Org card: rewrite in Director's voice + new cover

- Reframe as anti-establishment / case-study driven (anonymized
self-overlap iThenticate desk-reject incident)
- Hammer free-to-submit, no APCs, Persistence print+ebook annual
- Add Affiliation section: ICSAC-NNNNN, printable QR-verified PDF
credential, right to use affiliation on future works
- Donation section now includes Stripe (one-time / Supporter /
Sponsor) via /community/donate alongside Manifund
- Reference cover.png (uploaded via xet/LFS path)

README.md

@@ -5,17 +5,17 @@ colorFrom: indigo
 colorTo: gray
 sdk: static
 pinned: false
-short_description: Open editorial infrastructure for independent researchers
+short_description: Open peer review for independent researchers. No APCs.
 ---
 
 <p align="center">
-  <img src="https://huggingface.co/spaces/ICSAC-Institute/README/resolve/main/banner.svg" alt="ICSAC — Institute for Complexity Science and Advanced Computing" width="100%" />
+  <img src="https://huggingface.co/spaces/ICSAC-Institute/README/resolve/main/cover.png" alt="ICSAC — Institute for Complexity Science and Advanced Computing" width="100%" />
 </p>
 
 <p align="center">
   <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/site-icsacinstitute.org-2b3a67?style=flat-square" alt="Site"/></a>
   <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/journal"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/journal-Persistence-7a5c2e?style=flat-square" alt="Persistence"/></a>
-  <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/submit"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/submit-ORCID%20gated-0a66c2?style=flat-square" alt="Submit"/></a>
+  <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/submit"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/submit-free%20%E2%80%A2%20no%20APCs-0a66c2?style=flat-square" alt="Submit"/></a>
   <a href="https://zenodo.org/communities/icsac"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/DOIs-Zenodo-1682d4?style=flat-square" alt="Zenodo"/></a>
   <a href="https://github.com/ICSAC"><img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/source-github.com%2FICSAC-181717?style=flat-square&logo=github" alt="GitHub"/></a>
   <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/license-MIT-2b3a67?style=flat-square" alt="MIT"/>
@@ -24,17 +24,42 @@ short_description: Open editorial infrastructure for independent researchers
 
 <br/>
 
-> **Independent and heterodox researchers have legitimate cause to be skeptical of black-box editorial AI. The reasonable response is not to hide the system behind a "trust us." The reasonable response is to publish it.**
+> **Academic publishing is broken, and the gatekeepers know it.** Paywalls in front, four-figure APCs in back, opaque desk-rejects in the middle, plagiarism detectors that flag a researcher's *own* prior work as misconduct. ICSAC is the answer we built after the system told us no for the wrong reason.
 
 <br/>
 
-## What ICSAC does
+## Why this exists
 
-**Open peer review.** A 5-reviewer AI panel, plus a Review-Quality-Control audit, plus a human curator who confirms, modifies, or overrides every recommendation. The redacted review record is published alongside the accepted paper.
+A peer-reviewed paper from this lab was desk-rejected by a large commercial publisher's flagship journal on a 94% plagiarism flag — entirely from **self-overlap with the author's own prior open-access papers** on the same research program. Iterative thinking, properly cited, dressed up as misconduct by a content-matching tool and rubber-stamped by an editor who didn't read past the score.
 
-**The journal — *Persistence*.** Annual print paperback + ebook + free curation records online. No APCs. Authors retain copyright. First issue **May 2027**.
+That is not peer review. That is liability-management automation wearing the costume of peer review.
 
-**Open machinery.** Prompts, rubrics, scoring code, citation verification, redaction layer, RQC audit — published. Fork it. Audit it. Run it yourself.
+So we built the alternative in the open:
+
+- **5-reviewer AI panel** — five independent passes, full rubric, full reasoning, published.
+- **Review-Quality-Control audit** — a sixth pass that scores the panel itself.
+- **Human curator** — confirms, modifies, or overrides every recommendation. Name attached.
+- **The redacted review record is published alongside the accepted paper.** Receipts, in public.
+
+Prompts, rubrics, scoring code, citation verification, redaction layer, RQC audit — **published here, MIT-licensed**. Fork it. Audit it. Run it yourself. If we get something wrong, you can see exactly where.
+
+<br/>
+
+## The journal — *Persistence*
+
+**Free to submit. Free to read. No APCs. Ever.**
+
+Accepted papers are published in **the annual *Persistence* volume — paperback + ebook**, plus a free, permanent online record of the full review trail. Authors retain copyright. First issue: **May 2027**.
+
+The review is the same for everyone — graduate student, garage researcher, lab without an open-access budget, tenured chair. The panel reads the manuscript, not the affiliation.
+
+<p align="center">
+  <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/submit">
+    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/→%20Submit%20a%20paper-icsacinstitute.org%2Fsubmit-2b3a67?style=for-the-badge" alt="Submit"/>
+  </a>
+</p>
+
+<sub>ORCID-gated, 5–10 day turnaround. DOI on accept via Zenodo. No fast-track for friends, no slow-walk for outsiders.</sub>
 
