Loomio
Sun 12 Feb 2023 1:06PM

Sources for Basic Knowledge

T tanoujin Public Seen by 29

I am trying to improve my basic knowledge about (1) Co-operatives and the tasks included in (2) running a Mastodon server. Purpose: improve the quality of my contributions to the ongoing discussions. Is there something like a canon of sources for newcomers with limited time for consultation?

T

tanoujin Sun 12 Feb 2023 1:24PM

ad (1) I assume social.coop has its base in the uk, so that United Kingdom legal framework applies? Or would apply if the Co-operative wanted to go "official"?

A quick search (really my time is quite limited) pops up the https://www.uk.coop site. Is this a good start for someone in need of a "Co-op for Dummies" source? Maybe you have other recommendations? Do you have a basic model to refer to?

ad (2) I guess it can not harm to work throught almost the entire content of https://docs.joinmastodon.org?

I can invest 1 hour daily to take that in, but I have several pots on the stove, so I do not want to waste time if there are better resources. So I would be grateful for any tips.

M

mike_hales Sun 12 Feb 2023 1:52PM

This looks like an opportunity to think about what social. coop might put into a handbook of some kind? Perhaps part of the work that's ongoing around the wiki? What are the basic categories in the wiki - OK, I can look, but for discussion it could be good to have them extracted in a thread here?

Not to divert from @tanoujin 's specific need, somewhere the category architecture needs to include principles/protocols/sources on:

  • Coops, multistakeholder coops, platform coops, Distributed Cooperative Organisations (DisCOs), and the particular kinds of coops that members of social. coop have 'in repertoire' (eg digital means, regional food, green value networks, etc). Etc.

  • Perhaps commons, likewise.

  • Platform ops in social. coop, Mastodon admin and protocols, navigating and maintaining the platform space/material ecosystem of a Mastodon instance, running all the way from Mastodon code repos, thro an instance, into local/regional/national/international comms, into the user's device, into the app/browser. That is, social. coop platform space as a commons of running code, provisioned and mobilised by diverse actors and agents - and stewarded . . how?.

  • What about the admin/ops/maintainance of the other libre software platforms that members mobilise: Loomio, wiki, Jitsi, BigBlueButton, OpenCollective?

  • Perhaps, in parallel - the media spaces of social. coop: Loomio, wiki, ¿NextCloud?, document repos/FAQs (including handbook). Mastodon content moderation inside the social. coop instance. Overall stewarding of the commons of messages, data and recorded communications generally.

  • Perhaps, in parallel - the venue spaces (gatherings, convocations) of social. coop: working groups, circles (tech, community, finance, legal, etc), general meeting, cultural projects (reading group etc), periodic drop-ins and strategy sessions. Etc. Overall stewarding of the commons of movement capability in social. coop aka formación (organisation circle?).

Kinda large? Well yes, kinda large! Whoever said this world of digital means and community was simple 🙄 ?

And like, as I said, not to divert from @tanoujin 's enquiry!

T

tanoujin Sun 12 Feb 2023 2:00PM

Yes, Mike, that would be the scope, but of course I have to start somewhere ;)