Peer Producers new site explained

[PHOEBE MOORE]

The Peer Producers Association is a new site created by Alex Rollins to invite project proposals whose members are committed to peer to peer production activities. I plan to upload the much-discussed Framework Project 7 suggestions from the Oekonux conference last week to the site, after a few more elaborations to the document I am working on. Look for this add by Friday, at which point we could take the ideas to the table and start peer-producing, if you will.

This site was launched as a follow-up to the Peer Production track at the Oekonux conference at Manchester University in Spring 2009.

This is not the same as something Athina K has proposed, which is to have a physical location for the Peer to Peer Researchers' Association at Hull University, which can of course be discussed on the site as well if people are interested.

The now-existing site has been created for the purpose of providing the following:

Networking Peer Producers
Furthering research and application in Peer Production and Peer to Peer methods and practices
Refining and publishing the operating tenets of Peer Production

On this site you can:

Create links for the link directory
Create tenets for review and ranking by the community
Learn about events and opportunities within the evolving network

Hope that helps, :-) Phoebe

[PHOEBE MOORE]

Yes, here is an explanation. It's a sort of host for the flurry of online discussions that emerged from the physical conversations last week at Oekonux. Using this sort of site, we can share in the discussions, we can talk about possibilities for a 'governance' document that will help us proceed with peer to peer projects. At least that is my interpretation of it!... Miss you guys, after a wonderful conference last week! Now, back to strawberry planting!!

[Franz Nahrada]

Hi Phoebe, did you take notes of the various suggestions coming up in the final session? Would be good to have them listed.

[PHOEBE MOORE]

At this stage, the suggestion is for people who would like to collaborate on existing projects that operate within the peer to peer framework to communicate on the peerproducers website. I am offering to looking into funding sources for project collaboration, which may or may not fall within the Programme Framework 7 rubric. I have commitment from my research officer at Salford Uni to help look into collaborations so anyone who has a project they would like to be considered, please email: Research project description; Deliverables; Needs, to me. The projects can either be existing or suggested at this point.

[Franz Nahrada]

Yes, but my question was simply: what was the rage of things proposed and agreed? From Comic book to award....

[PHOEBE MOORE]

More than proposals and agreements, I will share my contribution to this activity so far. 1. to suggest possibilities for funding of peer to peer projects, i.e. FP7: the new list of funding categories has not been released so this is something to keep on the backburner for now, though I am also willing to look into other funding sources if people tell me what they need funding for. 2. to meet with group of people at Oekonux to talk about possible collaborations across projects, which is a big interest for FP7 3. to discuss the need for a governance document for anything established from now onwards. In the world of peer to peer software development, contributors usually do this before pursuing collaboration, to avoid misunderstandings of procedure and decide how to manage possible forks. The governance document has been sent as a google doc, have you seen it?

[athina.k]

Hi Everyone

I hope you got this message form Michel, I am reposting in any caseP2PResearch Group.doc here:

The P2P Foundation in collaboration with the University of Hull are creating a P2PResearch Group (P2PRG) with a physical base in Hull, in order to initiate a material equivalent to the various virtual networks we are all part of. Some of the goals of the group are to attract funding to improve already existent infrastructures, create more material and immaterial networks and hubs and capture funding for research, conferences and workshops. A conference scheduled for November will also produce a direct and transparent steering committee to oversee the various activities of the group. Therefore, it would be particularly helpful, if everyone, who is interested in participating, fills as much information as they can, in the document attached, and email it to Athina at [e-mail] [i uploaded the doc here]

[PHOEBE MOORE]

Why don't you post the document on the Peer Producers Association as well, Athina, then we have a specific place to hold this discussion? That is the intended function of the site, as separate from this particular network site. Thanks.

[Alex Rollin]

Hello, I made my response to Athina's survey here: http://docs.google.com/Edit?docID=afh6g5mdtgt8_490d6x9h8g4

I'd like to see responses from others as well. If you would like to fill out the document in public then please feel free to use a copy of this blank survey here.

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=afh6g5mdtgt8_488dxm693cv (Select File->New Copy)
This was...distributed by Athina.

[athina.k]

hi alex thank you for your contribution to this, very constructive.......

i am looking for an initial mapping of who is interested and who they are, what the wish for, so we can have a platform to work from to discuss things in november face-to-face and create a steering core group to distrubute responsibilities, all peer researchers interested in this are by default included in that process.

About your comment on leadership, autonomy and horizontality are to be treasured, but autonomy does not mean doing 'nothing' and 'no one' as your answers indicate, that is nihilism in my reading of your response, it means responsibility and some form of network organization to avoid power vacuums and cryptohierarchies.

Now, making smart comments seems your specialty and hats off to that, lost of fun, nevertheless, if you are seriously interested in this, I welcome further comments from you in more detail of what you propose instead. Unless having a serious proposal means leading in your book.......

thanks
athina

[athina.k]

also just to say where i a coming from here, all successful open source was based on one person initially doing some work and others coming in to contribute later.

i am starting things and i want contributions of ideas, but it is faster to get funding and strat off, and then for everyone else to come and build on that.

this is how i see it.
cheers

athina