[cc-community] The iCommons Lab Report
Heather Ford
hfordsa at gmail.com
Fri Nov 10 03:34:27 EST 2006
Thanks for the comments.
Please note that the icommons lab report mailing list is *only* to
distribute the magazine and not for discussion - discussion about
icommons will take place on a new mailing list. cc has migrated the
cc-icommons mailing list to the cc-community list.
Now for some points of clarification:
1. How the Code of Conduct came into being: On the 13th of July,
there was a community meeting to discuss iCommons governance. At the
meeting, the Community decided to contribute to a statement of
values that would govern the community. In the July/August edition of
the Lab Report I stated that we would be developing a similar 'Code
of conduct' which might be a more practical way of looking at this,
since it would govern the way that community members interact with
one another in areas where we would collaborate (at the summit, in
mailing lists, etc). The iCommons Code of Conduct (http://
wiki.icommons.org/index.php/ICommons_Code_of_Conduct) has been here
since 30 July and iCommons has always asked for comments and
suggestions to its development and design.
We didn't run a vote for 3 reasons:
- setting up voting software that works well requires time and money;
but more importantly:
- the current community (those on the mailing list, that is) is
mostly made up of people from the North - iCommons is currently
working very hard to change that structure by applying for grants to
build capacity in the South to advance these issues in a truly global
fashion. Until then, we do not believe that we can leave it up to the
4/5 most vocal members of the community, all of whom come from the
North, to be deciding the future of this global organisation. We have
to start somewhere. And it is important to recognise that iCommons
has been set up as a non-profit organisation - legally, it must have
a board of directors that approve major decisions of the org. We are
lucky, however, to have a board that is committed to working *with*
rather than *against* the community on its direction. In this regard,
I do not think that we're against you.
- the Code of Conduct contains most of what was developed in the Core
Values document in any case.
2. The iCommons Community Council will not be "voted" into power for
the same reasons. We want to achieve a diverse range of individuals
who are active in the community. Again, I do not think that the board
will have major differences of opinion here. As indicated, the iCCC
will act as an advisory board to iCommons. I, personally, hope that
the iCCC actually *replaces* the Board in the long run. But as with
all young organisations who are yet to grow their member base, we
can't move to this stage before some important ground work has been
done.
Also, just a point of clarification, iCommons has never claimed to be
a 'global creative commons', our aims (very easy to find them on the
icommons website) are: iCommons is an organisation with a broad
vision to develop a united global commons front by collaborating with
open content, access to knowledge, open access publishing and free
culture communities around the world.
Above all, it is important to realise that iCommons does not want to
become the next UN for the Commons. iCommons is not *just* a platform
for discussion and debate - it is a platform for *action*. As such,
we are very much about 'running code'. What we're striving for, above
all else, is to run that code in a way that the community (both
present and potential) believes in.
3. Ubuntu is just one of the communities that we applaud and admire.
As you rightly say, Ubuntu is by no means the most democratic
structure in the world, but it hosts a community that are committed
to the achievement of their goal to develop a resource that will
always be free to the world to use. iCommons is not just a stage for
certain people to perform - it is an organisation that already has a
number of projects on the go: the Lab Report, for example, happens
because a number of committed individuals in the community actually
spend hours doing this work. We want to learn from the open source
movement so that everything we do is owned and driven by those who
are actually involved in building the commons and not only talking
about it. Everything that we do should end up being driven by that
community.
I truly believe that the majority of the community are with us on
this one.
But, as always, we're very open to suggestions of how to make this
better. Start a discussion on the wiki, write something for the Lab
Report, start a node: lets try and build this organisation into
something important and relevant rather than shooting it down before
we've even started.
Best,
Heather.
On 09 Nov 2006, at 6:01 PM, David Berry wrote:
>
> Re: The iCommons Lab Report
>
> I had to laugh when I read the question of the Governance of an
> 'open and transparent' global community (page 1)- I presume they
> mean iCommons.
>
> Who should iCommons ask for advice about setting up this open
> structure of governance? Sociologists? Political theorists?
> Political scientists? Us? Nope. --- They ask Hackers who release a
> distribution of the Linux operating system called Ubuntu. What?!?
> And they seem to be taking this advice seriously. I mean like,
> seriously.
>
> Which bring us to...
>
> How was the iCommons Code of Conduct passed (page 2)? I didn't see
> a vote, debate (beyond the wiki) or any of the so called 'open and
> transparent governance and processes' that are listed as a core
> value and principle... is this an example of 'consensus and running
> code'? I really wonder why certain things are missing (fairtrade/
> human rights anyone?) and who decided what was in and what was
> out... and how do we change it if we don't like it?
>
> What is even weirder is the iCommons community council (iCCC) which
> is open for nominations (good), but then selected by iCommons Board
> which will make the final decision of the 9-13 iCCC members (not so
> good - why the shifting number? what power will it have?). This
> doesn't sound particularly open or transparent - how will we know
> the criteria for selection? Will the decision be made in public
> (i.e. we can attend the meeting as observers?)? Why can't the
> iCommons nodes who nominate vote? After all to quote from the
> iCommons Code of Conduct it is important that we 'avoid conflicts
> of interest' which requires clear procedures and processes to guide
> the election (if that is what it is). Where are they? Who decides?
>
> A shame that 'open' and 'democratic' are traveling in different
> directions.
>
> iCommons, the world is watching... and you are creating a corporate
> machine rather than a democratic one... is that what all the
> iCommoners, free culture and assorted supporters want? Success for
> Creative Commons/free culture is one thing, but lets not lose sight
> that the Means are just as important as the Ends.
>
> David
>
> ------
>
>
> iCommons Code of Conduct: The Text
> iCommons and the iCommons nodes adhere to these core values and
> principles:
>
> · iCommoners are respectful of the diversity of creativity and of
> intellectual thought. We are a diverse group of people - from civil
> society, business and governments; from the North and the South;
> from politically diverse backgrounds and cultures. We know that
> this kind of diversity is found in very few places, that it
> requires a very special kind of respect - and that we are
> especially mindful of this because it is our greatest strength.
>
> · iCommoners collaborate and help one another. Because we are a
> global commons movement, we recognise that not every community has
> the same level of connectivity/support etc, and as such, we
> recognise how important it is to collaborate with those from
> diverse cultural/political/economic contexts. We recognise that
> developing true partnerships between communities in the North and
> South is as important as developing cutting edge products and
> services.
>
> · iCommoners are committed to ensuring the freedom of societies to
> create, build upon and share the world's knowledge, culture and
> science. iCommoners believe that, because this freedom is essential
> to the freedom of expression, that we will promote the highest
> levels of open access to intellectual products for organisations
> and individuals - especially those with a public mandate.
>
> · iCommoners employ open and transparent governance and processes.
> Transparency is important because it encourages communal ownership
> of the iCommons network, allows us to learn from one another, helps
> and helps to avoid conflicts of interest. iCommoners will adopt
> transparent governance procedures without disrespecting individual
> privacy rights.
>
> _______________________________________________
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> cc-community at lists.ibiblio.org
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Heather Ford
Executive Director: iCommons
iCommons Summit, Dubrovnik, Croatia: 15-17 June, 2007
Phone: +27 11 327 3155
queenbea878: AOL
243161375: ICQ
heatherford: skype
www.icommons.org
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