Hello!
You are a software development collective representing the same trend as my software development team.
We design a data management program together with our users. Let me know if you want to participate in designing it!
We build it together with our users: they pay a small monthly subscription and we program. Each party contributes a service, because money symbolizes services: people receive it from the users of their services.
Is it true that you want to use services that respect and protect your human rights?
Our declaration on software design has always included in its beginning the words: “We reflect in our work that people are free and equal.” It’s already a difficult task, but we’d agree to do more with regard to human rights.
If you fund software, we accept money from our users.
If you support software, we can discuss an exchange, e.g. you meet a need of ours and we pay you some money.
@Ben_Roberts
We started communicating using Zoom and Slack. You have just moved to Discourse, so I write you here. I’ve seen no function to address a message only to certain users, so I include here the following words.
You’ve stated such goals:
- Move projects, initiatives and ideas forward by bringing together large groups of people who care about them.
- Catalyze and strengthen communities and networks that currently exist or are waiting to be born.
- Create a new set of opportunities for large-group dialogue that push the boundaries of the field, provide settings to practice different ways of being in conversation and open new channels for paid engagements and fundraising.
- My first yearning is to help develop and then use new tools for engaging large groups in asynchronous conversations (especially text). I’ve been thinking about this for seven years, and have some very specific notions about what might take us “way beyond the comment thread.” I’m hoping I can find the right folks to explore those ideas with, and get some actual code into place to try them out. Shortly after that, we should be ready to replace Facebook!
- Seriously though, if I had such tools, I would be using them in my other work as a convener of virtual conversations. And I want to help create a community of practice for “conversation architects” who want to explore ways to release the generative capacity of these new tools. I think they can allow us to have entirely new kinds of conversations. My second yearning is for an active, engaged community with which to convene such dialogue on a regular basis. One that can pay me a living wage to do that work. I sense that possibility among the members we will be gathering.
I invite you to talk with me about these things. We are developing a data management program because I have such goals. So I have to support people who bring people together. This is something I do and want to see happening.
In order to achieve a goal, one needs a team (at least one more person), a communication management plan, a resource management plan, and (titles to use the necessary) resources. If you have all these, your consortium might be already providing services. You and anybody else can communicate with me about their services not only in order to meet my teams’ needs, but because we maintain provider databases for clients who order provider management services. (At the least, we’d recommend your services.)
I also greet @robert_best.