An interesting aspect of this project is how it's funded.
Per a presentation I saw a while back, when the site sees visits from Universities that have an associated degree-granting program, or visits from traditional related libraries, it nags the users that their institution should join (if it hasn't already). It's a bit like Shareware/Nagware/Guiltware, applied to a live service, and only targeted at specific related learning institutions with existing acquisition budgets.
"a subscription-based funding model would lead the SEP project towards a situation where it loses it focus and character as a project developed, administered and maintained by academics. Not only would the SEP reach a tiny fraction of the audience it once reached, but it might be forced to scramble each year to make ends meet, distracting its central staff from the academic mission of enhancing the encyclopedia's content and technological underpinnings. By contrast, if its basic operations and growth were covered by an endowment, the SEP staff could focus their fund-raising efforts on innovative grant proposals (taking advantage of their location at the Center for the Study of Language and Information) to push the technological limits of humanities computing"
Per a presentation I saw a while back, when the site sees visits from Universities that have an associated degree-granting program, or visits from traditional related libraries, it nags the users that their institution should join (if it hasn't already). It's a bit like Shareware/Nagware/Guiltware, applied to a live service, and only targeted at specific related learning institutions with existing acquisition budgets.
Here's the schedule of suggested dues:
http://plato.stanford.edu/support/SEPIA-dues-schedule.html
..and benefits once joined...
http://plato.stanford.edu/support/sepia.html