The Problem¶

• How the business of technology works
• User liberation

What are the Commons?¶

• A Shareable Explainer: What are the Commons? →Commons should be understood as a dynamic, living social system — any resource that can be used by many could inspire people to organize as a commons. The key questions are whether a particular community is motivated to manage a resource as a commons, and if it can come up with the rules, norms, and sanctions to make the system work.

Further Reading¶

• Governing the Commons by Elinor Ostrom
• The Next American Revolution, Beyond Corporate Capitalism & State Socialism with Gar Alperovitz
• To deal with climate change we need a new financial system by Jason Hickel article
• Debt or Democracy by Mary Mellor → about the privatization of money and alternatives to our current model
  • Debt: The First 5000 Years

Contributing to the Commons¶

For the Artists:

• Publish under a Creative Commons Share Alike License (CC-SA) or any other copyleft license so your work stays shareable and in the commons.
• Open Clip Art is a great resource and place to post vector(scalable) art.
• Blend Swap→ 3D art and resources
• Free Sound→ music clips and effects
• Open Game Art

For the Adventurers:

• Open Street Maps
  • Street Complete→ Android App makes it fun and easy to contribute!
  • Join the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT)
  • Hike outdoors and map with pencil and paper with Field Papers

For the Environmentally Oriented

• Public Lab → a community where you can learn how to investigate environmental concerns using inexpensive DIY techniques.
• Agroecology Lab
• Nomad Seed Project → Saving + sowing seeds of native, wild, perennial plants. Do-it-yourself restoration. Rewilding with plants.
  • More about Seeds and Licensing by Open Source Seeds

For the Electronics/Programming Enthusiasts

• OpenHatch → training to get started contributing to open source projects
• Mozilla’s Bug’s Ahoy → list of bugs and mentored bugs to fix
• Open Wireless Movement → creates a future with ubiquitous open Internet.
• Run a Tor node.

For the Writers and Linguists

• Translate Wiki → an open source translation community

Divesting from Corporate Controlled Servers¶

• Libre Projects List
• Riseup.net (free but contact us for an invite)
• Mayfirst (membership fee based)
• Free Your Stuff download your data from sites that normally do not give you access.

Some Recommended Software for creating safer spaces

• Signal for encrypted messaging
• Tor Browser for anonymous web browsing and a handy interactive visual to explain how tor works (see what info is sent when you are using it!)

Just using Free and Open Source software can be a help! Check out the Prism Break and the Free Software Directory!