[sudo-discuss] Fwd: [omni-discuss] Omni Member Application — Sudo Mesh

[Jake]

Yayyyyy!!!!!!  I 100% support this happening!!!!!!!!!!

-jake

On Thu, 2 Apr 2020, Yardena Cohen wrote:

> Hey Sudoers, what do you all think about the mesh project becoming an
> Omni member collective?
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ---------
> From: Mai Sutton <mai.ishikawa.sutton at gmail.com>
> Date: Wed, Apr 1, 2020 at 9:20 PM
> Subject: [omni-discuss] Omni Member Application — Sudo Mesh
> To: <consensus at omnicommons.org>, <discuss at omnicommons.org>
> Cc: <info at peoplesopen.net>
>
>
> Dear Omni Collective Delegates,
>
> Below you will find Sudo Mesh's application to become a member
> collective of the Omni Commons. We welcome your questions and any and
> all input you may have about our application!
>
> I plan to be present at the Omni Delegates meeting tomorrow, April 2,
> to formally present our application and receive your feedback.
>
> Best,
> Mai
>
> ---
>
> OMNI MEMBER APPLICATION - SUDO MESH
>
> What do you do that makes a difference in the world?
>
> Sudo Mesh develops software and assembles hardware systems to build
> open community networks. We are building open technology that helps
> connect our neighbors, support local businesses, and enable community
> collaboration and cultural production. In the event of a natural
> disaster or state censorship, community mesh networks can be a
> resilient means of communication and sharing of information.
>
>
> Our projects include People's Open Network, a community-owned and
> -operated non-profit digital network in Oakland and disaster.radio, an
> off-grid, solar-powered, long-range mesh network built on free, open
> source software and affordable, open hardware.
>
> Briefly recap your history as an organization.
>
> Meetings to build the People’s Open Network began in January of 2013
> at Sudo Room. Several founding members of the project, including Marc
> Juul, Jenny Ryan, Daniel Arauz, Lesley Bell, Jehan Tremback, Jake
> Sternberg, and Matthew Senate, continue to be involved to this day.
>
>
> We have continued to build off of the contributions and experiments of
> people who have been involved over the years. Our accomplishments over
> the last seven years include:
>
>
> Development of our own version of mesh routing firmware, SudoWRT,
> which was built off of existing open source operating system OpenWRT
> in addition to open source mesh routing protocol Babel.
>
> Organized six Build Your Own Internet (BYOI) events where we’ve hosted
> hands-on activities and presentations about how the internet works and
> our digital network commons initiatives.
>
> Installed 30+ antennas and routers in homes and businesses to become
> wireless nodes in People’s Open Network. One includes a node at the
> Internet Archive building in Richmond, CA, which we placed there in
> order to distribute gigabits of donated, free bandwidth.
>
> Raised over $180,000 in grants and individual donations to support our
> work, including a $30,000 donation to Omni Commons and a $10,000
> donation to Sudo Room (where we have hosted our meetings and storage
> for years).
>
> Laptops for All (another Sudo Mesh project) has given out dozens of
> laptops to high-need individuals.
>
>
> Our most active projects are the People's Open Network and Disaster Radio.
>
>
> People’s Open Network empowers communities to build and operate their
> own wireless networks without relying on last-mile ISPs. Using our
> design built on open source software, off-the-shelf hardware, and open
> educational materials, small groups of people can utilize existing
> bandwidth to share their internet connections and cover public and
> underserved areas. Those who connect to the network are not customers,
> but community members, encouraged to learn, participate, host a node
> or contribute to code.
>
>
> Disaster Radio is an off-grid, solar-powered, long-range mesh network
> built on free, open source software and affordable, open hardware. It
> is being designed to be rapidly implemented in disaster areas by
> anyone who can follow written instructions, acquire the necessary
> components, and mount a nominal number of nodes. The nodes will be
> small, entirely self-contained units running low-bandwidth web apps
> that anyone can access with a WiFi-enabled device. We are designing
> them to be solar-powered.
>
> What is your incorporation status? (501c3? Unincorporated Association? etc.)
>
> We are an incorporated 501c3 organization as Sudo Mesh, with EIN
> 46-4226376. We have our own bank account with UNIFY Credit Union,
> including sub-accounts for each of our projects.
>
> How do you make decisions?
>
> We are currently undergoing a transition in our decision-making
> process, which has been slowly evolving over the last two years.
>
> Until 2018, major decisions were made by in-person votes at weekly
> Tuesday night meetings by those actively involved in Sudo Mesh
> projects. Otherwise, decisions were made on an ad hoc, individual
> basis by those who had the capacity to work on different aspects of a
> project.
>
> For the last two years, we have been experimenting with the
> decision-making platform, Loomio. We collectively selected active
> members as “Stewards” who are empowered to vote on any major
> decisions, particularly those involving financial expenditures. We are
> also using Loomio to discuss ideas and proposals before they go up for
> a vote. Currently, proposals must be approved by consensus of approved
> Stewards. Stewards are not able to block if they are the sole person
> opposed to the decision — they must work with the proposer to come to
> a proposal that works for them.
>
> This has largely worked for us, but we still lack many protocols that
> could ensure a stable governance process. For example, we do not have
> minimum involvement requirements for those to remain as Stewards. We
> hope to address such issues in the coming months.
>
> State your goals for becoming an Omni member collective. How would
> your presence in the Omni contribute to its purpose and Statement of
> Solidarity?
>
> We believe in the power and potential of the commons as an alternative
> to capitalism, which justifies the extractive, violent, and depraved
> treatment of humans, animals, and the Earth. Networked communication
> has not only become critical for people to access and share
> information, it’s a necessity for community connection, social justice
> organizing, and to inspire and disseminate stories and art.
>
>
> Sudo Mesh is a small project out of many thousands of digital commons
> organizations that are fighting for a more just and equitable
> internet. Our goal is to build network infrastructure that is truly
> owned by and for the public, with a more specific aim to create
> technology that addresses the information and communication needs of
> Bay Area neighborhoods.
>
>
> Sudo Mesh has also long been a pillar organization of Omni Commons.
> Several of its members have and continue to contribute their time and
> expertise to maintain the wireless network in the space. Our members
> have helped with building maintenance and we have also used the space
> for our BYOI events. Our donation of $30,000 to the Omni Commons in
> 2018 is also a testament to our commitment to support Omni as a
> critical community resource in Oakland.
>
>
> Explain how you will finance your Omni membership dues/rent.
>
> We currently have some savings that would allow us to pay our
> membership dues for the near future. However, we will continue to
> apply for grants, seek individual donations and other recurring
> sources of funding to fund our work and all our expenses, including
> our rent and Omni membership dues.
>
> Describe what dedicated physical space (if any) you need. What will
> you do in the dedicated space? What can you do in shared space? Will
> you need to make any modifications of the building? Include floor
> plans if that makes your proposal clearer.
>
> We already use some space in Sudo Room: a walk-in storage space in the
> southeast corner mezzanine. We have considered using more space at the
> Omni as a regular workspace, but we currently do not have plans to
> expand our use beyond that space.
>
>
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