Self-determined publics

[Michael Allan]

To share and invite feedback (if anyone wishes), here's a draft of a
minimal description: http://piratepad.net/FsCaEwsmH0
I figure to post that to experts soon and ask if it's been tried
before, but not to ask anything else.  Please stop me if I've written
anything stupid or confused. *

Conseo's written some rough notes: http://piratepad.net/K8Z73862jJ
Two pending questions there:

  * Is iPub okay as a short name?
    We'll have to create some facilities soon, so we need to know.

  * What issue to jump into and play with hands on?
    C suggests jumping in ASAP, and I agree.

I drafted an index here: http://piratepad.net/mIBeJRzstP

I'll try to sketch a jumping-in plan and post it there shortly.  Then
we just have to agree on the issue (above) and we're good to go.
We only need a few people at first.

Mike


* Text of the minimal description is:

A self-determined public is an open community of action that proclaims
the definitive bounds of its own communications.  The proclamation
takes the form of a timely sequence of references (e.g. web links)
each pointing to a communication of the public, such that all of the
references together define the total of that public's communications
in time and space.  For example:

    Ago     Place      Title              (click to visit thread)
   -------  ---------  ------------------------------------------
   17 min   r/Foo      How do we attach the doohickey?
    5 hr    Foo-L      The problem with so and so's proposal.
    1 day   FuBarz     Who are these Foos, anyway?
    1 day   r/Foo      This, that, and the next thing.
    2 days  FooStack   What's the best thingamy for such and such?
           . . . and so on

This boundary proclamation is similar in form to a conventional news
feed.  The differences are in a) the criteria for inclusion, b) the
claim to totality, and c) the self-determination that redeems that
claim.  (a) The primary criterion of inclusion is that one may
immediately join any of the referenced communications as a peer.
One-way, mass communications are deliberately excluded as being
non-public.  Further, all communications are aimed at the
normalization of a common category of action.  This basically means
that the community is talking about a specific normative issue, such
as a rule, law, plan or policy, and that each of the referenced
communications is concerned with that issue.

(b) The boundary proclamation claims to cover the entire public
discussion of the issue across all communication media and sites.  It
claims to be the most complete, accurate and timely overview of the
extended discussion that is available anywhere.

(c) This claim is redeemed by the participants themselves who submit
the references, self-organize the necessary labour, and
self-constitute the necessary government.  No aspect of this redeeming
self-determination is controlled by any external authority.