Crowd-sourcing the Citizen Equality Act

[Barry Rafkind]

Per https://lessigforpresident.com/the-act/ :

The Citizen Equality Act is presented here as a template for three fundamental reforms that must happen if we are to have equal citizens. We are presenting this package now, pointing to the proposed legislative source for each element. If the campaign is launched after Labor Day, then in the fall, we will crowdsource a process to complete the details of this reform, and turn it into proposed legislation by January 1. At this point, you should read the act as embracing at a minimum the reforms included within the source for each element:

Has anyone started designing that crowd-sourced process? Are there good platforms available for this? Seems like we should get cracking on this.

[Aaron Lifshin]

We are in concept stage of this and suggestions are welcome.

There will be a separate site for the Citizen Equality Act.

The delicate thing here is that we have published the 3 broad areas that the act shall cover, and we have to create a structure that somehow prevents "scope creep" of the act.

A

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[Manuel Hurtado]

Hi Aaron,

Could you or any official, please jump to this socialmedia threat https://groups.google.com/forum/?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer#!topic/teamlessigsocialmedia/Q905C-ny6b4 when you have some spare time...

Thanks

[Henry Poole]

Seamus Kraft at opengovfoundation might have some good suggestions.

[Henry Poole]

[Bruce Skarin]

Hey Aaron,

Jumping in finally, I talked with Larry about this just a bit last week, and it is something I want to fully support. It definitely needs to be a separate non-partisan site so that other candidates (in particular republican candidates) can get behind it. Have we reached out the groups touched by the CEA? Represent.US, ofby.us, fairvote.org, takeback.org independentvoterproject.org, others? It would also make sense to combine manpower instead of bleeding talent away from Larry's campaign.

How about possible co-sponsors in Congress? Sarbanes, Brat?

On the site itself, it will need to be a mix of both educating and getting feedback. We can start with high level summaries of the three key areas and let people focus on their top priorities. As we propose and evaluate different policies, e.g. matching versus vouchers, we can then use feedback to help work out details. People can learn as much or as little as they like, while still providing crucial feedback and buy-in.

It should also serve as a messaging platform to help get the word out. Things like galleries of videos, infographics, and memes, that people can schedule in their social media (sort of a thunderclap meets hootsuite). This is actually a plugin that all of our efforts could really use.

Lastly, I think it will need to tie each issue to the CEA, e.g. climate, energy, debt, immigration, gun safety, etc. This way when people try to argue that "what we really need to do is go after is issue X" we can say, yes exactly, but to do X you must first pass the CEA.

Let me know how I can help.

-Bruce

[Aaron Lifshin]

We have the domains, and we need someone to start creating concepts for that site.

A

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[Bruce Skarin]

Great, I'm not a full stack developer, but I can help with design concepts. Is there anyone out there that can help build things out?

I like the idea of using Madison from opengovfoundation for the actual legislation, but I think there is a lot of other groundwork to be laid before starting in on that, such as a basic overview and platform for recruiting citizens to take part.

I'm acquaintances with a few contacts at the different groups (represent.us, takeback.org, and ivp), should I start pinging them about joining together on the CEA or is someone else on that? It would actually probably be best coming from Larry if he can squeeze an email in.

I think it will be important to separate this financially as soon as possible. Can one of these groups serve as the umbrella to get things started?

[Bruce Skarin]

Aaron, can we get a barebones email signup going on one of the CEA domains? We need to start gauging the response to the crowdsourcing idea. The more I think about it, the more I think that the CEA is actually a much better entry point for people that don't really know Larry, or more importantly trust him just yet. Ten thousand people that contribute is good, but we need a thousand times more that participate in the movement.

I have an editorial on the CEA that I'd like to publish and it would be great to have an email sign-up, call for action, to link to. Can you or someone use one our past sign-ups to get something up?

[Blake West]

If we're just talking about a quick signup form, we could use something like Launchrock. You can get a quick email signup going in a matter of minutes.

As for the actual CEA site. 

