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Real commons

Reason Commons

Rufus Pollock and David Joseph

Published 22 October 2026
Release 2026-10-22.1

Question 2 of 6 · In the way

What stands in the way?

What is happening now, and why.

Statements: 18
Connections: 10

How to read it. Read from the bottom up: each arrow means “contributes to”.

ProblemCauseObservation

Not yet connected

These statements have no published connection yet.

Problems 1

ProblemAccepted for nowRufus and David do not know who their users are in general, though for the nonprofit-oriented version they have candidate communities in the AI-risk debate, effective altruism and Second Renaissance.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph

Observations 4

ObservationAccepted for nowRufus and David both want the work to become a startup as well as seek philanthropic funding, and do not want it to depend on philanthropic funding in the long term; David is, if anything, keener on the startup.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph ObservationAccepted for nowThe Reason Commons repository is released under the MIT licence from 2026-09-26, and Rufus and David are happy for all the software, the app included, to be MIT-licensed.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph ObservationAccepted for nowRufus and David agreed the goal of their collaboration on 2026-09-25.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph ObservationAccepted for nowDavid would want to test with a potential user if he had a demo he felt was coherent.Accepted for now by David Joseph

ProblemRufus and David have no resources for the work other than their own time.
- ↑ contributes to
  - ProblemRufus and David have not applied for funding.
- ↑ contributes to
  - ProblemRufus and David have no customers.
    - ↑ contributes to
      - ProblemRufus and David have seen no sign of product-market fit.
        ↑ contributes to
        ProblemNo one other than Rufus and David uses any app they have built.
        ↑ contributes to
        ProblemRufus and David cannot yet show an average user a clear picture of how they would use the product.
        ↑ contributes to
        ProblemRufus and David are not clear what the product should look like.
    - ↑ contributes to
      - ObservationRufus judges that selling the tool to companies is hard, because it needs teams to work, has to be sold at a senior level and is not a small subscription an individual buys.

ProblemDavid is held back from testing with potential users.
- ↑ contributes to
  - CauseDavid has limited interest in market testing and selling.
- ↑ contributes to
  - CauseDavid lacks confidence that there is a coherent product to demo.

ProblemRufus and David have no shared, structured way of turning the goal into action, covering who ships what, what counts as progress and what is next.
- ↑ contributes to
  - CauseRufus and David have not been clear on their goal, how they move towards it, or what is next.

Not yet connected

These statements have no published connection yet.

Problems 1

ProblemAccepted for nowRufus and David do not know who their users are in general, though for the nonprofit-oriented version they have candidate communities in the AI-risk debate, effective altruism and Second Renaissance.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph

Observations 4

ObservationAccepted for nowRufus and David both want the work to become a startup as well as seek philanthropic funding, and do not want it to depend on philanthropic funding in the long term; David is, if anything, keener on the startup.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph ObservationAccepted for nowThe Reason Commons repository is released under the MIT licence from 2026-09-26, and Rufus and David are happy for all the software, the app included, to be MIT-licensed.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph ObservationAccepted for nowRufus and David agreed the goal of their collaboration on 2026-09-25.Accepted for now by Rufus Pollock and David Joseph ObservationAccepted for nowDavid would want to test with a potential user if he had a demo he felt was coherent.Accepted for now by David Joseph

Where this comes from

In the Logical Thinking Process this view is a current reality tree. How a commons works →