We, ‘the People’, need to organize ourselves better.
Our lives and interactions can no longer be addressed via the ancient systems that were designed to control our group and individual activities. We disparately need a new narrative.
Instead of controlling ourselves, we need to liberate ourselves by enabling small and large group collaborations that are deep, efficient and meaningful.
Jan Persson from Denmark and a small group of people (interested in community, group or civil action, and/or network technologies), are wanting to co-design a portal/forum proto-type to help focus and empower local communities.
Creating an efficient transparent platform for large group collaborations is vital if we wish to thrive collectively. We need a participatory system that is capable of dealing with hundreds of discussions, activities and subjects simultaneously, 24/7, with multi-language options……A system that is user- friendly; enables meaningful, goal based discussions, and is controlled via group efforts. It must also be cheap for the end user, who needs to be able to view at a glance all the main topics being discussed by the group or community each and every day of the week from wherever they are at the time when they are free to do so.
The idea is to use open sourced WordPress (modules, templates and plug-ins,) in a powerful, transformative manner….. No more BS!! This initial proto-type will become a functioning example that can then be copied and used by a town or city, or scaled down and used by schools, neighborhoods, or co-operatives (for example.)
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The following concept is a design kick-off suggestion. (See the post photo).
PAGE 1- THE PORTAL (Home page).
Position 1
Top banner. (artwork needed here).
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Position 2
Drop down menu
* The language translate option may be a problem….
*The one tab is a ‘HELP or Admin button’…… at anytime anyone who is stuck in a discussion or with a technical issue, should be able to get immediate, (or as soon as possible), assistance from one of the admins….. If that admin cannot help the admin can suggest that a topic is made for open discussion, or the admin should be able to call/tag another admin to come help…. admins can also call other members to come assist with the query….. *Everyone should be attended to as soon as possible to reduce frustration.
Topics with urgent issues should be Red Flagged by the admins who get notified.
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Position 3
*Here is a short paragraph that explains the purpose of this prototype portal/forum under construction by the founding group members. (The short explanatory paragraph has a *Read More* option which links to an expanded version with a standard Disclaimer and a general Policy Statement.)
* What are the objectives of this site. (with a link- or drop down explanation in an I-frame perhaps)
*How this site works…… how to get help from the admins for example (with a link- or drop down with mouse hover)
*What are our policies.(with a link- or drop down explanation……
IE. This website is owned by all the members.
The password is held by the Super admins. If they wish to end their role as Super admins they must make a group announcement 1 month before resigning their position so that the members have sufficient time to make alternative arrangements and find a suitable replacement for that position.)
*The site is owned by all the group members.- * link to members page (Page 4).
*(Each page has a place for comments…… people must log in as members or guests to make a comment or post a topic).
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Position 4- Important announcements.
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Position 5
Here the group/community can promote their services and products etc.
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Position 6
Here is a list of the various platforms that could be made available-
IE- A Classified section, Chat rooms with specific topics, Adverts, Local emergency contact numbers and so on.
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Position 7 is the most important one- THE FORUM. (Main photo)
When a person clicks to enter the community forum….
1. They will be asked to join as a member and they will need to select what type of member they want to be…… (Guest member, topic or technical admin or an active community member etc.)
If they want to join as a member or guest of the community/group someone in the group has to verify that they are a known, real living member of the group in life- This is to prevent false members from joining the group.
Once a person becomes a member or guest member, they can comment on any page or forum topic.
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PAGE 2 The Topic forum.
On page 2 they can read all the topics being discussed by the group.
If some one wishes to introduce a new topic they must put it under the appropriate Category of subjects or make a new category if it does not already exist.
Before being able to post they must register, or re-register as a Topic administator.
Once the post has been published, that person becomes the admin/facilitator of their topic.
The topics are discussed in forum styled platforms- each topic can be voted on a scale 1-5 for example…… comments/replies can be voted up or down…. etc
The discussions continue until the person who posted the topic is satisfied that it has been dealt with….. the topic (with the discussion), is then archived on Page 5 under the appropriate category, in date order.
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PAGE 3.- The Sunday Community News Report.
On Saturday at midnight Page 3 is published with a list of all the topics posted during the past week in the order of those that received the most talk *from the most people*.
(Of course there are other built-in filters that can reflect other stats…. topics read by women or the youth for example).
Each topic is accompanied by a small thumbnail of the epic that accompanied the original topic post.
Thus anyone can easily find the most important topics listed at the top…. There is also a topic search option.
On Sunday all of the admins can comment on these listed discussions on PAGE 3—-Only the admins, (but their comments are visible to all the group members). This is an opportunity for the admins to ‘take stock of the various discussions and access their development during the past week…. New directions or considerations can be suggested. Some topics can be Red Flagged as Urgent….. Suggestions can be made for amendments to the Notice Board and so on. Strategies are considered. Admins don’t make decisions- They can make or introduce new suggestions for the other members to consider. Members cannot reply on this News page 3- It would be too confusing. Members can respond to the admins in the topics page where the discussions continue.
(If initially it is too difficult to get the coding to automatically create the topics listed in the manner described for Page 3, it will have to be done manually by the Super admin on Saturday night.
This ‘NEWS’ Page 3 stays up for 1 week- It reflects the temperature of the topics from the perspective of the Topic admins—– ordinary people, together with appointed leaders- Anyone who has made a topic and is a topic admin. This is a form of citizen written journalism…. a cross-section of perspectives from a variety of people (admins) writing from different angles.
On Sunday at 12.am the old Page 3 is achieved on Page 6….. The Sunday News page archives.
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PAGE 4 Members List
*Founder members (site designers)
Role and functions description- names listed.
*Super admins (that control the site’s functions)
Role and functions description- names listed.
*Admins-(technical assistants)
Role and functions description- names listed.
* Topic admins and facilitators/moderators
Role and functions description- names listed
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PAGE 5. The Topic archives
This is where old topics that have been resolved are archived by the person who posted it for future referencing. It must be achieved according to categories.
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PAGE 6 -The Sunday News archives
Where the Sunday News pages are archived in date order.
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PAGE 7 -The Instruction manual
As the site is being developed a step by step manual is written here- A DIY reference manual so anyone can make an identical site with forums, portal and apps construction instructions.
*There is a section where people can ask technical questions.
PAGE 8 A forum for the admins to discuss their issues….. it is divided into sections- IE technical or issues relating to discussion or membership issues.
Members cannot comment on this page but they can read what is being said. Only admins can comment here. Admins cannot make structural decisions here- They have to present their recommendations top the group as a topic in the central group forum. (Page 3).
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Once we have a functioning design we could then seek funding for a properly engineered (plug an play android app)…
– EVERYTHING OPEN SOURCE AND FREE FOR EVERYONE TO USE.