ADI Gateway Cooperative

The ADI Gateway cooperative is a regional organization dedicated to the construction and operation of a gateway network. The cooperative allows for a shared-ownership model for the gateways developed under the program. Ownership of the gateway network is proportional to the contributions by the member, using the co-op price list.

Since we need to make at least two gateways for functional travel, we should pool contributions for all the gateways constructed under the program, to minimize complexity in distributions later.

Why use this model? At the moment, any gateway constructed falls under the control of the government of the planet it is build around. A hostile but coordinated group could seize the gateway from the group that constructed it. By bringing many stakeholders to the table, the co-op model incentivizes the good behavior of a large number of members. This allows the entire interested Antares community to participate and act as a self-interested voting block.

The Spreadsheet:

Material pledges, cash contributions, and all gateway business is managed on this sheet. You can add your pledges directly to this sheet:

ADI Gateway Cooperative Spreadsheet

Questions

How do pledges work?

A pledge is a promise to contribute materials to the gateway projects. Recording your pledge helps us organize production to identify shortfalls and minimize duplicate effort.

Once gateways become close to release, pledges will be collected by a gateway coordinator (Archiel), then your contribution will be considered finalized. Assume materials will be delivered on ANT, but in some cases deliveries to gateway locations may be appreciated, you will be contacted in this case.

Pledge Prioritization

We will prioritize collecting gateway materials from people who pledged them, but if those materials aren’t available when they are needed, other sources will be considered. You don’t get credit for pledging materials you can’t deliver.

Because we don’t know the gateway release date, and some gateway materials can’t be extracted until release date, there will be a grace period to sort out your contributions.

When are materials collected?

As of Jan 1st, 2025, we haven’t heard the devs fly a ship through a gateway. I personally take this as a sign we have a few more months before release. My hope is to collect pledges about a month before release.

Materials purchased with cash contributions are already sitting in my ANT warehouse.

Can I join without contributing?

Absolutely. Your support is still very helpful in maintaining the ADI Gateway Cooperative agreement, and the safe administration of the gateways. Without contributing, your support for the governance of gateway governments is the most important thing you can do to help.

Can I contribute cash?

Yes. One great way to contribute cash is to find a player (preferably a relatively new Antares player!), and purchase needed gateway materials from that player, then donate materials in their name.

If this process is burdensome, you can contribute cash to a Cash Manager. This empowers the Cash Manager to buy what is needed for the gateway on your behalf.

How are cash contributions converted to shares?

Your cash contribution is recorded under your name and used to purchase whatever materials are needed for the gateway. Cash Managers will endevour to get the best possible price for gateway materials, so cash contributors can earn as many shares as possible for their contributions. We will offer to make purchases at prices either at PP30d_Universe prices or prices at the average AIC per Share price (currently ~$152 per share).

All cash contributions are pooled and then the shares from purchased materials are distributed proportionally to cash contributors. This prevents a cash manager from making “good” purchases from one person’s donations and “bad” purchases from another person’s donations. This does mean that the cash value of your donation will fluctuate a little over time.

Cash Managers have some discretion to adjust prices upward to get critical final materials to finish a gateway.

If you like buying things at good prices, and would like to be a Cash Manager, contact Archiel. It mostly focuses around understanding the ADI sheet and coordinating.

Upkeep and Fuel

Gateways have significant upkeep costs, and we don’t know what the fuel costs are. Gateway upkeep is paid for first out of usage tolls, before any payouts are made.

How do payouts work?

Once a month, the gateway planet’s governor, (or an appointed representative) will calculate how much income each gateway has made, then assign it to each gateway shareholder in proportion to the number of shares. Shareholder profits will be logged in a running ledger. If a person’s assigned profit exceeds some threshold ($25,000?), a payout will be made.

Survivorship of Shares

If a co-op shareholder leaves the game, their shares will move to their designated survivor. If they have not mentioned one, or their choice is not available, it will move to their corp. If no corp representative is available, the shares are eliminated and everyone’s shares are recalculated without the eliminated shares included.