Internal Communications

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Omni uses a variety of online tools for our internal communications. What follows are all of the forms of digital participation in the community, how to obtain accounts, and the general purpose of each form. The only requirement for member collectives is to have at least one delegate subscribed to the ‘consensus’ mailing list, where new proposals are posted at least one week prior to the Delegates Meeting during which it will be discussed.

If you need support or have questions, please send an email to comms AT omnicommons DOT org.

Delegates Meetings

Delegates Meetings are primarily spaces for report-backs of work being done, and discussion of issues that impact all participants of the Omni. They are open meetings, and anyone is welcome to attend! Each member collective assigns a delegate to represent their collective in the Delegates Meetings, in which decisions are made through a consensus process. Delegates Meetings take place every 1st and 3rd Thursday at 7pm. We rotate facilitators, and encourage folks who haven’t facilitated before to step up. Read the wiki page on facilitation tips!

The meeting format is typically what follows below:

  • Introductions - We begin with brief introductions - names, pronouns, and the collectives/working groups in which we participate, and identification of delegates.
  • Assign meeting roles: The facilitator asks for volunteers to take on the roles of stacktaker, notetaker(s), timekeeper, and vibe-reader, as well as the facilitator(s) for the next meeting.
  • Announcements - Space is given for brief announcements (~30 seconds) relevant to the Omni, such as upcoming events, major issues, calls for participation, etc;
  • Bans - Any bans of individuals by a member collective of the Omni are respected and adopted by every other member collective in the building.
  • Working Group Report-backs - Members of each working group provide updates on progress as well as ongoing or immediate needs for assistance.
  • Proposals: Anyone may submit a proposal for consensus by the delegates. Proposals should be relevant to the Omni as a whole, rather than issues covered in individual working groups. To be considered in a timely fashion, a proposal should be submitted to consensus AT lists DOT omnicommons DOT org and posted on the meeting agenda pad at https://pad.riseup.net/p/omninom at least one week prior to the meeting in which it will be up for consensus.
  • Discussions: Anyone may add a discussion item to the meeting agenda to discuss issues of relevance to the Omni community at large. Such items will be prioritized by the meeting facilitator and may be tabled until the next meeting or alternatively moved to the relevant working group or independent meeting as decided by consensus of the delegates.

It is possible to participate remotely through either a conference call or by following along on the collective notepad at https://pad.riseup.net/p/omninom

Working Groups

Working Groups are always oscillating depending on the momentum and leadership of any given group. They all operate according to the nature of work and participants involved. For instance, the Communications Working Group operates by and large remotely (though it used to meet in-person), and handles public relations, social media, and other forms of digital communication. The Building Working Group occasionally meets, but mostly communicates tasks via the mailing list and coordinates work parties when necessary. The Finance Working Group and Fundraising Working Groups are often changing days and times of meetings given the high turnover rates of those involved and the pressing nature of action items that often require spontaneous meetings. The Commons Working Group, which handles booking and events, strives to keep a consistent schedule and practices for the sake of public relations and consistency that is crucial to event rental income. See the calendar for a list of upcoming meetings, join the relevant [mailing list https://omnicommons.org/lists], or start / revive a committee!

Meeting Notes

Most working group and delegates meetings use Riseup etherpads for collaborative & simultaneous real-time editing as well as chat with remote participants. At Omni, common practice is to take notes in mediawiki's markup format, so that notes can be easily copy-pasted to the wiki archive after the meeting. See also Meeting Note Templates for a directory of copy-pastable meeting note templates.

Mailing Lists

There are many mailing lists - think of them as a digital directory of interests and activities (past and present) in the Omni community. You can view the full list of mailing lists (and subscribe to them) at: omnicommons.org/lists.

While the ‘consensus’ list is required for delegates, all others are optional. The most active lists include:

  • Announce: Moderated list for sending important announcements to our 800+ subscribers.
  • Discuss: General discussion list for anything omni-related (high traffic)
  • Booking: Where new space booking requests are sent. We ask that only folks who’ve attended at least one Commons Working Group meeting subscribe to this list.
  • Building: Discussions about ongoing building construction and maintenance projects.
  • Commons: Where we discuss issues and tasks related to events happening at the Omni - this is typically subscribed to in tandem with the Booking list.
  • Finance: Dealing with our moneys.
  • Fundraising / Buy the Building / Until the Revolution: Making moneys.
  • Mediation: Email this list to discuss conflict mediation, request support, etc. Join if you’re willing to be a mediator for future conflicts.
  • Productions: In-house A/V tech team for helping with events

Wiki

Our wiki is our primary mode of documenting meeting notes as well as information about all aspects of the Omni. You can find a full history of every Delegates and Working Group meeting at omnicommons.org/wiki/Calendar. Updating, cleaning up, organizing, and beautifying the wiki are much-needed tasks! anyone and everyone is welcomed and encouraged to contribute!

A wiki is a collaborative knowledge platform, written in article form, that stores all previous revisions to pages. To create or edit a page you must first create an account. To make an account, visit omnicommons.org/wiki and click on ‘Request Account’ in the upper right-hand corner of the screen.

File Storage

We use both Google Drive and Owncloud to store internal files such as state and corporate filings and applications. Please contact accounts AT omnicommons DOT org if you need access.

Analog Notes

a notebook
analog notes taken on methods of Internal Communications.

Analog notes are an excellent option for recording and transmitting information.

  • This platform is unparalleled in terms of security and user friendliness.
  • Given physical proximity, analog notes support collaborative creation and simultaneous editing.
  • Information is created and stored in real time; there is no need to "save". However, as analog notes rely on material artifacts, it is possible for data to "be lost".
  • Analog notes offer limited sharing capabilities; consider combining your analog notes with one or more of the communication tools listed above in order to maintain collective accessibility.
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