    1.) The two parts could probably be split out. That is.. Education is the main page. Crowsourcing suggestions is another.

    2.) For Education: If this is all just content stuff, I'm not sure we need a full stack developer. And I am a full stack developer, but sites with just a bunch of content and not much "interativity" or logic are best done inside a CMS (content management system) of some kind. We could just use Squarespace or similar. No need to reinvent the wheel. Unless there's other serious functionality we need? Because even comments/signups/light purchasing can all be done through plugins on a good CMS.

    3.) For the crowdsourcing part... it might seem a little weird, but honestly, Github is probably the best way to do it. It is an extremely robust, mature platform designed for mass collaboration with thousands of people. Yes it's supposed to be for code, but If we use it for just text documents, it's still pretty user friendly. You just click on a document you want to edit, hit edit, and make your suggestions. Each suggestion can be diffed, commented on, etc. Since it requires no knowledge of code, and simply follows a web GUI, I think it could legitimately work. Thoughts?

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[Aaron Lifshin]

Guys, 

Set it up I'll get a domain pointed at it.

A

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[Bruce Skarin]

Okay, I'll go the Launchrock route for now. -Bruce

[Bruce Skarin]

Okay, how's this? What domain do you want to point? http://the-citizen-equality-act.launchrock.com/

[Aaron Lifshin]

+Bonk

Which domain should we use?

A

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[Sarah Bonk]

Which ones do we own? I’ve got citizenequalityact .org, .us. and .com. If I recall correctly, there were other options? (I also have the citizenequality Twitter handle.)

The choice should be driven (at least in part) by what we intend the site to do. There will be loads of ideas on how to spread the word and explain its important, but the functionality here is at least important (if not more so since we need this thing written in a timely manner.)

We have a process outline in which the initial phase focuses on discussion of the CEA’s provisions. We need to discuss, debate, and agree before we move to drafting actual legislation.

Phase 1 Evaluate and discuss provisions of the CEA

Phase 2 Create CEA framework and outline

Phase 3 Collaborate to write the CEA full legal text

For all involved, Brian Boyko created a preliminary document.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rdXSL_pC8WrwHF6GPQUeDYlLs_-CaRZ2EJ-M5_tyiL0/edit

Let’s have a little more discussion and then figure out which URL makes most sense.

[Bruce Skarin]

Sarah! Good to "see" you.

Can we use citizenequalityact.org for now? We can always redirect later. There is a launchrock email signup ready to go that will provide some immediate feedback on how many people will want to participate in the process.

This will be important to know as we design the crowdsourcing platform because it will need be different if only a few hundred people take part versus tens or even hundreds of thousands do.

I agree that there needs to be more discussion on the CEA's provisions, I've completed a thorough analysis of the policies related to campaign finance and found that small dollar matching is really pretty ineffective, despite its popularity, and that even vouchers can be overwhelmed if campaign costs continue to grow geometrically.There is also some good discussion taking place already on the proportional representation reforms with regards to the voting method.

I don't have access to Brian's doc, but have requested it. We can still allow plenty of time for discussion before launching even just an overview site, but it would be good to set some deadlines. I threw together a conceptual pitch with some general key dates here.

[Aaron Lifshin]

+Sarah (not sure she is on the tech volunteer group)

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[Bruce Skarin]

Thanks Aaron, Also, if we can use citizenequalityact.org for the launchrock, we just need to do the following:

Setup your Domain or Subdomain to point to your Launchrock page

​ (

http://the-citizen-equality-act.launchrock.com/

)​ 

by creating an A Record with your Registrar or DNS management service. Most services will require you to enter the host (your domain) and the IP address for the domain. Create four records for your site using the following IP Addresses:

• 54.243.190.28
• 54.243.190.39
• 54.243.190.47
• 54.243.190.54

Once you've modified your A records, it may take up to 72 hours for changes to propagate.