 <br/>
 
@@ -52,40 +77,53 @@ short_description: Open editorial infrastructure for independent researchers
 
 <br/>
 
-## Where the rest lives
+## Affiliate with the Institute
 
-- 🌐 &nbsp; **Institute site** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org](https://icsacinstitute.org)
-- 📖 &nbsp; **Journal — *Persistence*** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/journal](https://icsacinstitute.org/journal)
-- 📄 &nbsp; **Accepted papers + review records** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/publications](https://icsacinstitute.org/publications)
-- ✉&nbsp;&nbsp; **Submit a manuscript** (ORCID-gated, 5–10 day turnaround) &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/submit](https://icsacinstitute.org/submit)
-- 🪪 &nbsp; **Verify a member ID** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/verify](https://icsacinstitute.org/verify)
-- 🧪 &nbsp; **Zenodo deposits** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [zenodo.org/communities/icsac](https://zenodo.org/communities/icsac)
-- 🛠 &nbsp; **Source mirrors** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [github.com/ICSAC](https://github.com/ICSAC)
+For independent researchers, postdocs between posts, retired scientists who never stopped working, and anyone whose work is real but whose letterhead is not. **Annual affiliation, $—/yr**, includes:
 
-<br/>
+- A verifiable **ICSAC ID** in the form `ICSAC-NNNNN`, listed in our public directory.
+- A **printable digital credential (PDF)** with a QR code that resolves to your public verification page at `icsacinstitute.org/verify/<id>`.
+- The right to list **"Affiliate Researcher, ICSAC"** on your future works — papers, preprints, talks, conference proceedings — where appropriate and consistent with the venue's affiliation guidelines.
+- *Persistence* digest newsletter, discount on the annual print, eligibility for merit-based promotion to Research Fellow.
 
-## Submit from anywhere
-
-Independent researcher. Graduate student. Lab without an open-access budget. **The review is the same for everyone** — no fast-track for friends, no slow-walk for outsiders. The panel reads the manuscript, not the affiliation.
+Affiliation does **not** include review or curation rights — those are earned through demonstrated participation, not purchased.
 
 <p align="center">
-  <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/submit">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/→%20Submit%20a%20paper-icsacinstitute.org%2Fsubmit-2b3a67?style=for-the-badge" alt="Submit"/>
+  <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/community/membership-affiliation">
+    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/→%20Become%20an%20Affiliate%20Researcher-icsacinstitute.org-2b3a67?style=for-the-badge" alt="Affiliate"/>
   </a>
 </p>
 
 <br/>
 
+## Where the rest lives
+
+- 🌐 &nbsp; **Institute site** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org](https://icsacinstitute.org)
+- 📖 &nbsp; **Journal — *Persistence*** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/journal](https://icsacinstitute.org/journal)
+- 📄 &nbsp; **Accepted papers + review records** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/publications](https://icsacinstitute.org/publications)
+- ✉&nbsp;&nbsp; **Submit a manuscript** (ORCID-gated, free) &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/submit](https://icsacinstitute.org/submit)
+- 🪪 &nbsp; **Verify a member ID** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [icsacinstitute.org/verify](https://icsacinstitute.org/verify)
+- 🧪 &nbsp; **Zenodo deposits (DOIs)** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [zenodo.org/communities/icsac](https://zenodo.org/communities/icsac)
+- 🛠 &nbsp; **Source mirrors** &nbsp;→&nbsp; [github.com/ICSAC](https://github.com/ICSAC)
+
+<br/>
+
 ## Support the work
 
-ICSAC runs on bootstrap funding from [**3Rivers WebTech**](https://3riverswebtech.com) and private donors. Keep rigorous peer review accessible to researchers without institutional cover:
+ICSAC runs on bootstrap funding from [**3Rivers WebTech**](https://3riverswebtech.com) and direct contributions from people who think rigorous, accessible peer review is worth keeping alive outside the gatekept circuit. **No grants, no university overhead, no APCs — so the math has to come from somewhere.**
 
 <p align="center">
+  <a href="https://icsacinstitute.org/community/donate">
+    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/💳%20Donate%20%E2%80%A2%20Support%20%E2%80%A2%20Sponsor-via%20Stripe-635bff?style=for-the-badge" alt="Donate via Stripe"/>
+  </a>
+  &nbsp;
   <a href="https://manifund.org/projects/icsac-ai-assisted-peer-review-for-independent-researchers">
-    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Back%20us%20on%20Manifund-f97316?style=for-the-badge" alt="Manifund"/>
+    <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Back%20us%20on-Manifund-f97316?style=for-the-badge" alt="Manifund"/>
   </a>
 </p>
 
+<sub>One-time donation • annual Supporter (name on /supporters) • annual Sponsor (logo + link). All run through Stripe at [icsacinstitute.org/community/donate](https://icsacinstitute.org/community/donate). ICSAC is not a registered 501(c)(3); contributions are not tax-deductible.</sub>
+
 <br/>
 
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