Ticks is one of the eight spokes on The Pirate Wheel. It is an acronym for Tools, Ideas, Culture, Knowledge and Sentiments (“ticks”), the free exchange of which is what builds a civilized society.

All acquisition, application, refinement, and (re-)distribution of ticks should always be permitted, and on top of that, explicitly encouraged. These concepts are what build a society, civilization, and economy. In network terms, these concepts match downloading, usage, remixing, and uploading/sharing.

The acronym ticks is intended to cover all aspects of communication that build society:

Tools. Any tool that can be expressed in communicatable form, be it software or printable 3D drawings of tools and parts.

Ideas. Conceptualized discussions that may or may not have industrial or practical applications.

Culture. Any digitizable and digitized cultural expression. Examples include audio, video, immersive environments such as games, and any combination thereof.

Knowledge. Any scientific observation or knowledge with direct or indirect industrial application.

Sentiments. A catch-all stating that things need not be objectively useful in the immediate sense to be valuable to society in their communication. Reactions, emotional comments and unquantifiable statements are just as protected and valuable as industrial knowledge.

The acquisition, usage, refining, and distribution of ticks must never be subject to permits or conditions.

Updated 2011-Nov-19.