In order to achieve our mission several things are very important to us, and help to drive the technology we will be using and developing.

Values

Our values are:

• Safety
• Ease
• Commons ownership
• All people and contributions valued
• Trust
• Collaboration
• Commitment to positive social change
• For everyone

1. Safety: The platform is only safe for everyone if it is safe for the most vulnerable in society. For a variety of reasons many people in the world are not currently able to be their full selves online, whether due to oppressive government bans on internet access, or laws against their sexuality or gender etc. This means that we will have privacy and security across the whole network, and aim to normalise privacy on the internet. We also see consent as fundamental to safety and build this into the design and tech itself.
2. Ease: it is only accessible to everyone if it is easy and a pleasure to use- and fun! -, and meets the diverse needs of everyone in society e.g. people with dyslexia to indigenous groups that may not have a written language etc. Therefore we aim to take these needs into account with all of the design and interaction with the platform, and actively seek representation/advice/collaboration from those people and groups themselves.
3. Commons ownership: The platform is open source, built by people for people, and therefore will never be owned or sold by any individual or group. No money or assets will ever be extracted from the platform to shareholders or other parties. We aim to bring back the concept of commons ownership, and therefore actively seek wisdom about commons stewardship so that this may always benefit everyone.
4. All people and contributions valued: If everyone is fully able to be themselves, we also need to value every different thing that each person brings to the platform – rather than only valuing the roles that have been traditionally rewarded in society. This includes all kinds of labour such as domestic/reproductive/emotional labour, and anything else that people bring to the world such as compassion, joy, the ability to create harmony in groups, and just being who they are. Trust: It is important to be able to trust that there is transparency and accountability, and that the platform will always be in integrity with its values. It is also important that it is independent from companies, corporations, governments etc and that no personal data will ever be sold.
5. Collaboration: We are committed to co-creation and constantly evolving a framework within the value system. We are developing a system of decentralised organisation, decision-making and conflict transformation, and actively seek existing groups with similar aims to collaborate
6. Commitment to positive social and environmental change in line with the value system: We are always working towards peace and equality and reducing impact on the environment. We will be building a new, fair economic framework within the network and using the distributed ledger technology for ‘smart contracts’ and launching a cryptocurrency which will give everyone access to this economic system even if they do not have bank account .We are committed to monitoring the impact of the network and being aware of and rectifying unintended consequences. In future we will be looking at ways that AI can help with learning ways in which the platform is impacting society, and take steps to prevent harm.
7. For everyone means that we aim to be accessible to everyone no matter their dis/ability, identity, financial means, race, gender, sexuality, location etc.

Aims

Our aims are to achieve full digital inclusion, digital literacy, web freedom, accessibility, centering the needs of those most vulnerable in current systems, and building a new culture: a way of being where everyone is equally able to thrive, all contributions are valued, no role is seen as more important than any other, where we are all valued as vital parts of an interconnected system just for being who we are.

Culture

We aim to build a consentful culture, based on an understanding that everyone has different needs. This awareness of needs also helps to develop the peace-building systems, using Nonviolent Communication and restorative practices in the way we manage situations that arise.

We will never sell personal data or ask people to agree to software licenses that are not in their own best interests. Everything we develop is in service to the needs of people not profit, so we do not try to make people spend more time online, and we do not make money from advertising.

Ways of Working

We embed these values and aims into the way we work together, collaborating through a series of workshops which build the value system, the culture, the organisational framework, the concept, the collaborations, the platform design and the software itself.

Everyone is able to come to any workshop that is of interest to them but there is no obligation to do so. If people are not able to be physically present at the workshops, we find ways of including their contribution either by setting up a web link or adding in their thoughts and suggestions to the plan and outcomes.

Scale/Network Effect

This model is then used for future collaborations with other organisations to enable the whole network to grow quickly and organically whilst retaining the values.

Each collaboration brings all of the members of that group and their wider networks into the community.

The values of the platform also inspire individuals to join and invite their wider network to join.