Working openly

Lion Kimbro1

The World That Is Possible

This paper explains very simple, cheap, low-risk things, that each of us can do, to bring us closer to this world.2 I ask each and every reader of this paper, save those with very specific circumstances, to do these things.

I write this during the first half of November, 2007.

In the world that is possible, I get an e-mail from a near-by activist, who is working on growing a local pot-luck culture, amongst activists. She's arranging a vegetarian cooking night, and trawling the local area for people who are activists, political bloggers, geeks, transportation people, and inviting them over for a dinner, to be held once every three months. We will step out our doors, walk down a street, knock on her door, and she'll let us in, and we'll talk over dinner. There will be 20-30 of us. Not only is that happening here in Bothell, but it is happening all over the globe.

And it's not happening because there's a major organization propagating this idea-it's just happening because, well, she can see that we're out here quite plainly on her computer, and, she's always wanted to know who her neighbors are. She likes conversations that have social significance. She's just a caring person.

In the world that is possible, and already very close to reality, I have arranged a local Bothell “lets-get-together, programmers, system administrators, IEEE/ISOC/W3C participants, hardware hackers” gathering. I look around on the web, and take down the e-mail addresses of the programmers, sys admins, IEEE/ISOC/W3C people, hardware hackers, and what not, and compose a list of 100 e-mail addresses. That's too many to start with, so I make the list ten people (who live closest to me, say), and invite them to come to dinner. Three of them have the time on the particular date I chose, and I say, “Well, there are 100 of us, where can we find a place and a date? It sure would be a shame for us not to meet.” One isn't interested, the other two are, and we work at figuring out how to do it. Half a year later, and we have an invite going out to 100, to meet at the walkably near fraternity hall. Twenty people come, the conversation is lively, and we vow to do it again, and to bring our friends and family next time.

The world that is possible is a world of community, both local and global. The world that is possible is a world of ideas, where people like to talk, and the world that is possible is a world of action, where people do things together. The world that is possible is a world of plenty, because when you have a genuine community, there's always somebody you can trust to watch your kid out of the honor of doing it, rather than requiring pay, there's always plenty of work on the grapevine, and there's always someone who has a digital camera, computer, scanner, or whatever tool is needed, to make something, or meet a particular need. There's always somebody who knows somebody. Communities are strong, and resilient, and strong, and loving.

In the world that is possible, half the people are loving life and having a party, and the other half are waking up from the cultural trance of advertising and consumerism. Perhaps in 2014, they'll notice that there are 3x more trick-or-treaters at the door, than there were before. Or perhaps they'll see that the community bulletin board is a lot more active lately. Or perhaps the local community will be galvanized, and someone will knock on the person's door, to invite them to a local potluck dinner.

This is part of the world that is possible: an inclusive, loving, and secure place, where people know, love, and watch out for one another.

Simple Things You Can Do

All we have to do, is live, work, and play openly.

• Use your real name online.
• Keep your mailing lists public and visible.
• Put your latitude & longitude on your website.
• Make your social networking data public.
• Don't use Basecamp or any other tools that conceal your work.
• Keep a blog and make it public.
• ... (and so on)

Offline techniques:

• Take a leaf from the Mormons: Talk with your neighbors.
• Write a leaflet about who you are, what you're about; Share it!
• Share papers about what you're working on, and post them in your neighborhood bulletin boards.

This is all very simple.

I estimate that perhaps three in twenty of the readership of this book, at the time of this reading, is doing these things. John Abbe, you're okay-you're doing right.

In a little more detail:

Email: most of us are in continuing conversations with other activists, thinkers, and so on. Make these conversations into formal mailing lists, (it should take about 5-10 minutes with Google Groups, or other mailing list packages,) and set them to “public read, public subscribe.” Public archives mandatory! You can put moderations on the subscription, to lock out spammers.

Lat & Long: There are detailed instructions at: http://geourl.org/add.html . GeoURL does not “lock you in,” the website you put the coordinates on is your own, and any computer can make use of them.

Social Networking: Social networking sites love it when you keep your data private. That means more money for them, since people have to join the social networking site to see you. Do not join any such social networking site. Look for sites that give you maximum visibility and connectivity with others.

