[Contact] Scalable Open Projects... Mass Collaboration... The Scalable Structure of ProM!

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Suresh Fernando

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Mar 23, 2011, 1:32:03 PM3/23/11
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Hi Doug,

What intrigued me about Devin's email was that it got me thinking more about the possibilities of actually running a municipality, city, state, etc. via open source infrastructure. I haven';t read your book and, hence, don't know what the emphasis is, but as both know the 'open government' story is not new. There are lots of groups that are thinking about voting mechanisms and other platforms and processes to supplant 'traditional' forms of democracy; the Metagovernment project, for example.

What I know less about, and am more interested in, are the possibilities for actually running Projects in open environments. As you likely know, the ProM group will be presenting at Contact. We are in the process of developing a 'dating site' for the climate action movement. The concept is detailed here. I've also attached it for review.

At its essence, we are working on developing a mass collaboration infrastructure that will use matching algorithms to connect related Projects and then provide recommendations that will connect projects that are Aligned and might have the possibility of Convergence.

(Note that Capitalized words are Concepts that we plan on Converging on so as to develop a shared understanding. This is a part of the Convergence Process Project.)

A unique feature of the Project is that part of what we are doing is running an Open Project. As such we are developing Infrastructure and Processes that are designed to engage a broad constituency. As we refine our processes, we might be able to apply some of what we know to thinking about open governance more broadly construed.

The current structure involves running the project via sets of Workstreams each of which has associated with it a set of tools, a team and meeting/reporting processes. The whole project can scale by scaling the number of Workstreams and streamlining reporting processes such that workstreams report to a centralized group. For example, we meet every Sunday at 1900 UTC on Skype. We usually have 8-10 participants. You, and others, are welcome to join!

It might be worth considering implementing a structure of this sort to focus/streamline objectives for Contact, and to get those that are involved in Contact to more closely engage in advance of the conference. If this is something you think would be worth considering, let me know. I can help you to define the logic and processes... See below for a description of our current structure...


ProM STRUCTURE

Tools

We are a Team or working group of the Coalition and OpenKollab

We communicate via the CC-PMS Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/cc-pms

We use the following BM Stream: https://secure.bettermeans.com/projects/184

We're making heavy use of etherpads for first draft and real-time collaboration, but we aim to move somewhat stable content to the wiki or other spaces. For each new etherpad, please prefix the pad name with ProM ... and we'll maintain an annotated CC-PMS etherpad index together.

We also use Skype chat spaces for each of the different workstreams as well as to manage more general conversations. We currently use the following spaces:

  • Tavern: yeah... just what you think it is
  • Project Matching... supposed to be the main chat space for group related issues... has been supplanted by the tavern it seems
  • Tech ... where the techies hang out
  • Data ... for discussions involving metadata and the Convergence Process Project
  • Outreach... for those figuring out how to connect with external projects, people, organizations etc...
  • Wiki Camp... Charley stewards wiki related musings and other weird stuff
  • WagNeering... for deep stuff related to WagN

Google Moderator

If you want to be invited into any of these discussion spaces, just let us know!

[edit] Workstreams

There are three "tracks" in the CC-PMS Team: <Outreach> <Data> & <Tech> (prefix subject heading to all posts in Google group according to each track, if appropriate)

We are presently defining the scope and mandate of each track... all tracks welcome your input and involvement!


Primary Tracks are indicated in <Angle Brackets> --- indent any pads relevant to each track! All references are to open conversations in etherpad unless otherwise specificed.

[edit] WagN


We are working within the WagN environment to:

  • aggregate stories that we can use to develop User Types which will, in turn, help us to develop the ProM architecture
  • input visions, ideas, frustrations etc from both ProM team members as well as others
  • play around with various card types, tagging structures etc to get a clearer sense of what the ProM meta-data will be.

[Collecting Stories on WagN]








On Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 6:08 AM, Douglas Rushkoff <rush...@gmail.com> wrote:
Yes - come to the other group - http://groups.google.com/group/contactsummit  - to discuss!  As the author of the 2000 book "Open Source Democracy" I would be delighted to engage. 


On Mar 23, 2011, at 2:20 AM, Suresh Fernando wrote:

Open Sourcing Government... a simple but powerful concept!

On Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 6:02 PM, Devin Balkind <devinb...@gmail.com> wrote:
I've been working on creating alliances between liberty and open source activists for about a year and have found that there is a MASSIVE philosophical overlap between people interested in technical and political freedom.  In fact, I think one of the best opportunities the open source movement has to get in front of the American people is through the voices of 'tea party' political candidates.  No joke.

I was at CPAC last month telling every liberty activist I could get my hands on one simple thing: "The people will stop supporting government when they know they can thrive without it."  Then I tell them about how easy it would be to create Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress deployments and component libraries for common tasks such as running schools, local governments, hospitals, fire departments, etc.  We could have open source technology solutions originating from local groups instead of the federal government.  They love it.  

