Re: [ox-en] Participation in Free Software (was: Re: Definition of peer production)
- From: Michael Bouwens <michelsub2003 yahoo.com>
- Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2005 18:58:19 -0800 (PST)
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Stefan,
About the discussion below. This is how I see it.
In the modernist paradigm, based on credentialism, before you can participate, you have to be credentialed. For example, you cannot discuss physics if you do not have a PhD in it, your article won't even be considered. The selection mechanism is inbuilt in the protocol. Similarly, in traditional journalism, only a reporter can write a story. In both cases, first filter, then publish.
Now take the new peer processes. You are not asked any degree to participate in a free software project; you are not asked to be a reporter in citizen journalism; you are not asked ti be a scientist in citizen science projects. It's, 'first publish, then filter'. This is the input side.
Now the processing side. In modernist organisations, it's either hierarchy or the market or peer review by credentialled peers; not so in peer projects, the filtering is communal, done by the community itself, even though some members of the community might have more weight than others.
Now let's look at the output side. In modernist organisations, there is usually proprietary lockout, the right of exclusion, or the need to pay, or distribution on a 'need to know' basis in corporate settings.(an exception is open science, but it is still credentialist and very expensive to get the material)). In peer production: do you restrict usage to free software, do you forbid anyone to use the wikipedia? You don't.
These three processes are convergent towards wider participation, are they not?
Of course, some programs are made for minorities, but even if they are, they still obey to the 3 characteristics just described.
Equipotentiality is that process of allowing for self-selection of participants, followed by communal validation. If you know a better word for it, fine, but it is this that I mean. The a priori decision to open participation to anyone that has the potential to have the right skills, rather than to anyone with credentials.
Michel
Stefan Merten <smerten oekonux.de> wrote: -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hi Michel and all!
2 weeks (20 days) ago Michael Bouwens wrote:
with the aim to
achieve maximum participation of equipotential
producers
This is what puzzles me a bit. In Free Software it is usually not the
aim of a project to maximize participation. Often some participation
is seen as useful probably but participation is not an aim in the
sense of an end in itself. I guess we need to be more precise here.
ARE YOU SURE about his? In my understanding: free software wants to
open up cooperation to all with the right skills and inclinations,
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yes. But this is not what I understand by maximum participation.
Maximum participation to me means the general public may participate
which is more or less the opposite of the selection criteria you gave
yourself.
without credentialist limits (i.e. scientific peer review
selections, diploma's, etc..).
To this I'd agree also - though (informal) peer review selection
probably plays a role here.
And, as non-propietary distribution,
it is open to all as well.
May be we have to distinguish different aims here.
For instance all the Free BSD variants out there address only a small
piece of the "market" share of Free operating systems. To strive for
maximum participation even on the distribution side would be
frustrating for BSD people. Nonetheless there is a very active BSD
community developing all those BSD type operating systems on and on.
On the other hand projects like KDE or so probably aim at a wide
distribution, yes.
So, in my view, it is definitely about
maximum participation.
Well, may be we have different notions here.
Also I'm somewhat sceptical about the equipotential. It's probably
true that bright contributors are welcomed but on the other hand there
usually is a governance structure where not everybody has the same
rights. Also equipotential only makes sense in an abstract way because
the potential of a web designer can not be compared to a programmer
for instance.
AREN'T FS PROJECTS very modular, so that the best skills can be
matched to the precise modules, and the process to achieve this is
very open, is it not, compared to corporate selection?
Well, being employed in software firms for quite some time now I think
the more successful ones do these things more by letting people find
their way than by forcing them onto some way. Software production as
such does not work well with a authoritarian style. This has to do
with the creative nature of the activity and as such is an inalienable
feature of the act of producing software.
However, being effective in different areas is to me the opposite to
equipotential.
On the other
hand, there is governance with a relative and flexible hierarchy,
based on those that have had the vision to create the project, the
highest skill andn experience level, etc.. These form the core, vs.
a more distributed periphery of cooperators.
But this is not equipotential then, is it.
May be we have a different notion of equipotential either.
if the production is managed through peer governance,
not through market allocation or corporate hierarchy
Would it be possible to abstract this to something like alienated
forces or may be forces external to the project and its goals?
YES, I WOULD agree with that abstraction.
We are gaining common ground :-) .
Mit Freien Grüßen
Stefan
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