Basecamp: There are many tools that hide your data for you, I'm just picking on Basecamp because it's particularly popular. Stay away from them. Use a publicly visible wiki, instead. I recommend Oddmuse. Some data really must be kept private, such as e-mail lists. Exchange those in private email, or some other private data store. Only use the private channels for things that really must be private. Avoid talking about truly private things, where someone else is in jeopardy. (Do so when you must, though.)

Blog: If you have a professional blog and a personal blog, make them both public.

“What?! That's Crazy Talk!”

It's very simple: We say, “I am not afraid,” and we “come out.” It's actually not dangerous at all. It's also not a productivity sink; People imagine being pestered by Paparazi all the time. It's not like that at all.

Our faith in and belief in privacy is vastly overrated.

For those who fear the government: If the government wants to tap you, it will. In some respects, we're already in 1984. The problem of 1984 isn't that people are being seen, the problem is that people are seen ONLY by the government. In 1984, the totalitarian government does everything in its power to prevent people from seeing each other. If I were an ominous power, my goal would be to keep people isolated, in their homes, not talking with each other, and unaware of each other's activities. “Stay home, stay quiet, don't speak out, don't talk with others.” I would say, “Activists are bad people who mess with our perfect harmony,” and I would try to make activists as invisible as possible. The doctrine of privacy is very useful in this respect. (This is not, however, intended to denigrate the work of privacy activists: There is a definite need for privacy, and privacy is definitely under attack; Privacy should be possible. We just rely on it way too much.)

For those who fear technology: Contemplate the virtue of communication.

For those who fear being pestered: Philip Greenspun is rather famous in the web world, he wrote a number of excellent books, published them online, and made a number of people rich. His cell phone number, home phone number, and street address is all publicly visible from his contact info. He's written that he has ONCE received a phone call that was unwanted. I have personally tested this. I'm not nearly as famous as Philip Greenspun, but I have all my public information out there. I have received a great bounty because of this-people who I'd lost contact with, a job offer that I accepted and became a powerful job for me, people with good ideas who became my friends, contacts in media who wrote on some aspect of my work or another. To date, I have not received a SINGLE prank call, or other unwanted attention. Not a single one.

For those who don't have time: Hold the intention in mind. As your train is going down the tracks, and you encounter switching points, choose the ones that lead to greater visibility and public exposure.

For those who live offline: Make a project of making a web page for yourself, telling a little about yourself, and what you care about, and how to contact you. Investigate offline methods of sharing your life, your cares, and so on. And just… …wait! Computers are moving off the desk, into the laps, and then from there, to be simply embedded in our environment. The Internet world is transitioning from being a fairy world inside computers on desks, to becoming part and parcel of the material world.

For those who believe serious work can't work this way: The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) working groups ALL have public lists, that anybody can join. Their work is very serious, and has included: Defining e-mail, defining how it is sent and received. Defining HTTP, FTP, SSH, telnet, and myriad other protocols. Have you heard of Linux? Linus Torvalds, lead developer of Linux, works on the Linux Kernel developers mailing list, which can also be joined by anyone in the world, including you. Serious work has been done for decades in an open and public manner. For your doubts, just look at how they do it-it will be very instructive. (hint: “Working Openly” does not mean “Global invite to be interrupted by everyone.” It just means that you're visible and accessible. There's an enormous difference between the two.)

For those who can't see how they'll make money: OK-you can sell your book, if you must, and not put them online. I can't convince you otherwise. But all the conversations with people that led up to the book existing, all the major development work, there's no reason that should be private. They won't cut into your book sales, because the book is made for people who would rather get a quick introduction to your ideas, rather than tracing through myriad e-mail exchanges.

For those who's organizations prohibit it: Push for the freedom you need at work. In the meantime-sounds like you're screwed! Somewhere along the line, a bad deal was made. See what you can do.

For those who fear attracting weirdos: If your work attracts “weirdos,” you have some community and message shaping to do. Work openly, but make it clear that you're busy, and are only to be interrupted for specific reasons, and only to be interrupted if something is relevant. Make the expectations for the space clear. If someone trespasses, ignore them, or make it clear that you don't want them there. The vast majority of the time, this works. Should it not work, (and I've never seen it not work,) there are restraining orders and other legal means of saying, “Go away.” Is it worth the hassle? Absolutely: If you attract people, the vast majority of them will be good, courteous, genuine, and very very helpful. Not just helpful, “crucial.” People will land at your doorstep to tell you ideas or give you opportunities that you hadn't even considered, but will fit perfectly. This is the gift and the bounty of working openly.

