I love this that this space is truly a revolutionary open space free of corporate money making and living “off the grid,” so to speak. Created by, for, and funded by the Mutineers. Revolutionary, if defined as a space to create change, is what I think SM is able to do – an open free for all space for everyone in the community – and that they are able to do it successfully without dependency on corporate donations is truly what makes this space, well, revolutionary!

Ok. Off the soap box on how much I love SM.

I thank God, and all the Mutineers, that this site exists as it does, is commercial-free, and that people put their idealism into action like this. It’s one of the very first things I noticed about SM, and I initially couldn’t understand how it kept itself going. So I first thought the site was funded by a very wealthy Silicon Valley desi deca-millionaire, even thinking for a while that it might be Vinod!

Now NPR itself, of course is not completely ad-free, and even on its website you can see ads for high-end cars, etc, plus there’s a whole affinity paraphernalia sale strategy to help out with the funding, and local radio stations pay them a fee, and so on, and they raise some of it through corporate funding, etc. But I really hope SM succeeds in staying completely reader-funded, and completely commercial-free, just the way it is.

We do our public radio/tv-esque “pledge drive” annually, during which we are overwhelmed by the immediate and generous donations from those who love this site.

We didn’t write it out anywhere, we just decided, even those of us who are very pro-market that it was better this way.

Ah well, then again, if I added up all the time I spent commenting on the Mutiny, I’d probably have enough time to pitch in and help run some small part of the show.

I’m just afraid of losing my job. Because I know, the Mutiny? She is a harsh mistress.

too bad i can’t program, i’d be stoked to be a part of this.