Omni Commons - User contributions [en]

Event:2014/11/08 Aaron Swartz Day - Hackathon

2014-10-19T16:43:56Z

Evanwolf: added the page

http://www.aaronswartzday.org/ honors the memory of Aaron Swartz through civic hacking.

Parked ideas about the Omni

2014-06-15T03:14:43Z

Evanwolf: getting started

''Someday, maybe, somehow, perhaps...''

* Monthly community barbeque, engaging our neighbors
* Individual memberships in the Omni, with badge to access commons
* Remove bars over outside windows
* Video "windows" of the street outside, using webcam feeds to bring the outside inside.
* Parklet outside like Farley's

Threat Model

2014-06-12T04:28:10Z

Evanwolf: /* Models */

In order to benefit from creative thinking inspired by the security community and hacker culture, it can be useful to apply knowledge gained from the study of security for both physical and information systems to the Omni Collective's assets, services, member-groups, and their larger social/physical contexts.

Namely, a '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Threat_model Threat Model]''':

<blockquote>
"... is based on the notion that any system or organization has assets of value worth protecting, these assets have certain vulnerabilities, internal or external threats exploit these vulnerabilities in order to cause damage to the assets, and appropriate security countermeasures exist that mitigate the threats."
</blockquote>

One may want to use "compromise" assets instead of "damage" to be more clear, but ultimately the compromise depends entirely on what exactly the assets are anyhow. This implies that the idea of a threat model in the abstract is not too useful, but that assessing security methodologically with concrete/real facts and situations to create thread model'''s''' is a good way to be aware of vulnerabilities and implement countermeasures where appropriate.

For the Omni Collective, note that rather than emphasizing [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Physical_Security physical security], instead, we can accept the affordances and limitations of design generally by approaching security through the wider field of [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_design Environmental Design], namely:

<blockquote>
"the applied arts and sciences dealing with creating the human-designed environment ... [including] architecture, geography, urban planning, landscape architecture, and interior design."
</blockquote>

Consider, for instance, Oscar Newman's theory of '''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defensible_space_(environmental_design) Defensible space]''':

<blockquote>
'As defined in Newman's book Design Guidelines for Creating Defensible Space, defensible space is "a residential environment whose physical characteristics—building layout and site plan—function to allow inhabitants themselves to become key agents in ensuring their security." He goes on to explain that a housing development is only defensible if residents intend to adopt this role, which is defined by good design: "Defensible space therefore is a sociophysical phenomenon," says Newman. Both society and physical elements are parts of a successful defensible space.'
</blockquote>

[http://criminology.fsu.edu/crimtheory/newman.htm This article by Melissa Remy] on the subject of Defensible Space helps provide some context.

==Resources==
===Guides, Documents, References===
* Open Source Security Testing Methodology Manual (OSSTMM) http://www.isecom.org/mirror/OSSTMM.3.pdf
* https://www.owasp.org/index.php/OWASP_Security_Principles_Project
** https://github.com/OWASP/Security-Principles
* https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Category:Principle
* https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Cheat_Sheets
* https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Threat_Modeling_Cheat_Sheet

===Tools, Concepts===
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeypot_(computing) Honeypot]

==Models==

===General building access===
A threat model for the Omni Collective building usage, generally, as an asset. (Use an asset-focused model?)

===Sleepers===
A threat model for people who need a place to sleep and will try to (Use both attacker-focused and system-focused models?)

===Muggers===
The danger to people being robbed on the street for their phones/laptops between BART/transit and the Omni building as word spreads.

===Unwanted Graffiti and Tagging===
Strategies for preventing and responding to events.

Talk:Collectives Old

2014-04-28T22:03:23Z

Evanwolf: Define collective? Define list membership?

A brief definition of:
* What's a Collective?
* How did these collectives get on this list?

Funding Model

2014-04-28T18:31:27Z

Evanwolf: Added a placeholder for expenses

Below are proposals for '''business models''' for the Omni Collective, namely the mechanisms by which income covers expenses, and creates revenue (in this case, primarily for re-investment, and some for savings).

