Recursive.eco
We Transform the Collective by Transforming Ourselves
We are joining the existing Free Software movement through an experiment in recursive public technology—where writing, reading, and sharing become acts of collective meaning-making. Our journaling tools invite you to reflect and discover meaning through writing. Our channels create spaces to read and learn from others' wisdom. Our studies inspire you to create art and understanding.
Recursive.eco
The Question
Can we create conditions where virtuous meaning emerges not as something we do, but as something the system itself generates and regenerates?
I have an underlying hypothesis that recursiveness becomes regeneration when it is achieved through virtuous meaning-making. If you think about it, recursiveness is just a how. Just like infrastructure is just a what. If directed toward passions, they might create chaos. But if directed towards virtue, they might create cosmos, even if in a virtual reality. We need to start practicing somewhere.
For recursiveness itself to spiral to order and not to chaos, it needs to be virtuous. So, if we can create a make belief world in which we are recursively creating meaning endlessly, it has to be virtuous. Virtue actually gets out of a theoretical framework and becomes a feature. If bugged, the recursiveness will stop. If embedded, maybe it will spread even outside its make believed original reality into the world out there.
The Potential
If done right, the potential is huge. Virtue is pretty scalable. Unlike material resources that diminish when shared, virtue multiplies through infinite synthesis—what you share, you gain—creating expanding cycles of mutual transformation that strengthen through participation.
Recursive Models in Action
Recursiveness isn't just theory—it's how many sustainable organizations thrive. Here are examples of recursive business models where giving freely creates value that sustains itself:
Understanding Recursive Processes
Recursion means the process improves itself through use. Each cycle creates better conditions for the next cycle.
Multi-rhythm recursive process
The Recursive Cycle
Share Freely
Create valuable tools, content, or services available to everyone
Community Builds
Free access attracts users who find value and form community
Value Creates Sustainability
Community members support through donations, premium services, or contributions
Resources Enable Sharing
Sustainable funding improves tools, attracts more users, strengthening the cycle
The Magic: Each cycle produces better tools and stronger community, creating conditions for even more generous sharing. The system becomes more capable through use.
Successful Recursive Models
👻 Ghost Model
Ghost demonstrates recursive business perfectly: their open-source software is free, which attracts users. Many users want hassle-free hosting, so they pay for Ghost(Pro). That revenue funds the nonprofit Ghost Foundation, improving the software, attracting more users, creating more Ghost(Pro) demand—a virtuous cycle.
"The more people use Ghost, the more demand there is for our paid service, the more revenue we make, the better the software gets, the more people use Ghost... and so on. It's a virtuous cycle."
🛠️ Open Source + Premium
Platforms like Vercel & Supabase give away powerful tools freely, building massive developer communities. Developers learn, build projects, and eventually need premium features for production. The free tier creates the very users who fuel the paid tier, while paid customers fund continued free access—recursive sustainability.
The Pattern: Free access builds community → Community creates demand for premium → Premium revenue sustains free access → Cycle continues
👨💻 Developer Consulting
Most successful open source developers, including Jon O'Nolan before Ghost, made their living contributing to free software while earning through consulting, custom implementations, and support services. This model lets developers build what they're passionate about while getting paid for their expertise—the free software demonstrates their skills and attracts clients.
The Cycle: Open source work builds reputation → Reputation attracts consulting clients → Client work funds more open source → Better software attracts more clients
Free Software & Recursive Publics
We are joining the existing Free Software movement through an experiment in recursive public technology—where writing, reading, and sharing become acts of collective meaning-making. Our journaling tools invite you to reflect and discover meaning through writing. Our channels create spaces to read and learn from others' wisdom. Our studies inspire you to create art and understanding.
Kelty defined the Free Software movement as a Recursive public, that is "a public that is vitally concerned with the material and practical maintenance and modification of the technical, legal, practical, and conceptual means of its own existence as a public; it is a collective independent of other forms of constituted power and is capable of speaking to existing forms of power through the production of actually existing alternatives."
—Christopher Kelty in Two Bits
We will try to operate in a way to contribute to this virtuous "recursiveness."
Conceiving Open Systems
Embedding recursiveness in everything we create, so that anyone can contribute to the infrastructure for the flourishing of virtuous meaning. Everybody wins with recursiveness: anyone can copy and host this website, and we hope people interested in our mission will help us debug and develop Recursive.eco further. The more people fork, remix, and build upon our work, the stronger the ecosystem becomes for everyone.
Coordinating Collaboration
Coordinating free software development through GitHub, coordinating meaning making through blogging, and recursive features.
Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0
Everything in Recursive.eco is released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0. This fosters an abundance mindset where knowledge multiplies through sharing, creating a true public square for collaborative meaning-making.
Share Freely: Copy, adapt, and build upon our work.
Share Alike: Your contributions join the commons, ensuring the cycle of abundance continues for all.
Terms of Use & Legal Notices
⚠️ Not a Substitute for Professional Care
Recursive.eco's wellness tools and journaling features are designed for personal reflection and growth. They are not a substitute for professional therapy, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or emergency, please contact:
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 (United States)
- Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
- Emergency Services: Call 911 or go to your nearest emergency room
Always consult with qualified healthcare professionals for medical and mental health concerns.
🤖 AI-Assisted Features
Some of our tools use AI to provide insights and suggestions. AI may provide inaccurate, incomplete, or inappropriate information. Users should critically evaluate all AI-generated content and not rely on it for important decisions, especially those affecting health, safety, or well-being.
🧪 Beta Version & Experimental Status
Recursive.eco is actively being developed and improved. You may encounter bugs, incomplete features, or changes to functionality. Known issues include:
- Authentication works with Gmail but may fail with some corporate email accounts
- Features may change or be removed without notice
- Data structures may change as we improve the platform
🔒 Privacy & Data Handling
Your personal reflections and journal entries are private by default and stored securely. We use Supabase for authentication and data storage. When you use AI features, your prompts may be sent to third-party AI services (like Anthropic's Claude) to generate responses.
We encourage you to review our data practices and understand that while we implement security measures, no system is completely secure.
⚖️ Limitation of Liability
Recursive.eco is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. We are not liable for any damages arising from your use of the platform. By using Recursive.eco, you acknowledge and accept these limitations.
💙 Donations & Financial Support
Recursive.eco operates on a donations-based model. All donations are voluntary and non-refundable. Donations do not grant any ownership rights, special privileges, or guarantees of service. They simply support the continued development and maintenance of free, open-source tools for collective meaning-making.
✍️ Your Content & Responsibilities
You retain ownership of your journal entries and any content you create. By using community features (if applicable), you grant Recursive.eco permission to display and share your content as needed for platform functionality.
You are responsible for your own content and agree not to share content that is illegal, harmful, harassing, or violates others' rights.
📧 Questions or Concerns?
For questions about these terms or our practices, please contact us at channels.recursive.eco/contact.