Frequently Asked Questions

Persagen is a knowledge engine based on independent,  open-source intelligence.

The overarching vision / mission at Persagen is to make the world a better place (altruism). Our belief is that to effect change that addresses this mission, we must have access to factual knowledge, and understand the forces that affect our daily lives and future.

Persagen curates, processes, and links truthful and verifiable data and information, enabling Readers and Researchers to quickly and confidently find and use information. For professionals - academic researchers, investigative journalists, ... - the resources provided at Persagen provide confidence, trust and efficiency.

Wikipedia defines a knowledge engine as "part of a decision-support system that combines data with data models and inference rules to provide an interface for people who want to make decisions or discover related data." That definition aligns with Persagen's philosophy and approach, which 1. curates and links high quality data, and
2. provides tools for users to explore those data.

Persagen.org is a web-based knowledge engine, hence it's (virtually) everywhere and nowhere. 😉

Owner Victoria lives, works in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The city of Vancouver is located in the traditional and presently unceded territories of the Squamish,   Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh (Burrard) peoples of the Coast Salish group. They had villages in various parts of present-day Vancouver, such as Stanley Park, False Creek, Kitsilano, Point Grey and near the mouth of the Fraser River. The region where Vancouver is currently located was referred to in contemporary Halkomelem as Lhq'á:lets, meaning "wide at the bottom/end".

Acknowledging the unceded territories 🙏

The City of Vancouver acknowledges that it is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

This place is the unceded and ancestral territory of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and has been stewarded by them since time immemorial.

Vancouver is located on territory that was never ceded, or given up to the Crown by the Musqueam, Squamish, or Tsleil-Waututh peoples. The term unceded acknowledges the dispossession of the land and the inherent rights that Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh hold to the territory. The term serves as a reminder that Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh have never left their territories and will always retain their jurisdiction and relationships with the territory.

Persagen is fully independent, which means we have no external financial or mutual agreements or associations - or any other obligation for the operation of the site. Likewise, Persagen has no content contribution agreements from bloggers and other writers.

Finances at Persagen are driven by sustainability - not profit. Monies at Persagen provide the stall with a living wage plus benefits; excess monies are reinvested in the site and its content and continued development. Other than the goal of providing outstanding service and content, there is no desire for growth for growths sake. Our primary obligation is serving the global community and stewardship of the planet.

These foundational principles mean that Persagen is largely immune from external pressure.

Persagen is entirely funded by paid subscriptions (registered accounts) and donations. There is no advertising, paid or otherwise.

Likewise, Persagen does not otherwise rely on other sources of external funding; hence, Persagen has no financial obligations to any external influence.

Persagen also rejects the profit-driven model - which necessarily involves malignant growth - in favor of an ecosocialism-motivated approach that is mutually beneficial to Persagen and the world we all inhabit.

To assist Persagen's vision and mission (How can I help?), please consider sharing knowledge about Persagen to your friends, family and colleagues; making donations to Persagen, and/or subscribing to (registering with) Persagen (sustainable funding through Stripe.com).

Notes.

• Access to a truncated subset of Persagen data and content is freely available;

• Paid subscriptions require a functioning email address for account setup and maintenance (e.g. cancellations), but Persagen does not otherwise know the identity or the location of those users.

1. Textual content provides knowledge

2. An ontology provides hierarchical structure, organization, relationships

3. A knowledge graph provides semantic relationships (triples: a knows b; b lives in c; ...)

• Selection and use (as needed) of appropriate data structures, tools and techniques;

• Integration of machine learning and natural language processing (carefully scrutinized to minimize noise, algorithmic biases, ...) .

Addressing the challenges to humanity outlined above requires unfettered access to factual knowledge, excluding sources known to be fraudulent.

By covering a variety of informational sources, monitoring their motivations and agendae, and investigating their sources (e.g, raw source vs. mirrored content) I hope to provide -- as much as possible -- reputable content providing truthful information.

An ontology is a system for organizing (classifying; categorizing) information. For example, entries in a dictionary or an encyclopedia are sorted alphabetically - the ontological structure is the alphabet (A, B, C, ..., X, Y, Z). However - although ordered, facilitating easy browsing - that ontology is both shallow (depth is the alphabetical sorting of the first word or phrase) and arbitrary (the relation of entries to adjacent entries is largely random).

