Mix différents Groups Loomio (but keep each one) in One larger and independant group.

Totally agree @philippeponge ! My vision is for Loomio to be completely dynamic, so you can invite whoever you want on a per-decision basis. That could be individual Loomio users, whole Loomio groups, and contacts from other platforms (email, facebook, etc). Some features moving toward that vision are in the works, but it's a complex thing I think it will take time.

@alanna where are such features being discussed? i agree it's complex, and the question of who is or is not involved in a decision across networks of groups will fundamentally shape the nature of the network Loomio produces.

@samboyer those ideas are being discussed right here! Please feel free to share your thoughts.

Right now here at HQ we are working on a video demoing a bunch of the planned features of Loomio 1.0, including this process of being able to easy add all kinds of different contacts on a per-discussion basis. Look out for that in the next couple days!

@samboyer we're in the process of developing functionality that will allow people to create discussions outside of their groups, and a discussion could have participants from various groups. @philippeponge - do you think this is relevant to what you're proposing?

@hannahsalmon
@alanna
Yes it's a good thing of course. I hope a little more ! ;-)

If one group take a decision for himself I would like that :
- this decision could be exportable in a bigger group
- with the first discussion included,
- and with the precedens results (for example : 7 for / 2 against /...)

So the proposition is now running on a bigger group with 7 for, 2 against,... and the initial discussion.
The members of the bigger group (coming from the little groups who want to join it) take the decision.
If they want the members of the initial decision group must have the possibility to change their votes for the bigger group proposition.

The objectif is to find common decisions for several groups.

Having one-off discussions involving members of multiple groups would certainly be a useful feature. I'm imagining, for example, a number of groups who oppose the TPPA and use Loomio having a shared discussion about next weekend's Day of Action. However, in some situations it would also be useful to create spaces for ongoing collaboration between coalitions of groups.

The group psychology issues that comes up here revolve arouns senses of autonomy and 'territory'. Let's say that 5 small environmental group each have a Loomio group, and decide they want to co-operate regularly. One solution would be to create a new Loomio group, with each of the existing groups as a subgroup. A 'merger' like this would be a good solution in some situations, and a great feature to offer users, but it can feel to some group members like a loss of autonomy, and a colonization of their decision-making "territory" by the new entity.

Another option would be to create a meta-group or federation, whose co-ordinators can invite existing Loomio groups to join. The existing groups are unaffected, but all their members automatically become members of the meta-group, and get an email explaining its purposes, and inviting them to participate in discussions and decisions in it.

Before open a new thread, it was worth read all of them and then find this one. My proposal would be titled “(Group) Linked to (Group)” and would be like…

How about groups and subgroups are able to be linked to others? If people decide to be part of a broader group it must be easier for coordinators to do so (instead of each member be invited or ask for invitation to join). For example, a group called Assemblies of NYC which groups the popular assemblies of this town can be able to be linked (and send messages when select to do it) to a larger group called Assemblies of New York State – which will be able to join (as a group) the United States group – then able to join in the Earth’s Assembly. It would be like – besides be an independent group – be also a kind of “sub-sub-group” (maybe called just “linked to”) of a larger one which can be also a “sub-sub-sub-group” of a very larger one.

It’s not easy to express myself about it, but it would be a good functionality if some loomio’s coder understand it and then make it happen. Certainly, using the example above, people can already make a New York State group and call other members of other groups (NYC group(s), Buffalo group(s), etc) to join in, however loomio might has a proper button to this that would be very helpful.

I think I understand what you're saying @renato ! I know some other people have thought about this idea of linking groups, like @jonlemmon and @robertguthrie

I think there is a case for multiple levels of subgroup.. but it's not that user friendly day to day. I'm ok with supporting it if people don't get confused..

Currently we're getting a lot of support queries about getting people into the right groups and it's an embarrassing annoyance. We really need to get group management to be as simple and flexible as possible.

Loomio 1.0 will allow you to select groups and people to be part of a single discussion.

Programmers (myself included) tend to think that recursive structures are a great solution to problems but my experience tells me that keeping things reasonably flat works best for people. We'll have to experiment and iterate with real - not hypothetical - use cases.

It sounds to me like there could be 'schools of thought' or 'layers' of groups and discussions here. This could allow you to move up a layer and look at others talking about similar things but not force you to wade through sub-sub-sub groups every time you log in.

I see there are recent discussions about Group Categories a la trademe but there might be scope for something a bit more practical from an organisational use perspective, based on the organisational mission (and some collective vision).

Looking at some of the philosophies sitting behind Loomio it'd be easy enough to get a super high level vision ("a truly sustainable, truly just world" and use e.g. the post-2015 MDG framework as a skeleton?) and roll things out underneath that that align with the vision. i.e. any Social enterprise or NGO