108 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
108 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
# Getting started
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Welcome. You're joining a **member-governed** AI cooperative — not signing up
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for a service from a vendor. You'll help direct the project while getting
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private AI chat and API access in return.
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This guide covers the three things most new members want: becoming a member,
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using the chat, and getting involved in governance.
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## 1. Become a member
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Membership is a **sliding-scale contribution of $10–20/month** through Open
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Collective. What you pay is up to you.
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1. Go to [opencollective.com/inference-cooperative](https://opencollective.com/inference-cooperative).
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2. Choose a contribution amount in the $10–20 range and subscribe.
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3. After you contribute, you'll land on a "check your inbox" page.
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**Within a few minutes, you'll get a welcome email** with a link to set up your
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account. Click it and create your login.
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> **One thing that matters:** the email address you use on Open Collective and
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> the email address you use to set up your account **must match**. Membership is
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> verified by matching those two emails. If they differ, you won't be recognized
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> as a member. (Contributed without an Open Collective account? You're recognized
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> by the email you entered at checkout.)
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### Your membership includes
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- **Private AI chat** through the co-op's shared gateway.
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- **API access** for your own tools and projects (see [API access](api-access.md)).
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- **A monthly usage allowance** of $15 of credit, shared between chat and API.
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- **Credit packs** — buy extra non-expiring credits when you need more.
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- **A voice in governance** — how the project is run and where it goes next.
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## 2. Use the chat
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The chat lives at **[chat.inference.coop](https://chat.inference.coop)**. Log in
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with the account you created in step 1.
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- **Choose your model.** You can pick not just *which* model but *where* it runs:
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**private** (Tinfoil, runs in encrypted enclaves) or **green** (GreenPT, 100%
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renewable energy). See the [model list](models.md) for the full list.
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- **Web search** is enabled by default (self-hosted, no external dependency).
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- **File uploads** work out of the box — ask the chat about a document you attach.
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- Your usage draws from your monthly allowance; you can see it on the
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[Member Dashboard](https://dashboard.inference.coop).
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If the chat ever says your balance is out, that's the allowance, not an error —
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see "Your allowance" below.
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## 3. Get involved in governance
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You don't just use the co-op; you help run it. Decisions about models, pricing,
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privacy, and direction happen on our **Loomio forum**:
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- **[forum.inference.coop](https://forum.inference.coop)** — where members discuss and decide.
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- See the [Charter](charter.md) for how governance is structured.
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- See [Open questions](open-questions.md) for the decisions currently on the table.
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During the pilot phase, Nathan Schneider serves as General Manager and holds
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final discretion — but members deliberate now, and full member governance is the
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goal as the co-op grows.
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### Help build it
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Everything we run is open source, and members are welcome to contribute code,
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documentation, and design. See [Infrastructure](infrastructure.md) for the map
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and the "Contributing" section for how to propose changes through
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[git.inference.coop](https://git.inference.coop).
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## Your allowance and credits
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Membership includes **$15 of usage credit each month**, shared between chat and
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API. It's a starting value, not a hard rule:
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- The allowance resets each month on your personal billing date (the day your
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membership payment recurs) — not on a fixed calendar day.
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- The allowance can be adjusted per member — contact info@inference.coop.
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### Need more than the allowance?
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Members can buy **credit packs** — non-expiring credits that kick in
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automatically when your monthly allowance runs out:
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- Credits **never expire**. Unused credits carry over month to month.
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- They're drawn only after the monthly allowance is exhausted, so your
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allowance always gets used first.
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- Buy a credit pack on our
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[Open Collective page](https://opencollective.com/inference-cooperative/contribute)
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(choose the "Credit pack" option). Credits are applied to your account
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automatically — usually within minutes.
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- Credit packs are for members. If you buy one before joining, we'll hold it
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and it will be applied to your account when you join (or refunded if you
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prefer — just email info@inference.coop).
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You can see both buckets — allowance left this cycle and non-expiring credits —
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on the [Member Dashboard](https://dashboard.inference.coop).
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## Need help?
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- **Questions about the service or your account:** info@inference.coop
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- **Governance and decisions:** the [forum](https://forum.inference.coop)
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- **Building on the API:** [API access](api-access.md)
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- **Leaving:** cancel your subscription on Open Collective; your account is
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deactivated and your data preserved for reactivation. You may request full
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deletion.
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