==Draft Proposal: Membership Model==

===Background===

At heart, the Omni Collective is a spokescouncil, a deliberative collective that is fundamentally a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voluntary_association voluntary association], but that is a representative-based, thin, coordination-level organization to facilitate the effective collaboration of member-groups that comprise the whole collective. Its primary function should be consensus-building among the member-groups, using delegates as fully-accountable representatives of each member-group. See the [[Founding Document]] for more...

The Omni Collective nods to the historical use of voluntary associations of many varieties, and the practice of membership as a means for horizontal organization, free of coercion and based on consent, in order to work toward common goals for mutual and public benefit.

===Membership Model===

In order to respect the Omni Collective's structure and values, while also working within multiple, overlapping political-economic contexts, the only effective business model is that based on membership, also known as a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscription_business_model subscription business model]. To translate membership/subscription into monetary systems, the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fee fee] is used.

This implies that the Omni Collective shall:
# Itemize a collection of assets and services
# Generate corresponding prices based on access to those assets and services
## These prices should correspond to costs/expenses and change over time.
# Levy consented-upon fees that correspond to the relevant, priced assets and services for each member-group.
# Provide discounts to certain fees as may apply, depending on the nature of membership and activities of each member-group.
# Generate other sources of income through donations, and other ways of leveraging assets and services (e.g. event rentals, sub-leasing, etc).
# Potentially provide multiple forms of membership in order to match access to assets and services to the needs and interests of membership-classes.
## For instance, "Friends of the Omni" may be a special kind of membership for family and friends who wish to support the Omni Collective, and as a result, get access to some desirable assets and services, such as discounts at the cafe/bookstore, special one-on-one website consulting session with a hacker, workshop materials fee waiver, etc.

====Income====

Expenses should be matched (and exceeded to generate revenue) from multiple forms of income, including membership as its absolutely minimum. Meaning, if no other sources of income are possible, the member-groups are responsible for eating the debt and contributing more through membership income in order to at least match expenses.

=====Membership Income=====
Concretely, the core membership of Omni Collective will be responsible for the following fees (unless some discounts are agreed upon collectively):
# Membership Fee (e.g. $50 / mo)
# Common Space Access Fee (e.g. $150 / mo)
# Private Space Access Fee - (e.g. $1500 / mo for half of the bocce ball court)
# Overhead Services Fee - (e.g. $75 / mo)
## Serves as partial income to cover other business expenses, like building-level insurance, supplies, maintenance, standing funds, etc.
# Special Fees (case-by-case, but forms an available pool / history for other member-groups)
## Kitchen Usage Fee (e.g. $100 / mo)
## Roof Access Special Fee (e.g. $50 / mo)

Discounts could include, for example:
# Groups like Food Not Bombs get 100% discounts on private and common space access fees, based on the solidarity nature of their work (giving away free food to people who are hungry).
# Groups like Sudo Room get 50% common space discount for providing free internet service in common spaces in the building.
# Groups like CAMO (Contemporary Art Museum of Oakland) get 75% discount on Overhead Fee, but a Special Fee of $50 for spackle / wall work (from nailing/hanging artworks, etc).

=====Other Income=====
# Donations
## Fund-raisers
## Crowd-funding
## Other
# Rentals
## Event rentals
## Filming / Production rentals
# Events
## Sliding-scale public events
# Member-group income
## Profit-sharing model with:
### Book Store / Cafe
### Performance member-groups (events)
### Any for-profit member-groups (e.g. worker cooperatives)

==== Expenses ====
# Routine Operations (e.g. monthly recurring expenses)
# Expenses that vary with use (e.g. bigger events raise post-event trash collection, electricity costs than small ones)
# Costs of "Sales" (costs associated with producing revenue, like fundraisers, event management, rent collections, etc.)
# Seasonal Operations (e.g. Fall roof inspection, Spring HVAC cleaning, Summer exterior painting, Annual inspections and permitting)
# Capital Reserves (e.g. New Elevator fund, repairs contingency fund)