For those who fear embarrassing themselves: This is the 21st century. The Internet is old hat. If someone gets into an argument online, or something, it's just that: Someone got into an argument online. Or, when they were 20, they got drunk, got naked, and someone posted naked pics. Whoop-dee, who cares. I have plenty embarrassing things online, but it's never once come into the slightest consideration at work. Don't let your fear control you. Our fears are faaar greater than the reality. Community is about imperfect people, and imperfect image. Accept that, embrace it, be forgiving of others, share your life with the world. This is Earth Community, this is Global Community. It's OK: We have big hearts.

For those who can't be found: First, society needs a new answer to stalkers. But until it finds one, you'll have to use code-names and private channels. When the safe communities develop around you, and you are secure in your livelihood and neighborhood, and your stalker is safe (and restrained) in his, then you can come out. In the meantime: code-names and private channels. Communities can and should be dual-channel-one for genuine secrets (pad-lock codes, people in hiding,) the other for general communication.

To everyone who is interested in the “theory” of these ideas, I recommend a book called The Transparent Society, by David Brin. I don't personally know David Brin, but I'd guess at least half of the geeks out there who think about stuff know his name, and this book.

Open Invitation To Earth Community

Tom Atlee, George Pór, and everyone else reading this book:

Please consider this to be your invitation (joy!) to join the Global Earth Community. That's just a name, but I'm just referring to “The Big World Out There.” You don't have to register anywhere. Just make your communications effortlessly visible. Make your contact info visible. Put clear messages about what is and is not acceptable next to your number, should any problems arise.

Then: trust.

Or, tell me that I'm wrong, and why. And then tell the Open Source communities, and Wikipedia, and the IETF, because they really need to know too-they must be doing something very wrong.

Don't just talk about a world of global community, don't just ask for others to open up, and meet one another-let's all actually do it. Let's not admire the methods of the Free Software community from afar-let's just actually do it.

Spread the word about working publicly. It is time for us to stop living in fear of imaginary ghosts. It is time for us to start living Earth Community.

Kudos

Kudos to Tom Atlee, who identified the first round of contributors, to Robert Steele, who offered to fund the publication of the book, and to Mark Tovey who has been working semi-openly in the production of this book (the book has been visible in progress on the website), all also working openly on Wikipedia.

Kudos to The Transitioner, which also works openly on its wiki. Kudos to all those who primarily work in public forums.

Thanks to the CommunityWiki and Saturday House and Mencius Sodas, for helping me develop my ideas, and thanks to Sam Rose in particular.

The rest of you have some work to do. ;)

Remember The Vision: The Great “Coming Out”

1. People start to share themselves with the world.

2. Communities start to form, both local and global.

1. People start to value the life of their communities, rather than the status in the consumer trance. Talking with friends about passions overtakes TV culture.
2. Earth Community.

As sustainability concerns become more apparent to people, they have rich personal networks to help them make the necessary transitions.

People become wiser, because they understand how to live with others, and see the patterns that play out in real life, with people of consequence.

Interpersonal mediation and group process work develop into common knowledge; We already see the beginnings of this in home-grown courtesy FAQs online.

Activists are more effective, and are well networked with other activists in the area. They have grand meetings, both on regional and topical lines, and have a great time working together.

Businesses re-align to meet the new values system, selling green energy technologies, working in ways that include the clients in construction (Christopher Alexander), transitioning to experiences and supporting community life.

People become wealthier, both individually and as communities, because they're not plowing their money into things that don't bring happiness. A swimming pool for the community, even a poor community, rather than a pool in each back yard, only for the rich.

Whether through the state or community, people provide themselves with health care, and extend out to serve communities elsewhere.

Should disaster strike anywhere, there will be networks of well-connected people who know the area, who care for one another, and can lead themselves and others to safety.

All of this comes from living and working openly.

1 Lion Kimbro is a computer programmer and community activist. 206.427.2545 (cell)

19711 112th Ave NE #C-107 Bothell, WA 98011 http://www.speakeasy.org/~lion

2 A variety of movement leaders, such as David Korten, Anodea Judith, Joanna Macy, Michael Dowd, and Paul Hawken are all, each in their own way, articulating the vision of a global movement, one leading to a world where the power of love overcomes the love of power, and the world knows peace.

205