Where we are now

So far, we have built a community that creates the conditions for connection, collaboration and creativity, supported by the four pillars of Commons Ownership, Trust, Safety and Consent.

What this website is now:

  • A place for information about the Commons Platform, its vision, mission and values, its community and ways of working, our collaborations, and what we need.
  • A place to gather a thriving, resilient, sustainable community. Until now, the people interested in or involved with the Commons Platform have been spread across platforms and email lists.
  • A place to share progress, news, and define next steps.
  • A calendar of past and future workshops, and IRL community events
  • A Commons Platform co-creation community
  • A way to test and improve the conditions for collaboration that’s inclusive, accessible and involving, no matter what skills or experience someone has
  • A place that welcomes new people and makes them feel they belong, can  share and contribute skills and interests, and where they and their contributions will be valued
  • A place that fosters understanding and healthy engagement, both with each other and with content
  • A place that is based on our values
  • A place based on a culture of consent rather than any kind of coercion or extraction of data
  • A place where we can handle difficulties or conflict that arise, through the community’s moderation skills, learning and development; through personal, interpersonal, community and systemic, restorative practices and through community accountability
  • A culture where we keep our own and each other’s data safe, where we can identify security threats, trolls and bots.
  • A place where we can gather and develop links with similar organisations with similar aims, and start talking about how to integrate platforms, protocols, tools, technologies, communities and cultures so that we can all share rather than working in separate silos
  • A rough, working prototype of what we want to build properly over the next 6-12 months, this website is built in WordPress and (so far) with easily available plugins that don’t require expertise or coding skills… things that can be tried out, changed, and tested again to enable very fast adaption. The important thing is that we are able to communicate on a forum.

We know it’s not beautiful or easy to use yet – but we hope it will gives a sense of what we are aiming for – and we would really appreciate any help you can offer in any way.

How we got here:

  1. The idea grew out of thousands of hours of kitchen table conversations, and out of notions learnt and shared in courses & workshops
  2. We realised it had to be a co-creation to be representative of all the groups that would use it
  3. It was decided not to look for funding or venture capital, but to crowdsource time, spaces, resources and skills
  4. The first workshop was held on 23rd September 2017
  5. In subsequent workshops, the values of the common platform were developed, and we decided to ‘move slow and fix things’
  6. The word spread, and a community grew
  7. We focused on accessibility, and developed ways of working, organising, and decentralising
  8. This website was put together as a tool for the community to use in the co-creation of the commons platform itself.

What’s next?