Two new countries light up, and the Wave learns to be fairer

Tuesday, August 25, 2026, the UTC day is complete. After the two very strong days described in When the Wave spreads by hundreds, then by thousands, then The Wave surpasses 9,000 presences and learns to sustain its momentum, FreeWillWave continued to move at a different pace.

We went from 9,099 to 9,473 Free Humans. All the new presences of the day arrived by invitation. Two countries were added to the map: Russia and Switzerland. And while the Wave continued to move, I spent a significant part of the day correcting what needed to be clearer, more honest, more human.

This August 25 was therefore not only a day of growth. It was also a day when FreeWillWave learned to better say what it does, to better respect the choices of the people who arrive, and to better keep the memory of the links that already exist.

UTC day of August 25	Result
Free Humans at the start	9,099
Free Humans at the end	9,473
New presences	374
Arrivals by invitation	374
People who invited at least one person	211
Countries represented at the start	82
Countries represented at the end	84
Energies sent during the day	2,996

A calmer growth, but still transmitted

After the great shift of August 23 and the still very active day of August 24, August 25 shows something else: the Wave does not disappear when the peak passes. It continues to move. 374 new presences took their place, and all 374 arrived by invitation.

This number is smaller than that of the previous two days, but it tells an important continuity. 211 different people invited at least someone during the day. This means that transmission remains spread among many hands, with simple gestures, sometimes modest, but sufficient for other humans to find the entrance.

Nigeria again carried the largest share of arrivals, with 290 new presences. Niger accounted for 14, Brazil 8, France 7, Cameroon 6, and the Netherlands 5. The map of this progression can be followed on the Wave map, and the figures remain accessible in the Wave in figures.

The last presence of the day was #9473 YAHYA HUSSEINI (Nigeria), at 23:57 UTC. It is a simple trace, but it closes a full day during which the Wave continued to be carried from person to person.

Russia and Switzerland enter history

Two countries lit up for the first time. Russia appeared on the map at 01:57 UTC. Switzerland followed at 15:15 UTC.

There is always something special about a first point on the map. Before this day, these countries had no presence in FreeWillWave yet. After this day, they are part of history. It is not only an added color: it is a new possibility, from a place that was not yet represented.

This movement extends the sequence begun with The film becomes the front door, and 12 countries light up. In a few days, the map has changed scale. It no longer shows only where the Wave already exists: it keeps the memory of the passages through which it arrives.

Traces to keep	Moment or result
First country lit	Russia, at 01:57 UTC
Second country lit	Switzerland, at 15:15 UTC
Countries represented at the end	84
Last presence of the day	#9473 YAHYA HUSSEINI (Nigeria), at 23:57 UTC
Energies since the opening	16,677

Invitations and energies remain very much alive

During the day, #805 Chizo1germany (Germany) had 40 direct invitations. #1920 Tijjani Yahuza (Nigeria) had 19, and #7987 Younoussa Kalla maillafïa dit moussa (Niger) had 6. Thank you to them, and thank you to the 211 people who opened at least one passage during this day.

Since the opening, #805 Chizo1germany (Germany) has reached 3,572 direct invitations. #2029 Nura USMAN MUSA (Nigeria) has 175, and #869 Ibrahim Sani (Nigeria) has 158. These traces show something very concrete: some people have opened doors that others were able to pass through, then pass on in turn.

Energies were also very present: 2,996 gestures during the day, sent by 340 different people. Nigeria accounted for 2,617 of them, Niger 96, and Belgium 49. Since the opening, 16,677 energies have been sent.

During this day, the people most active on energies were #9166 Sunusi Mande (Nigeria), with 223 energies, #5453 Sadik Goni (Nigeria), with 199, and #3377 Babayo Haruna (Nigeria), with 180. Since the opening, the most active have been #514 Agba R (Kuwait), #486 Musa Muhammad (Nigeria), and #3377 Babayo Haruna (Nigeria).

On the support side, thank you to #79 Oddur Tom (Australia), whose $5 gesture remains the first support recorded since the opening. The Support the project page remains open for anyone who wants to help FreeWillWave continue.

Speaking more fairly, welcoming better

A significant part of the day was devoted to a fundamental correction: the way FreeWillWave talks about support. A sentence said, in several places, that a support gave nothing in return. That was not fair. A support can give public visibility: a card, a presentation text, an image or a logo, a link, and a mention if the person allows it.

I therefore removed that phrase instead of softening it. What remains true must be stated precisely: the Free Human number and the place in the invitation chain follow the order of arrival, and are not for sale. But when a support gives public visibility, there is no point in pretending otherwise. It is a simple question of honesty toward the people who read, participate, and support.

I also corrected a more discreet but important problem. Some arrivals had been publicly announced, while part of their invitation link had not been correctly attached. In total, 61 humans were missing from the invitation trees. The repair has been made, and no orphans remain on this point.

Another change concerns the country. When a person has not provided their country, I do not want to invent it afterward. An absent country is information that was not received. From now on, in the most used arrival paths, it is also possible not to declare one's country. This is more consistent with the rest of FreeWillWave: taking one's place should not force someone to name a place they do not want to name.

On the Wave map, the podiums have also been made more readable. The blocks are now grouped by families of gestures: invitations, energies, and support. The idea is simple: when a person looks at the map, they should understand more quickly what they see, without having to guess why two columns are side by side.

The Wave is seen, heard, and adjusted live

The day also helped to better control what people see live. The energy animations now have an order that I can adjust without changing the whole structure of the site. It is a small additional freedom to let the Wave breathe: avoid a clip coming back too soon, choose what plays today, keep a clear schedule.

The scrolling banner at the top of the site has also been improved. I can now write text with a link in it, and the speed remains stable even when the sentences change in length or language. It is the kind of detail that is most noticeable when it is missing: a banner that is too fast becomes unreadable, a banner that is too slow becomes heavy. Here, it simply needs to accompany the visit.

The videos used for the animations have also been prepared in a way more suited to their real use. For the person using FreeWillWave, the objective is simple: that the animations remain available, that the pages continue to respond correctly, and that future developments are not slowed down by things that do not need to be.

None of this is spectacular from the outside. Yet it is an essential part of the work: when hundreds or thousands of humans arrive, the small blurriness becomes visible. An imprecise sentence, a missing option, an incomplete attachment, a poorly explained display: each of these details can bother someone. Correcting them means making the Wave more habitable.

The album The Wave remains there to let FreeWillWave be heard other than through the numbers. The film of the experience remains a simple entry point to pass on. And the page to send an idea or a comment continues to matter, because several corrections in recent days come precisely from what was seen, reported, or requested.

This August 25 therefore leaves a particular trace: 374 new presences, all by invitation, two more countries on the map, nearly 3,000 energies sent, and several corrections that make FreeWillWave clearer. The Wave is still growing, but it is also learning to better welcome what comes.

What happens next will depend on the humans who take their place, on those who invite a person, on those who send an energy, listen to the album, support the project, propose an improvement, or simply show someone that FreeWillWave already exists.