William B. @wrb@social.coop

#introduction I'm William and I'm a software developer. I just read @ntnsndr 's book and am very curious about the movement. I'm very interested in co-op governance for open source projects, and ways that co-ops could promote humane and non-exploitative technology use. I'm starting to get involved in local co-ops, too. I'm also happy to try to help out with software stuff, if I can.

I'm nearing the end of Diane McWhorter's "Carry Me Home," about fight to end segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.

It's a long book, but it has a lot of illuminating detail that's missing from standard accounts.

I got stung by a bee yesterday.

Not as bad as I remember it being from childhood.

But not that fun either.

Taking my first trip to Toronto soon. I won't have a ton of free time, but is there anything especially great I should know about?

Unfortunately, it's a busy season of life and I need to stop myself from playing these games right now.

Not to force it, but I think there's *some* kind of connection here to what interests me about the co-op movement. The sort of rough-and-ready, non-corporate origins, the tendency toward sharing, and an almost unlimited potential for greatness.

In the classic version of the roguelike, you control a little "@" symbol and go around bumping into letter-monsters.

Part of what I like about these games is that if you want to make one, you don't have to worry about graphics, at least when you're starting out, so the barrier to entry is really low. But what people have managed to do with the format over the years is mind-blowing.

Furthermore, most (but not all) of the "big" roguelike games are open-source.

Once or twice a year, I get a little obsessed with the roguelike genre. Brogue is a particular favorite.

What's the rule of thumb for when to use content warnings?

I did a plain boost but I should say more about this thread: https://octodon.social/@wohali/103009810371153938

"Open-source" as in "having access to source code to see how something works" is great. But as @wohali details, the "foundation" model is highly susceptible to capture by large corporations. We (=ordinary users of computers) urgently need a co-operative governance structure and a licensing model that makes enough money to pay contributors. I wish I knew how to build that.

"Ten Simple Rules for Helping Newcomers Become Contributors to Open Projects" https://github.com/gvwilson/10-newcomers

What are the ingredients of a quality internet conversation? With most of the previous platforms I've used, I've started with real-life connections. Exception: blogs, but those had a lot of room for detailed back-and-forth.

Here's a really basic, co-ops 101 question: in worker-owned co-ops, what keeps the workers from voting for raises that the co-op's revenue can't cover?

Is it the job of the elected leader to convince everyone that the accounting is fair? Or does there have to be a camaraderie that might only work at smaller scales?

I went to a credit union and opened an account today. I'll be Moving my Money over the course of the next month or so. I'm feeling good about getting away from the National Megabank. Benefit off the bat: a meaningful interest rate for the savings account.

Another co-op question: what happens to USA co-ops when they wind down or fail? Do the members have to vote to sell the co-op's resources? Can a co-op go through bankruptcy restructuring?