We have discussed about the tension between on-topic and off-topic, collaboration and self-promotion, discussions and music… Here is a proposal to ease these tensions without losing our collective focus.
Members is…
(optional literary description)
Members is like that club with the descending stairs to a soundproof basement. It hosts music and conversations. Even if nothing quote-quote important is discussed there, it brings new, warmer, stronger connections to the network.
Thanks to the thick door and the acoustic curtains, outside of the Members club, in the cafe upstairs, bohemian conversations about revolution and dystopia keep flowing undisturbed, caressed by the daylight entering through the big open windows, or by the fresh summer night breeze and the subdued notes of a distant piano.
The objective is to create a social space for TMSN members by TSMN members. It can’t be as interesting and cool as to attract listeners and users who are not into music making and related activities.
Thanks to category-level permissions and tracking preferences, we can create an opt-in space for the members who want to join it, not disturbing the conversation spaces on General, Projects, and so on.
The Members category could start with two subcategories (that probably need cooler names):
- Our music
- Meeting points
In Our music, every artist (solo or band) can have their own topic where they post their music published with fairness and autonomy. Others can reply. Just like on a stage in bar, as long as the comments are about your music and you don’t turn it into a rambling about whatever, you’re good.
In Meeting points, groups of people gather around a common denominator that they all share, and they can discuss as casually and socially as they wish as long as they stay on topic. From very core topics i.e. “Faircamp users” to more distant (“Video DJing”). Expect meeting points around languages, regions, music genres…
Architectural restrictions
The idea is to integrate some restrictions in the design of the space to promote its self-moderation by the members.
- The Members category itself (not its subcategories) is readable by anyone but only mods and admins can post. We would post there only an explanation of the subcategories.
- The subcategories (Our Music, Meeting Points) would be muted by default. This means…
- The world outside can’t see the topic lists. The topics are public and you can share a link to a topic in your social media etc, but outsiders can’t browse i.e. most recent Meeting point discussions.
- Logged-in users don’t see them by default either. They can unmute subcategories, tags, and/or specific topics. What they unmute will appear in their timeline and notifications just like in the public categories.
- Our Music would be restricted to your own music published on fair and autonomous platforms (Bandcamp, Faircamp, Funkwhale, Mirlo, your own static website…) We could blacklist certain domains to send a clear message. One topic per artist / band.
- In Meeting points, all logged in users could participate in the created topics. But to create a new topic (a new meeting point), you would need to have trust level 3 or 4, or be a moderator / admin. This ensures that new topics are only created by experienced users who are trusted by the community. This saves us a lot of discussion about what topics make sense or not: we trust these people will make the right calls. It also ensures that every new topic will have at least one experienced member following the conversation.
I hope this proposal acknowledges the various wishes and concerns and offers a way through! Questions and ideas and any feedback welcome.
