Big Conversations

Kathe TB Public Seen by 12

We need to have clearer lines of communication between the working groups and general membership of social.coop both (Loomio and Mastodon users). We want this to facilitate feedback on current operations and spark new directions for the coop. Specifically we would like to center discussion on how to

improve general decision/voting process, and
strategize how to interact with Fediverse (both corporate instances like Threads and other cooperative instances like cosocial.ca). Recent work in this space, like the publication of the Fediversalist Papers study in which Social.coop participated, must be taken into account.
the nature of cooperatives and commons, and the roles, responsibilities and powers of members
1. Co-responsibility and participation, it doesn’t have to be money, but since we are a coop, do we require something to give back? Do we want everyone to –for example- have a bit of time per year on moderation? (so as to better know and understand what needs to be done behind the curtains for everyone to have a good experience)?
2. How to engage with social.coop beyond moderation and participating on the microblog. (ie working groups, book clubs etc)
Financial Strategic Development:
1. need clarity on criteria for consideration, how does this spending support the values, mission, and aims of social.coop
  1. Consider using the DisCO framework (Livelihood, care, and love).
2. Open conversation on using resources not just to support other projects... e.g. education support for members... support instances in trouble.
3. ongoing support of an organization has a higher impact then a one-off donation
4. how can the process effectively leverage and build off of past discussions and decisions

See https://share.mayfirst.org/s/WyKxiJ8C4gLbFxf?openfile=true for more details

Poll Created Sat 21 Jun 2025 6:10PM

Next steps proposal! Closed Fri 27 Jun 2025 6:00PM

Outcome

by Kathe TB Tue 1 Jul 2025 4:27PM

Thanks for participating in the sense check! No significant changes proposed though some folks were concerned with the time commitment and that we did not need to vote on the operational tech solutions. We will follow up on this at our next OC meeting https://www.loomio.com/d/IPrGebzT/organizing-circle-meeting-2025-july-3-1500-utc-

What are you proposing?

We want to hold Big Conversation with the broader social.coop community. We propose breaking this down into three basic steps of inform, multi-mode engagement, and follow up invitation:

Inform: We need to make more visible the work that goes into maintaining social.coop. Communicate WG activities with regular announcements in Fediverse with link to meeting recaps.
1. Create a template to make these announcements quick to read.
  
  Proposed Template
  
  Update from X Working Group: [short 1-3 sentence update]. For more information see [link to recap document]. [1 sentence with any follow up asks]
2. In the future automate cross-posting.
Engagement: Invite open comment on specific topics with a Scoping-Formulation-Decision framework in each mode of engagement
1. Fediverse announcement and threads on topic
  
  Proposed Template
  
  Social.coop come join the Big Conversation! [why this is important, hook 'em!] We are talking through [big topic] here and [on Loomio]. Help us figure out what the scope of this topic is then brainstorm options before possibly moving into a proposal on Loomio or into working groups.
2. Loomio thread for each topic with phases with the thread
3. Meet.coop monthly calls on open Loomio topics (rotating faciltator from OC)
Invitation to operations working groups to continue to move forward any policy changes

July Timeline

July 10 - @Kathe TB sends announcement to Fediverse and starts Loomio thread to talk about how to improve proposal and decision processes.

July 24 - @Kathe TB recaps discussion threads. @Eduardo Mercovich will send out announcement and start tread for [[NEXT TOPIC]]

July 27 - @Kathe TB holds open forum on topic

Why is this important?

We need a plan of engagement!

What are you asking people to do?

How do you feel about the proposal? Leave a comment or make a suggestion for improvement.

This Sense check is an opportunity for your input and contribution, to help us make a better decision.

Results

Option	% of points	Voters
Looks good	100.0%	3
Abstain	0.0%	0
Concerned	0.0%	0
Undecided	0%	7

3 of 10 people have participated (30%)

MarieVC (social.coop/@MarieVC)

Sat 21 Jun 2025 6:10PM

I consent to the proposal, I remain a little concerned/cautious about the monthly calls (facilitation training, managing potential conflicts, fair distribution of duties among OC members).

Ammar Sun 22 Jun 2025 11:55PM

In the future automate cross-posting.

I agree with it but I don't think we need to vote on this part but rather talk to TWG about it (or have a conversation about who can/should own that work)