[Aaron Lifshin]

I only had citizenequality.us

I think Bonk has the other one.

setup attached

A

[Bruce Skarin]

Thanks Aaron, citizenequality.us is just fine. Shorter might be better anyway. Do you know if Larry has an announcement planned? Should we put something out on social media? I can see how it plays on ivn.

Sarah, I'm willing to manage the citizenequality Twitter handle if that helps. I went ahead and grabbed the citizenequality FB handle. If you'd like control as well, just friend me.

We should also probably set up the twitter account on bit.ly so we can track urls. I threw together an icon too (attached), if there is anyone that else would like to do artwork/graphics, please chime in.

[Sarah Bonk]

We can’t have something that looks like the French flag (even reversed), I’m afraid. Perhaps a play on the Medium Equal Citizens logo? We also have some concepts we didn’t use for the campaign that we may be able to repurpose. I’m working with Peter right now and we’ll investigate later when we free up.

Let’s plan a call so we can talk through what needs to happen for an MVP before launch so it looks like we have our shit together before we start publicizing anything.

How’s Wednesday afternoon for folks?

[Bruce Skarin]

Sounds good on all accounts, I have a wide open schedule tomorrow. Attached is a possible remix. 

[Bruce Skarin]

I've updated the launchrock page to include a bit more of an explainer. Wordsmithing and graphic changes welcome. What time are you guys available for a call? Afternoon for CA might put me into when I commute or family time. If we could chat before 4PM EST it would be best for me. Thanks, -Bruce

[Bruce Skarin]

There is a call today at 12PM EST, 9AM PST to discuss a strategy for launching the CEA site. If you are interested, please dial in: 1-515-344-4643 and use access code 49410

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[Bruce Skarin]

Greetings all,

Sarah and I had a good conversation today and it looks like an overall strategy is starting to come together. Here is the brief version:

1. Connect with potential collaborators that can provide expertise, resources, and an existing community base
2. Form a small team of visual/technical contributors for the CEA site
3. Update the soft-launch page to look more professional (the current launchrock version is here: http://citizenequality.us/) and include partners (before end of September)
4. Develop a detailed strategy for the two primary stages of development, where both stages will need to allow for collaborative expert content development as well as general public feedback. These stages are:
1. A structured discussion centered on the three components to the CEA where we collaboratively explain the different policy options and solicit feedback on which policies to implement
2. The writing of the actual legislation
5. Evaluate technical solutions (e.g. whysaurus, madison)
6. Begin drafting site layout, content, and requirements doc

On 1) I have gotten in touch with Josh Silver at Represent.US, John Pudner at Take Back Our Republic, and Aaron Hamlin at the Center for Election Science and am scheduling calls to discuss their interest in collaborating. I'm waiting to hear back from FairVote, ofby.us, and the Independent Voter Project. If anyone has connections with these groups or has suggestions for other collaborators, please let us know.

On 2) If you would like to be a part of this effort, please speak up now, since we may need to move this to another group before too long

On 3), Sarah will see if Peter can help rework the launch site, but if someone else is looking to jump in there are style and bootstrap resources available.

Thanks!

-Bruce

[Barry Rafkind]

Thanks, Aaron, Sarah, and, especially, Bruce for your collaboration on this topic! Excellent strategy!

I might be able to help out technically and would like to stay in the loop on this. A dedicated Google group sounds like a good idea. I've created this Slack channel for it https://teamlessigtech.slack.com/messages/citizen-equality-act/ in case that's helpful.

Any word from the folks you've contacted?

You mentioned a requirements document for the site, has that been started?

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[Sarah Bonk]

I have a shared CEA folder started. Let me know if you cannot access.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5nuEDSWAsKVZEZMX3ZVVk5Qdms&usp=sharing

From: Barry Rafkind <barry....@gmail.com>
Reply: Barry Rafkind <barry....@gmail.com>>
Date: September 20, 2015 at 1:24:19 AM
To: Bruce Skarin <bruce...@gmail.com>>
Cc: Sarah Bonk <binki...@gmail.com>>, Aaron Lifshin <aaronl...@gmail.com>>, teamlessigtech <teamles...@googlegroups.com>>
Subject:  Re: {TL Tech} Crowd-sourcing the Citizen Equality Act

[Bruce Skarin]

Hi All,

So I'm speaking with Josh Silver of Represent.US tomorrow AM, then John Pudner of takeback.org on Wednesday along with Aaron Hamlin of the Center for Election Science. I don't think we will have any trouble securing initial support.

