discontinued creator-monetization platform
Coil
Industry Publishing
A discontinued private web-monetization platform that used memberships and streaming micropayments to fund creators through the Web Monetization standard. Coil was directionally better than surveillance advertising because it paid creators without behavioral ad targeting, but it was closed, company-controlled, and ultimately not durable.
Why this matters: Coil is a useful calibration point for alternative creator revenue models that avoid ads but do not become commons infrastructure.
Letter grade D Extractive Medium confidence (AI) Rubric gcd-rubric-v1
* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.
Request verification to have the evidence record checked against primary materials and organization-supplied documents. Verification does not buy a higher score; scores change only when review finds factual errors, omissions, or miscalibration.
Evaluation Overview
D - Extractive
The score turns mainly on Extraction, with the largest penalty coming from Reversibility.
Strengths
- Extraction5/10
- Solidarity with the Unemployed4/7
- Market Conduct4/5
Penalties
- Reversibility-5
- Accountability Opacity-2
- Subscription Capture-1
- Ideological Disavowal-1
Evidence state
- ConfidenceMedium confidence (AI)
- ThoroughnessDeveloped (AI)
- Linked claims12
- Direct axis claims12
- Coverage12/15
Scoring Axes
| Axis | Score | Why this score |
|---|---|---|
Ownership
?
Control rights: shareholder-dominated at 0, worker cooperative control
at 10.
|
2 / 10 |
Coil is organized around the structure described in its public materials rather than democratic ownership by all affected users or workers. Linked evidence
|
Governance
?
Binding decision authority: centralized control at 0, democratic
stakeholder control at 10.
|
2 / 10 |
Coil's linked public materials show a governance model where ordinary users, advertisers, members, or pledge participants do not have full binding control over institutional direction. Linked evidence
|
Extraction
?
Surplus allocation, wage share, CEO pay ratio, margins, and structured
extraction judgment.
|
5 / 10 |
Coil's model changes the flow of advertising, attention, data, or creator revenue compared with ordinary surveillance advertising. Linked evidence
|
Labor Sovereignty
?
Worker power: coercive conditions at 0, co-determination or ownership at
7. Employee dissatisfaction matters only when source-backed evidence
shows concrete limits on worker agency, such as coercive scheduling,
retaliation, wage theft, harassment, unsafe conditions, suppression of
worker voice, or extreme turnover.
|
2 / 7 |
Coil is organized around the structure described in its public materials rather than democratic ownership by all affected users or workers. Linked evidence
|
Solidarity with the
Unemployed
?
Treatment of exits and nonworkers, including severance, redeployment,
and non-competes.
|
4 / 7 |
Coil is organized around the structure described in its public materials rather than democratic ownership by all affected users or workers. Linked evidence
|
Loss-Bearing Fidelity
?
Willingness to absorb costs to preserve values, workers, users, and
public obligations.
|
3 / 7 |
Coil is organized around the structure described in its public materials rather than democratic ownership by all affected users or workers. Linked evidence
|
Market Conduct
?
Pricing fairness, switching costs, lock-in, and rent extraction.
|
4 / 5 |
Coil operates in or against the advertising and attention market by changing how consent, tracking, ad placement, creator funding, or marketing ethics work. Linked evidence
|
Product Integrity
?
Preservation of quality rather than degradation for monetization.
|
4 / 5 |
Coil's core product or program is aimed at changing advertising, tracking, data markets, or marketing practice rather than simply maximizing hidden behavioral extraction. Linked evidence
|
Scale Integrity
?
Whether growth improves or degrades fairness and accountability.
|
2 / 5 |
Coil's model can scale through software, standards, pledges, advertising buyers, or data-market infrastructure, with different accountability risks depending on control structure. Linked evidence
|
Penalties
| Penalty | Applied | Why this penalty |
|---|---|---|
Reversibility
?
Applied when positive conduct depends on current living leaders,
founders, family owners, or other person-contingent governance rather
than durable structure. Range: -5 to 0.
|
-5 |
Coil's model depended on company continuation and was discontinued, showing that the alternative was not durably locked as public infrastructure. Linked evidence
|
Subscription Capture
?
