Web Monetization Community Call - 26th February, 2026

[ioana-chiorean]

Video call link: https://meet.google.com/fjy-vjef-ogj

Participants:

Agenda

• Updates from the ILF Team
  • @sidvishnoi Firefox on Android support for extension (demo)
• Updates from Grant for the Web grantees
• Meeting - leave it on the 4th THU? ( I think we initially wanted 3rd but January was confusing ;)) )
• Monetized affiliate links (monetizing referrers) [ref] @sabineschaller
• Read the latest updates in the Jan to Feb blog community blog

Previous meeting notes.

• now open and we will use the doc to take notes

[marianvilla]

Mobile compatibility is a huge unlock.👏👏

I’m particularly excited about two things:
• Reducing publisher integration friction.
• The e-learning course.

Expanding beyond technical audiences is exactly how Web Monetization moves from infrastructure to ecosystem.🚀

[sidvishnoi]

Meeting Notes

Note

Auto-generated by Gemini, some parts edited by humans.
Google Meet Recording.

Summary

Matšeliso Thabane, Iurie Turcan, Sid Vishnoi, Jeremiah Lee, Sabine Schaller, Erica Hargreave, and Ioana Chiorean attended the community call where Matšeliso Thabane shared updates on the successful release of a web monetization build for Firefox on Android and ongoing work on an introductory course and publisher tool improvements. Jeremiah Lee presented an 18-minute friction log video from grantee John Alip of Confab, which detailed usability challenges with the official WordPress plugin and provided critical feedback for product improvement. Jeremiah Lee and Ioana Chiorean agreed that John Alip's feedback, which included issues with wallet availability and plugin bugs, will be used to enhance the official plugin’s user experience and conceptual clarity, while Sabine Schaller initiated a discussion on the previously considered concept of "web monetized referral links."

Details

• Welcome and Meeting Logistics: Matšeliso Thabane (@tselit) welcomed attendees, including Iurie Turcan, who was attending their first community call. Matšeliso Thabane noted that Rabeb (@RabebOthmani), the product manager, was unavailable for the next couple of weeks during this time of day, and confirmed the meeting was being recorded. They also reminded everyone that the community calls had shifted to a monthly frequency and that the agenda had moved to GitHub for better discoverability. Attendees were reminded to add their names to the linked meeting notes for the roll call.

• ILF Team Updates on Web Monetization Development: Matšeliso Thabane provided updates from the Interledger Foundation (ILF) team, detailing three essential areas of recent work, noting that a more public announcement about availability is forthcoming. The first major update was the successful release of a build for Firefox on Android, which enables mobile users to start experimenting with the web monetization extension. This development is seen as tapping into the mobile world where the majority of users access the internet.

• Introductory Course and Publisher Tool Improvements: The second update concerned the work being done on an introductory course for web monetization, spearheaded by Melissa (@melissahenderson) and the tech writing team. This course is targeted at a broad audience, including those who are more business-focused than tech-focused, aiming to explain what web monetization is and how it works for content creators and consumers. The final major update was ongoing improvements to the publisher tools interface and user experience, aiming to make them more intuitive and easier to use.

• Live Demonstration of Firefox on Android Extension: Sid Vishnoi (@sidvishnoi) led an interactive session demonstrating the Web Monetization extension on Firefox for Android. He showed how to install the extension, connect a wallet address, and explained that the UI is mobile-friendly and functional. Sid Vishnoi encouraged attendees with Android phones to follow along with the installation and testing.

• Discussion on Payment Pointer Syntax: A discussion arose regarding the use of the dollar sign ($) syntax versus the HTTPS protocol for payment pointers. Jeremiah Lee (@jeremiahlee) clarified that the dollar syntax is exclusive to the Interledger protocol, while web monetization uses Open Payments, making the HTTPS format the officially correct way. Sid Vishnoi noted they use the dollar sign for convenience and highlighted that it supports aliases, allowing users to connect to their wallet (e.g., a GateHub wallet) using a memorable domain name rather than a specific URL.

• Continuation of the Web Monetized Referral Links Discussion: Sabine Schaller (@sabineschaller) initiated a discussion about "web monetized referral links" or "paid hyperlinks," which had been previously discussed in 2022. The idea is to allow for a revenue share between publishers when one links to the other. The proposal suggests that when a user clicks a monetized link on a referring site, the receiving site's web monetization revenue would kick back a share to the original referring site.

• Technical and User Experience Considerations for Referral Links: Matšeliso Thabane raised a question about how this feature would align with Web Monetization's value proposition of giving consumers control over payment, asking if consumers would still have a say in the proportion of revenue share. Sabine Schaller suggested that this could be managed via the browser extension, allowing the user to set preferences on how to deal with referral links. Sid Vishnoi noted that the incentive promotes content sharing and traffic generation.

• Feedback from Grantees: The Friction Log Video: Jeremiah Lee shared an 18-minute video friction log from grantee John Alip of Confab, detailing their experience implementing web monetization with the WordPress plugin. John Alip's feedback, which covered frustrations and usability challenges, was presented as a "gift" and critical information for improving the product and documentation. John Alip specifically noted issues with wallet availability outside the US and EU, and reported bugs in the official WordPress plugin, such as custom post types not appearing and settings failing to save.

• Technical Challenges with Video Sharing: Jeremiah Lee encountered technical difficulties sharing the video's audio using Google Meet while running Firefox, which suggested that using Chrome might be necessary for audio sharing in that specific platform. They apologized for the inconvenience, and Ioana Chiorean (@ioana-chiorean) commented on the broader issue of product compatibility across different browsers.

• Discussion on WordPress Plugin Usability: After the video, Erica Hargreave praised the WordPress plugin as the best available, particularly for multiple-author sites, despite existing wallet hiccups. Jeremiah Lee and Ioana Chiorean agreed that John Alip's decision to build a custom plugin instead of using the official one highlighted critical usability and discoverability issues, particularly concerning features like multiple wallet addresses and how to monetize specific post types. John Alip's feedback will be integrated to improve the user experience and conceptual clarity of the official plugin.

• Concluding Remarks and Follow-up: Matšeliso Thabane thanked John Alip and Jeremiah Lee for the friction log, recognizing the value of the feedback, especially the reasons behind building a custom solution. They noted that John Alip intends to open-source their custom solution, which will be another asset to the community.