In contrast, Persagen.org uses a grounded, hierarchical "tree" ontology. The root of the ontology encapsulates the universe and everything in it (real or imagined) - e.g. "Root - Nature - Earth - Countries - Canada". Everything in the ontology may be uniquely identified, and the ontological placement provides information about relationships among entries. A grounded ontology forms a type of graph structure - hierarchical "tree - with paths branching out from the Root, terminating in "leaf nodes" (the actual entry) - which may be a short description, a web page, etc. Ontological entries - which serve as repositories for relevant information - are easily cross-referenced. Finally, a more nuanced mapping of relationships among the information contained within an ontology forms a higher-dimensional structure called a knowledge graph - which permits both the querying and visualization of those relationships - facilitating knowledge discovery.

In addition to providing information and collating relevant information and cross-references, summaries in the leaves (terminal nodes) of the ontology double as a glossary and quick-reference guide.

Every work is biased - Persagen.org included. The underlying philosophy at Persagen.org is that extreme concentrations of wealth and power are catastrophically and irreparably harming society and the environment. Persagen.org also advocates for human rights. Societies and entities that discriminate against racial, ethnic or marginalized groups destroy basic human rights. Hence, content on Persagen.org is biased toward the inclusion of content that documents the sources, propagation, and societal consequences of (e.g.) environmental and ecological destruction, concentration of wealth and power, erosion of human rights and civil liberties, discrimination, hatred and intolerance, etc. Identifying, mapping and understanding those relationships facilitates informed decisions to address those issues.

The following topics - and how they are regarded - comprise major areas of interest at Persagen.org.

• Positively-regarded:
• Ecosocialism
• Egalitarianism
• Environmentalism
• Equality
• Human rights
• Social democracy
• Social justice
• Transparency
• Truth
• Negatively-regarded:
• Conservatism
• Conspiracy theories
• Consumerism
• Corporations, Conglomerates
• Discrimination
• Extremism
• Fascism
• Hate
• Identity politics: cultural identity; ...
• Industrial complexes: Military Industrial Complex; Prison Industrial Complex; Poverty Industrial Complex; ...
• New Right: Alt-right; far-right politics; right-wing politics;
• Populism
• Poverty
• Propaganda
• Secrecy
• Social media discourse
• Wealth

• • The underlying philosophy at Persagen.org is that extreme concentrations of wealth and power are catastrophically and irreparably harming society and the environment. Societies and entities that discriminate against racial, ethnic or marginalized groups destroy basic human rights.

  • Consequently, Persagen.org advocates for human rights, providing content that documents the sources, propagation, and societal consequences of environmental and ecological destruction, concentration of wealth and power, erosion of human rights and civil liberties, discrimination, hatred and intolerance, etc.

  • Identifying, mapping and understanding those relationships facilitates informed decisions to address those issues.

• • Keywords: • activism  |  • advocacy  |  • affordable housing  |  • bodily autonomy  |  • cultural preservation  |  • ecological preservation  |  • economic security  |  • ecosocialism  |  • education  |  • environmentalism  |  • equal rights  |  • equality  |  • food security  |  • freedom  |  • historical preservation  |  • justice  |  • knowledge  |  • leadership  |  • living wage  |  • nondiscrimination  |  • reconciliation  |  • reparations  |  • responsibility  |  • self-determination  |  • social justice  |  • socialism  |  • stewardship  |  • sustainability  |  • truth  |  • understanding

• Persagen.org seeks to provide high-quality, factual information for the benefit of humanity, including future generations.

• Persagen envisions itself as a long-term, self-sustaining nonprofit organization.

• Surplus funds will be donated to external causes in line with Persagen's founding principles (principally: social justice).

• Persagen.org security notes

Persagen.org is in an early start-up phase (2023). As social, political and ecological / environmental conditions deteriorate and independent journalism and local news erodes, the importance of websites like Persagen.org grows.

Your support enables the continued development and growth of Persagen, which in turn provides the intelligence to understand and address those challenges.

You can:

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Donations are one-time contributions in support of Persagen and its mission. Please refer below for enhanced support via subscriptions.

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• Kickstarter
• IndieGoGo
• Crowdfundr

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  Persagen.org is a curated database / search / knowledge engine committed to universal social justice, equality, ecosocialism, & human rights.

  We track & curate wealth, power, & influence affecting those issues.

  Your subscription - which supports Persagen and its mission - is very much appreciated! 😀

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Please contact us at the following accounts.

• Email: Contact: info@persagen.org

• Mastodon: @persagen@mastodon.social