There is an initiative brewing out of Young Americans for Liberty (formerly Students for Ron Paul) called Year of Youth.  Their mission is to get 100+ youth candidates trained and running for local, state and federal offices by 2012.  I may have the opportunity to develop their technology candidate training module.  Another group we should all be familiar with is the Free State Project in New Hampshire where a multi-year effort to take over the state government and make New Hampshire the freest state in the Union is underway and beginning to pay divided.  I've met many of the free staters.  They're awesome and philosophically aligned with us.

If we can help the liberty movement explain to the American people how they can overcome the challenges of self-governance using open source technologies, we can get our message of autonomy and resilience into the homes of nearly every American.  If anyone on this list would like to help me with this endeavor, please let me know and we can connect.

I've begun a presentation about this issue: https://docs.google.com/present/view?id=ddrgsgrv_1766g9jm7tz

Live Free :)



On Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 8:27 PM, Michael Grube <michae...@gmail.com> wrote:
Tatiana,

You are absolutely right. Everyone who is seriously involved in projects like the must consider all possible reactions to the technologies being developed - even the extremely unpleasant ones. The truth is that if we achieve any amount of success we will have most of "the powers that be" completely against us. Not to sound alarmist, but the cold truth is that if your technology directly threatens a giant, there may be worse consequences than being thrown in jail.

This is a very important point that all contributors must keep in mind when publishing their work. No conspiracy theories are necessary to realize that a successful implementation will mean possible violence and radical changes.

Michael

On Sun, Mar 20, 2011 at 7:43 PM, Tatiana Maya <environ...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi All,

I am a lurker in this group. My name is Tatiana, I am from Colombia and live in Brisbane - Australia since 2007. My interest about the contact event is in business and economics. Passionate about complementary currencies (CC's). 


The main point of the article is: Someone will be in prison for 15 years due to his silver coin (Liberty Dollar) issuing. 

From that skype conversation I also got this:

The Liberty Dollar case is far from "resolved," rather the conviction of von Nothaus demonstrates just how far through the looking glass we have gone. According to the US government, you may all be "terrorists."
Here is a quote from the FBI press release:
"Attempts to undermine the legitimate currency of this country are simply a unique form of domestic terrorism,” U.S. Attorney Tompkins said in announcing the verdict. “While these forms of anti-government activities do not involve violence, they are every bit as insidious and represent a clear and present danger to the economic stability of this country,” she added. “We are determined to meet these threats through infiltration, disruption, and dismantling of organizations which seek to challenge the legitimacy of our democratic form of government.”
http://charlotte.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel11/ce031811.htm

So, this is not to implant fear or anything, but a pretty similar situation may be on the horizon for initiatives like the decentralized internet. I don't know what the laws are about it in the US, but it might be worth having a look to try to anticipate possible scenarios??

Is there anyone familiar with Admiralty law vs Commons Law?? There is a movie called Kymatica available on the internet that talks about it. It may appear the kind of conspiracy theory thing, but I found a group here in Australia that is actually disrupting the legal and banking system a bit using what they have discovered from the research on the matter. Just thoughts if anyone thinks these are interrelated topic.

Cheers

Tatiana



On Mon, Mar 21, 2011 at 7:31 AM, Steve Jakson <stja...@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi Douglas,

I am fine with developing a solution to a problem. But can you suggest
me 2-3 topics so that I can choose one. It must be a semester project.

On Mar 20, 6:51 am, Douglas Rushkoff <rushk...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Steve,
> I would think part of the Masters thesis is to come up with the idea. Given all the conversation that has been going on here, given the Wiki filled with what exists and what doesn't, I would think you should be able to pick from among the dozens of areas that need a fix and develop a solution, no?
>
> On Mar 20, 2011, at 12:58 AM, Steve Jakson wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > Hello All,
> > I am a Graduate Student in Computer Science and I am supposed to do a
> > Master’s Project in Computer Networks. Can someone suggest me some
> > idea so that I can develop and implement that idea and complete my
> > project. At the same time I want to be part of your open source
> > projects. So can you guys suggest me a project where it is mutually
> > helpful to both of us.
> > Waiting for your reply.



--
Tatiana Maya

"Never offer the kind of help that disempowers. Never insist on offering the help you think is needed. Let the person or people in need know all that you have to give - then listen to what they want; see what they are ready to receive" Neale Donald Walsch





--
Devin Balkind
@devinbalkind
vitamindwb.com




--
Suresh Fernando
BLOG, YOUTUBE, OK WEBSITE, OK FAN PAGE, OK GROUP, OK-WE, PHILOSOPHY,  TWITTER,  FACEBOOK, WOTW FAN PAGE LINKEDIN, SLIDESHARE

-------ProM: Climate Change Project Matching System------
Project Description: http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching
To Join: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/cc-pms
Workstreams: http://cotw.cc/wiki/CC-PMS_etherpad_index





