Meanings
- neologismuncountableA feeling of resentment felt by volunteers towards individuals who profit from doing such work.
The role of this new built-up paid executive staff itself is of concern. This is something identified in open source projects as jalt—the jealousy altruism factor, of whether people get paid differently for participating.
2009, Andrew Lih, The Wikipedia Revolution: How a Bunch of Nobodies Created the World's Greatest Encyclopedia, New York, N.Y.: Hyperion, →ISBN, page 2262 more examples
Another form of appropriation that could affect valuation of participation is simple commercialization for private gain. The primary concern is that commercialization by some participants or even by nonparticipants will create a sucker's reward aspect to participation. This is the effect I introduced into the abstract statement of diverse motivations as the jalt factor—the effect of monetary rewards for others on the perceived value of participation.
2002 December, Yochai Benkler, “Coase's Penguin, or, Linux and The Nature of the Firm”, in Yale Law Journal, volume 112, number 3, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 440Though it is seldom discussed in that context, jalt has become one of the most powerful factors shaping the behavior of a number of the most active participants on Wikipedia. Jalt is a natural, understandable impulse. After all, if you're a pizza delivery guy or IT help desk employee who has contributed thousands of unpaid hours to Wikipedia, it's natural to get a little annoyed when Jimmy Wales gets to honeymoon on Richard Branson's private island.
2019 July 2, Robert Fernandez, “The Limits of Volunteerism and the Gatekeepers of Team Encarta”, in Wikipedia @ 20, archived from the original on 26 Dec 2022
Origin
Coined by Israeli-American author Yochai Benkler in 2002 (see first quotation), from a shortening of jealousy + altruism.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
jalt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jalt
“jalt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jalt. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “jalt,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/jalt.
Source: jalt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.