Sustainable agriculture cooperative living, financially supported by writing software (preferably games but whatever floats people's boats), with lotsa art too (which might provide financial support as well though its main purpose is to have more creative stuff...). I want to get a chunk of land, attempt to maintain low impact ecologically sound and energy efficient living space with a nice fat net connection and the right chunk of people to make it work.
This is a serious goal. Given it is spring 1995 when I write this, target dates for starting up are summer 1997 (early side) to 2000 (late side but possibly very portentious). Right now things are in the dream stage, lots of real work will be needed to move to a reality, and part of that work is sharing this dream with people and getting them into it.
I think it is certainly possible, I just want to get a couple years working in the game industry, get a handle on all aspects of the business and build up some capital to start up the community. Then take off, start the community (focus is on economic sufficiency first, then ecological sufficiency, since the government. will take everything away if you can't pay, and the earth is a lot more forgiving...), and make games and art, etc. etc. :) Use the Net for distribution of anything that we can't find a publisher for, use the net for self promotion, to showcase the stuff we do, etc., use it to connect to remote members of the community (I.e. my brother wouldn't be into living in a community like that probably, but would be willing to do music for games, entertainment stuff, art projects, etc. and the net would allow that to happen easily. :) ). Basically I want to have a creative collective, rather like the Winter Term I and many recipients of this letter spent working on the LFRP, only
The expensive parts are equipment costs, software purchases, net connection fees. If enough people do it, land/housing shouldn't be too bad (particularly if enough care is taken finding a spot to set up the community, somewhere with low property taxes, and low cost of living.) I mean at Oberlin, a house, plus food, is a couple hundred a month for each resident. So in a more rural area where more property can be had for a similar price, things start looking pretty possible. I figure if everybody comes in with a good chunk of cash (what is a good chunk? I'l know in a couple years when I have hard estimate for all this stuff), and a desire to make it work, there isn't any reason it wouldn't reach a self-sustaining level, and if we make a few hit games or really good art, etc. it could even be very profitable (The computer game industry is VERY profitable in general, and I think I have good ideas for games, I think the people I want to do this have good ideas for stuff, I think it can work, I just want to get a few years of work and research taken care of before venturing into it.).
Basically, I don't want to work for a company. I don't want to be part of a pyramid. I want to work for a community, I want to be part of a circle. I want to be with my friends in an environment that focuses on creating ideas, on art, on friendship, I want all the good things about Oberlin, mixed with enough real world savy that it can last as long as the community wants it to. I want to be able to be involved in crafting incredible experiences for people, I want to make dreams, and I don't think that that will be realized within the confines of traditional businesses. I NEVER want to program in COBOL, or write SQL database stuff. I don't want to get stuck in a job where my creativity is limited by decree rather than consensus. And incidentally I think it is the most likely way that I will become successful, happy, famous, financially stable, etc. etc. etc. Working for the Internet Group has shown me that startups can work, and that gave me hope that my desired blend of communal living with an environment of creativity would give the buffer to ensure the long term economic success of the community.
Well that was long. :) I don't know if the idea appeals to you or not, I hope it does, as you are 1) one of my best friends and I miss you, 2) a creative individual with important skills, valuable insights, and a whole bundle of creative energy, and 3) if people like you don't find it at least slightly interesting, who will I be able to get to do this with me? It won't work as a one man community. Although consensus would be easier to reach and house meetings would tend to be brief. :) 4) even if the idea of making games doesn't appeal, as long as people contribute to the community they are welcome, and with luck anybody who wants to do other things taking advantage of the net connection, will be able to do so. As long as people want to be part of the community, to contribute and make it work, we're not going to turn people away. We need earth shapers, plant growers, art makers, singers, dancers, dreamers. We need people with magic inside them to share. (Yes you all received the above paragraph, and yes, it is true of everybody that I send this version to.)
I want to create a place for bright creative people to live and work, to live in a way that values and rewards the act of creation, I want to see people building 30ft tall wooden sculptures, I want to see people rendering castles and animating dragons, I want to see people making costumes and running taverns, I want to build a trebuchet and broadcast object hurlings over CU-SeeMe. I want to have canvases, sheets of paper, art supplies scattered about in front of digital cameras connected to the community web server so that at any instant anybody in the world can look at a random camera's output and see a new work of art in progress, or a blank canvas, or a finished work, or life or 42 or whatnot. I want to see people fighting with foam weapons, testing new FX. I want to sit around bonfires and tell stories. I want to create, I want to be with people who create, and I want to share our creations with the world.
So, are you in? :) Tell me what you think, tell me what you feel. There is a place for everyone and each person who wants to make this dream real makes it just that more likely. The more feedback I get the more the dream takes form, and the more it will match people's desires. I want it to be more than just my dream, I want it to appeal to enough people for it to actually work. If this becomes a reality we will have created something very special in the world. I want this dream to become my reality and I'd love it if you want it to be part of your reality too.