Always Questioning is a small, growing collaborative. Named creators front the work they own; the editorial groups behind individual publications stay anonymous by design. Below: who is here now, and then the whole deal, in the open: what we promise, what we ask, the ways to take part, and how we make money.
Thomas founded Always Questioning as a home for work worth finding, and steers the collaborative and its standard. He writes about AI, judgment, and the decisions we make by not making them.
thomastornatore.com →Creators, hosts, and contributors are added officially over time, once their agreements are signed. Named people will appear here then, never before. These places are held open.
A creator, added when signed.
A host or channel lead, added when signed.
A contributor, added when signed.
Want to take part? Here is the whole deal, in plain language: what we promise, what we ask, the six ways to take part, from reading to building, and how the collaborative makes money.
Always Questioning is a creators collaborative and a curated home for work worth finding, released independently or traditionally published. We list real work and point people straight to where it is sold. We are deliberately not a mass marketplace, and we are the opposite of an accelerator: no demands, no hoops. We show you plainly what we offer and make a deal only if it fits.
We take no cut of your sales, ever. When you list with us, your link goes to your own site and your own checkout. You are the seller, you keep one hundred percent, and we never touch your customers, your payments, or your work.
We never claim your work or your ideas. What you make stays yours, in full. You decide what is public, and nothing goes live without your approval.
So how does the collaborative keep its lights on? Not by charging you to be listed. We fund our shared running costs through our own store, where our properties and approved official projects sell merchandise. Each project that chooses to sell there contributes a modest share of its store sales into a shared pot that covers the collaborative's operating costs, and whatever is left at the end of the year goes back to the people who contributed. That store is the only place the collaborative ever takes a share, it is always opt-in, and it never touches your own outside sales.
No advertising. No undisclosed sponsorship. No algorithm deciding what you see. We do not sell your attention, and we do not sell you. What is here is shown the way its creator meant it, not sorted to keep you scrolling.
Always Questioning has room for more than one kind of involvement. Find where you fit.
Follow the work and find what is actually worth your time. No account, no cost, nothing asked.
The moneyFree. We do run a store, so we will not pretend we never sell anything, but nothing is ever forced on you, and no algorithm decides what you see. The work is shown the way its creator meant it, not sorted to keep you scrolling.
What we askNothing at all. Read, and pass along what you love if you feel like it.
The agreementNone.
The social layer. Post a project you are working on and the help you are looking for, or a short note on yourself: who you are, what you have done, and a simple skill list. Not a resume, just enough for people to find each other.
The moneyFree. If you meet someone here and strike a deal, it is yours; we take no part in it and no cut of it.
What we askSign up with one email, post in good faith, and follow the Community Guidelines. Posts are reviewed.
The agreementAcceptance of the Community Guidelines.
List your work in its category. Your link goes to your own site and your own checkout. No fee, and we take no cut.
The moneyYou keep one hundred percent. No fee, no cut. You are the seller of record and handle your own fulfillment, support, refunds, taxes, liability, and any contracts.
What we askCredit us and add alwaysquestioning.com to your promotions, alongside your usual channels. List only work that is yours to share.
The agreementA short Listing Agreement.
Write inside an Always Questioning publication, credited or anonymously, and share in what that publication earns.
The moneyPublications that pay run as opt-in even-split collectives; each contributor shares equally in what that publication earns.
What we askWrite to the house standard, protect the editorial group's anonymity where it applies, and disclose AI use in anything public-facing.
The agreementA Contributor Agreement for that publication, plus the standard clauses: anonymity, persona and pen-name ownership, and AI use and disclosure.
Partner with us on a project on equal footing. Read our Creators Code below, then start a conversation.
The moneyYou keep one hundred percent of what you bring; joint work is split among the people who did it; we take no part in your outside deals. If you sell in our store, that is opt-in and carries the store's shared-pool terms.
What we askRead and hold to the Creators Code, communicate clearly, and steward the whole, not just your own corner.
The agreementA project agreement plus the standard clauses, under the Creators Code.
The core who build and steer the work, carry the standard, and steward the whole. By invitation.
The moneyPer the ownership and written agreements of the properties you build or steer.
What we askEverything the Code asks, plus responsibility for the whole and the standard the name sets.
The agreementPer-property operating agreements, carrying the Creators Code and stewardship.
Before we talk about working together, here is what we promise, and what we ask. It holds for everyone we list or partner with.
Someone has to ask what is worth your time. We would rather point at the people who made it than sell you something.