I really think we should shoot to have the soft-launch ready for 10/1. I've refined the launchrock page further and don't think we need too much more for just an email signup page.

I created a doc in the folder Sarah shared. If any of you have any wording refinement suggestions, please feel to make them there. The style and graphic options are somewhat limited in launchrock, but if you have other suggestions for ensuring the professional look we need, please let me know.

Sarah, can you send me the CEA twitter credentials? That way I can add the current icon, graphics, and url and then add a follow button on launchrock.

If things continue progressing we should easily be able to transition towards a more complete site with more detailed explainers, about page, etc. in October, before transitioning on towards a fully featured site with collaboration and feedback tools heading towards the end of the year.

Barry, I have yet to start a requirements doc, if you want to start outlining something in the shared folder, it would be a big help.

Thanks!

-Bruce

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[Barry Rafkind]

Thanks, Bruce and Sarah! I've started an outline of a requirements/design doc here.

[Bruce Skarin]

Thanks Barry, I will try and help flush out some details once I get a few spare cycles.

I fixed some padding issues and made a few more minor wording tweaks on the launchrock. I also added a twitter follow button. Sarah, can you either send me the credentials or update the Twitter account with the link, icon, and background?

I had a good talk with Josh Silver at Represent.US. They have a lot on their plate with the launch of Gil Fulbright for president campaign, but he is going to think on how they want to be involved. Either way I secured their blessing to disassemble the AACA to select the bits we like for the CEA. They are also interested in using the platform for state level legislation, so hopefully as we get building we might be able to collaborate on assembling the backend.

I'm speaking briefly this afternoon with Rob Richie at Fair Vote, apparently they did have some contact with Larry's campaign. Does anyone know who? Their board chair Krist Novoselic (yes Nirvana bassist) will be in Boston in two weeks (Monday afternoon of the 6th and Tuesday morning the  7th) and is looking to meet with folks. I volunteered to help coordinate that unless someone else already is, in which case we really should close that loop.

Tomorrow I will chat with John Pudner from takeback.org and Aaron Hamlin at electology.org

All for now.

-Bruce

[Bruce Skarin]

Alright, so I talked with Rob Richie at Fair Vote and got the low down on a bunch or resources that should help the research/explainer phase. I've also pinged Doug Clopp who will be traveling with Krist when he's here in October. It would be best have MIT or Harvard host a small roundtable. I have a few contacts that might be able to help with that, but if there is anyone on the list is at MIT or Harvard that could help, please speak up.

I had a really good chat with John Pudner at takeback.org and I got some feedback on how to frame things to address some of the consertative concerns across the the three core issues.

Overall I think we have some solid support across these groups, but much will have to wait until we start getting things off the ground. Larry has confirmed that the the CEA needs to be non-partisan, but we'll need to take things one step at a time, which is consistent with our current strategy.

Larry also put me in touch with Finnur Magnusson, who helped with the tech effort of crowdsourcing Iceland's new constitution. He's willing to provide a braindump over a Skype/Hangout session covering all the lessons learned and his thoughts on how he'd go about architecting things now. If you'd like to be in on that discussion, please let me know.

Lastly, I've continued refining the launchrock page based on the feedback so far. I'd like to include an optional survey in the confirmation page, like the one for the tech volunteers so that we can also start building another tech team.

[Barry Rafkind]

Awesome, Bruce! I'd be glad to join the discussion with Mr. Magnusson.

A survey to recruit a CEA tech team sounds good.

Would you be able to summarize your conversations with various orgs in a shared doc?