support through the internal observatory, with regular check-ins and community feedback loops.
5. Success Metrics
- Number of communities that have migrated or are in process
- Number of users migrated
- Types of contracts adapted
- User satisfaction post-migration
- Cost savings compared to previous platform
- Legal disputes resolved through WikiDeal arbitration
6. Open Call: Share Your Migration Story
If your community has migrated or is considering migrating to WikiDeal, we want to hear from you. Share your experience, challenges, and suggestions through our Open Call process. Your feedback helps improve the migration framework for future communities.
→ See also: About WikiDeal | Living Labs | Open Call | Governance | Planned Obsolescence