--
Suresh Fernando
BLOG, YOUTUBE, OK WEBSITE, OK FAN PAGE, OK GROUP, OK-WE, PHILOSOPHY,  TWITTER,  FACEBOOK, WOTW FAN PAGE LINKEDIN, SLIDESHARE

-------ProM: Climate Change Project Matching System------
Project Description: http://cotw.cc/wiki/Project_Matching
To Join: https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/cc-pms
Workstreams: http://cotw.cc/wiki/CC-PMS_etherpad_index

ProM_Draft_REVIEW03.08.11-1.pptx

Samuel Rose

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Mar 24, 2011, 11:54:52 PM3/24/11
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On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 1:54 PM, Devin <devinb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I've brushed up against a lot of the projects you mention but now need to
> digest the whole effort and figure out how I can be helpful to it.  Until
> then I'll keep my comments focused on 'open government.'
>
> The fundamental principle of the type of open government we advocate is
> localism.  We need to make it easy for people to deploy their own open
> source systems for common needs like schools and hospitals, and then make it
> easy for them to connect their system into a network that shares data and
> structures it for easy analysis.  The technology platforms already exist in
> the form of open source CMS's, and most of the components exist too.  They
> just haven't' been organized into complete systems that people can consume,
> they haven't been documented appropriately, and they haven't been connected
> together in a network.  Most important of all, the story of how the system
> could work hasn't been successfully told, because it was, we'd be hearing
> politicians talking about open source as a solution to the budget crisis.
>
> We're calling this project FLOAmerica (free, libre, open source America.)
> More info at floamerica.org.  Can you help me use your systems to advocate
> and advance this project?
>


I agree with much if what you say above. We're taking this approach
seriously here in Michigan, USA, and we've been discussing our
approach here: http://p2pfoundation.net/Michigan:_The_Transformation_Manifesto


--
--
Sam Rose
Future Forward Institute and Forward Foundation
Tel:+1(517) 639-1552
Cel: +1-(517)-974-6451
skype: samuelrose
email: samue...@gmail.com
http://futureforwardinstitute.com
http://forwardfound.org
http://hollymeadcapital.com
http://p2pfoundation.net
http://socialmediaclassroom.com

"The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human
ambition." - Carl Sagan

Mark Frazier

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Mar 25, 2011, 1:09:17 AM3/25/11
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Sam and Devin,

Here are ideas and links that may be useful, in response to your
FloAmerica and Michigan Transformation initiatives...

Over the years, I've been impressed by the following spectrum of reform
opportunities. All can help awaken land values in distressed areas.

As long as the gains from appreciated land values go in large part to
social benefit (helping fund local good causes), there may be prospects
for a left-right alignment in support of the following:

1) Free and open source eGovernment modules, aimed at improving business
climates in distressed areas (by simplifying business licensing, zoning,
and building code approval processes)

More: http://www.openworldinstitute.org

2) Land grants -- via transfers of idle municipally-owned properties -- to
endow local microscholarship funds for peer learning, online skills
acquisition, and certifications

More: http://www.entrepreneurialschools.com/land-grants &
http://www.entrepreneurialschools.com/microscholarships

3) Lower insurance costs via group purchase of homeowners insurance
policies, with additional discounts keyed to level of progress
(digitally-recorded) by neighborhood cleanup/fixup and community crime
prevention initiatives

More: Stimulating Community Enterprise - a 1984 report I did for the
Joint Economic Committee of US Congress (contact me if you'd like a copy)

4) Formation of charter schools and virtual ventures that vest students
as equity stakeholders, with rewards and prizes linked to peer group
progress

More: http://j.mp/7Z8m6w

5) Student engagement with local enterprises via work-study projects on
removing barriers to their growth (see @anametheus "University of
Tomorrow" talk)

http://blog.changeyourreality.com/post/858769274/a-university-of-the-future
(especially from 17:25 onward)

6) Formation of coops to lower health insurance prices via group
purchase, including discounts for documented changes in diet/lifestyle
(e.g. the "Safeway Plan" rewarding those who bring body mass index levels
below 30)

More: http://j.mp/4Ic3a1

7) Reduction of property tax burdens on neighborhoods in step with their
assumption of infrastructure/service responsibilities

More: http://j.mp/dNriG2

8) Linking of public sector salaries/pensions to the growth rate of the
local/regional economy, along the lines of Singapore's 'flexiwage' system.

More: http://j.mp/gxZ6XH


I'll welcome your thoughts on any elements of this that may be useful.

Best,

Mark Frazier
Openworld.com
"Awakening Assets for Good"
@openworld

PS If you're (still!) interested, other backgrounders on the web are:

- [Quora overview} What can we do to incentivize entrepreneurship in DC?
http://j.mp/eJiszC

- Chapters 3-5 of "New Catalysts for Sustainability" (PDF, Sabre
Foundation/Openworld) at
http://www.openworld.com/downloadable-reports-and-white/white-paper-1-new-c
atalysts-for-sustainability

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