Manbearcat
Legend
I have no idea if this would be even remotely doable or not but here's a thought I've had for a while:
Put out, say, a couple of hexes worth of map, with some terrain features (using a standardized legend for it). Describe a location within each hex, using no more than a couple of sentences to do so, and include a typical encounter for the hex. This is all the information you get for this world at the moment.
Invite people to submit their own hexes, or ideas for locations and encounters within the hexes. Each week/two weeks/month/whatever, increase the map by a couple of hexes chosen from the submissions.
a crowd-funded hexcrawl?
I mean, maybe? I know that a lot of the problem some people have with settings like the Realms is that there's so much info. So that's why I was thinking something very minimalist built up over time--and if crowd-sourced, then it could also end up with a lot of potentially cool weirdness. It would probably end up very kitchen sink, which isn't everyone's cup of tea, but could be cool.
What you’re describing here is basically a slightly different operationalizing of Dungeon World.
Make a map with a few adventure sites.
Leave it mostly blank.
The map fleshes out during play as a product of GM/player/system interaction.
Except for a Hexcrawl.
And yes, it works.