[Noisebridge-discuss] A modest proposal
jim
jim at well.com
Thu Oct 25 22:20:25 UTC 2012
I lived in a big warehouse community (Project 1) that
required members to perform tasks. At best about 50%
performed the tasks, at worst the number dropped to (my
guess) below 20%. At one point none of the toilets on the
second floor worked. A volunteer took the time to take
them apart and mate working parts to get four toilets in
working order.
Over time, the system degraded, ultimately to a
free-market economy state (tragedy of the commons).
An idea occurs that volunteering might work in the
form of earned "chits" (or however you spell the word)
that are created by a group working together on an ad
hoc project and who verify each others' efforts and
submit their group "chit" to the general Noisebridge
meeting; with enough "chit" credits individual can earn
membership status (no starving hacker rates for this).
The ad hoc work crew would serve as the verifying
committee for itself, I believe that only a little
exaggeration would happen and that a bit of useful
work would be done at the price of letting one or more
people be able to vote in meetings.
I don't like the idea that someone takes on some
particular chores in exchange for membership rights.
On Thu, 2012-10-25 at 15:04 -0700, Martin Bogomolni wrote:
> > I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think there was a point. Your
> > question is phrased disingenuously but I'll honor its intent.
>
> You're right. I actually didn't mean to have that negative a tone.
> The way you took it, is pretty much what I meant to say in the first
> place. I'm getting a bit more cynical lately.
>
> > Membership is a social contract giving the member certain rights and
> > obligations within the noisebridge community. Ability to fully participate
> > in the consensus process. A sense of security against witch hunts and oogle
> > raids. A sense of responsibility to fulfill obligations that have been taken
> > on, including but not limited to a recurring donation. Social Contract. You
> > know, the power and engine of an anarchist system??
>
> Indeed. However, the idea of volunteering time vs/ having a recurring
> donation of time spent doing something requires some kind of feedback
> mechanism. Money is easy, because you give the money first, and then
> things X, Y, and Z happen.
>
> Volunteering instead of paying a membership due is an interesting
> proposition. My next statement does tie into it! The IRS _does_
> care about value and time given. So, if someone is expected to
> perform $80/month worth of tasks, it means assigning values to tasks,
> and making sure the task is completed. Assuming minimum wage, that's
> ~10 hours worth of volunteering.
>
> > I have worked with lots of people in lots of different settings, and my
> > social science data tells me that creating a structured relationship between
> > a person and an organization increases the persistence of that relationship.
> > The more clearly defined the terms of that relationship are (as well as
> > being well-matched in terms of scale of commitment) the more likely the
> > relationship is to succeed.
>
> I'm in complete lockstep agreement.
>
> > I know it's a popular meme to say 'membership doesn't get you anything!' but
> > maybe we want to rewrite this thought. We should use our meta-linguistic
> > programming to reinforce the algorithms we prefer. If we want our social
> > contract to have strength, we would do well to give it its due.
>
> That means giving it some hysteresis/feedback mechanism. Actions
> leading to actual consequences.
>
> [ snip ]
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