Manipulative recurring-payment, automatic-renewal,
cancellation-friction, bundling, trial-conversion, or refund designs
that profit from inertia or confusion. Range: -5 to 0.
|
-1 |
Coil's model uses recurring subscription, reward, token, or account mechanics that can profit from inertia or continued participation. Linked evidence
|
Accountability Opacity
?
Material opacity, reputation laundering, or hidden accountability
structures that prevent public accountability. Range: -2 to 0.
|
-2 |
Coil's public model requires users to understand complex advertising, data, token, privacy, or pledge mechanics before they can judge the exchange clearly. Linked evidence
|
Ideological Disavowal
?
Concealed ideology presented as neutrality, expertise, professional
necessity, public-service administration, market inevitability, or
non-ideological common sense while exercising power. Range: -3 to 0.
|
-1 |
Coil frames contested choices about advertising, consent, misinformation, attention, or data markets as responsible infrastructure or reform rather than as a situated institutional position. Linked evidence
|
Bonus Credits
| Bonus | Credit | Why this credit |
|---|---|---|
Good Deal
?
Credit for unusually fair value: durable quality, fair pricing, low
lock-in, and clear customer surplus.
|
1 / 3 |
Coil gives users, creators, or participating organizations a more legible or fairer value proposition than ordinary opaque advertising markets. Linked evidence
|
Cost Transparency
?
Credit for clear posted prices, all-in fees, unit costs, public rate
cards, margin/cost visibility, or surplus-allocation transparency,
especially in markets where opaque quotes, hidden fees, or
individualized pricing are normal.
|
1 / 3 |
Coil's public materials make parts of the advertising, reward, pledge, or creator-payment exchange more visible than conventional adtech. Linked evidence
|
Confidence Basis
Confidence Basis
Confidence is computed from the evidence trail and review state, not typed into the profile by hand.
Medium 75/100
12 verified linked claims 12 direct axis claims 0 disputed claims 12/15 components covered
This confidence label measures the source-backed evidence trail. AI-scaffolded scores remain tentative until human review.
Claim confidence 18/20
12 verified linked claims
Source quality 10/18
Best source per verified claim, weighted by institutional reliability
Direct axis-specific claims 9/18
12 direct claims across 15 active components
Dispute load 12/12
0 disputed claims on this entity
Recency 10/10
Newest accepted timestamp: May 13, 2026
Reviewer status 7/12
Human-reviewed components score higher than AI scaffolding
Component coverage 8/10
12/15 evidence-bearing components have direct support
Evidence State
Evidence State
Claims and Sources
Claims are the evidence record. Each claim needs a source link, axis category, status, confidence level, and timestamp before it can support a score.
* Tentative scaffolding score. Not human-checked or final.1Coil is organized around the structure described in its public materials rather than democratic ownership by all affected users or workers.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
2Coil's public materials show a governance model where ordinary users, advertisers, members, or pledge participants do not have full binding control over institutional direction.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
3Coil's model changes the flow of advertising, attention, data, or creator revenue compared with ordinary surveillance advertising.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
4Coil operates in or against the advertising and attention market by changing how consent, tracking, ad placement, creator funding, or marketing ethics work.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
5Coil's core product or program is aimed at changing advertising, tracking, data markets, or marketing practice rather than simply maximizing hidden behavioral extraction.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
6Coil's model can scale through software, standards, pledges, advertising buyers, or data-market infrastructure, with different accountability risks depending on control structure.
- OSS.Fund Coil listingGeneral web source · 58%
7Coil gives users, creators, or participating organizations a more legible or fairer value proposition than ordinary opaque advertising markets.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
8Coil's public materials make parts of the advertising, reward, pledge, or creator-payment exchange more visible than conventional adtech.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
9Coil's model depended on company continuation and was discontinued, showing that the alternative was not durably locked as public infrastructure.
- OSS.Fund Coil listingGeneral web source · 58%
10Coil's model uses recurring subscription, reward, token, or account mechanics that can profit from inertia or continued participation.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
11Coil's public model requires users to understand complex advertising, data, token, privacy, or pledge mechanics before they can judge the exchange clearly.
- Coil open letterGeneral web source · 58%
12Coil frames contested choices about advertising, consent, misinformation, attention, or data markets as responsible infrastructure or reform rather than as a situated institutional position.
- OSS.Fund Coil listingGeneral web source · 58%
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Audit Log
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