Session #1 - Discussion

Here’s a thread for discussion connected with Session #1 of commons.hour. For session background and signup see: Sign-up - commons.hour - session #1 - #7
For post-meeting links (includes video recording and shared notes) see Session #1 post-session links
For take-home points from the session, see Nextcloud and the first post below. Discuss please :+1:

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Take-home points

These are take-home points nominated from the notes of this session. Framed as far as possible here as draft protocols, under the main handbook headings.

This is rich list, for meeting#1 :slight_smile: Thank you all contributing.

Political economy (Org circle)

  • Membership and contribution: Opt into different modes of membership which are in fact modes of contribution?

For example:

  • developer-user (tech-user members A)
  • guinea-pig user (tech-user members B)
  • simple infrastructure-consumer user, etc.

Plus

  • Ops members (tech)
  • ops members (organisation, product)
  • ops members (community) - eg contributing consistently in media spaces (forum, handbook), venue spaces (commons.hour, Community circle). Etc

Is this to be seen as some kind of version of (free-libre) open-source contribution? Or as commons contribution? In what way are these alike and differing?

  • Contributions of glue work - Recognise glue work aka care work (typically ‘invisible work’ ) as a major, basic contribution.

Recognition, in what form? Typically, not wages? So, what then? Status? Credits? Trust?

  • Financial contribution: - Offer an investment option as distinct from the current operational-cost contribution available to user-members. Keep the floor low, but the ceiling high.
  • Development wish list: Assemble a wish list (for spending). Define projects/budgets, pitched at various levels according to available funding, and incrementally fund projects, perhaps crowdfunding-style.

Plural community (Community circle)

  • Learning as a core practice: Learning by doing cooperating (doing commoning) is a core practice of the coop-commons, That is, contribution as learning. This is the way to develop and mutualise . . confidence, empathy, coop-commons ’literacy’, reciprocity, respect/recognition of differing, diverse skills

For future attention: points which began as discussions of ‘community’ and plurality, ended up as discussions of contribution and political economy within the coop. We’ve yet to pay proper attention to the plurality of our user community, the ‘pluriverse’ of practices in which our commons is mobilised. Perhaps this begins with Ela Kagel in session#2?

Assemblies and deliberations (Org circle)

  • Which future? Where possible, offer alternative scenarios in a ‘choice-space’ - for example, modes of stewarding, or forms of media, or forms of membership - and take a poll: Which (future) d’you prefer? For example, as was done in the Open2020 session on governance of digital infrastructure (coop/commons/FLOSS etc). It was done there by positioning an avatar in a whiteboard space. Develop this technique?
  • Delegates: When members join, select a delegate in the governing body? Consider liquid democracy?

Q: What is ‘the governing body’ Where might ‘delegates’ sit? ?

  • The General Assembly?
  • A between-assemblies Board of executive members (a Council? A Thing?)?
  • The Community circle as a Board?

Yes this one is related to our roadmap: the suggestion by participants was to make it public and define ranges of budget goals for each. When a certain budget milestone is reached, the work can start and be compensated. Possibly this would mean to redefine our Compensation Framework and iterate towards bounties per task or series of tasks related to the roadmap?

A renewed Compensation Framework should also cover the carework, such as contact@ support desk, and the glue work of bringing people together, mobilising around core aspects of meet.coop’s mission.

Both items for All-hands this week? All Hands 7 September 2021

Roadmap/wish list - does this rest with Org circle? Carework/contribution certainly does. @osb @benhylau