What is the Gateway Co-op?
The Gateway Co-op is an experiment in collective stewardship of digital infrastructure. We are using a gateway server (explanation here) as a test case for exploring dynamics about collective stewardship, as well as to provide a practical utility meeting an immediate need — to facilitate the connection of home servers to the public internet.
We are making a space for people to collaboratively build technical platforms and intentional social structures rooted in trust, autonomy, cooperation, and mutualism. We want to be part of a system that allows for each person's own rhythm while moving in tandem with the common interest.
These possibilities are built upon how we exist in relation to one another. Creating a shared infrastructure like this means intentionally re-examining how we move through the world, letting go of assumptions and roles that no longer fit, and collaboratively writing a story with a place for all of us. In this, we are guided by questions as much as answers, areas for exploration as much as concrete ideas:
- What kinds of coordination are possible when people share resources directly?
- How can systems evolve and coordinate without centralized control?
- What can technology platforms look like without commercial influences (without ads, data collection, etc.)
What does participation look like?
Participation in this commons means being part of an evolving shared space. Importantly, participation doesn’t always mean producing or performing. Sometimes participation means contributing directly, and sometimes it means simply being present.
Through participation, individuals gain:
- A place to host their experimental or personal projects, not just technically but socially.
- Community and shared responsibility rather than isolation.
- A role in shaping and maintaining infrastructure instead of just consuming it.
- New collaborators, projects, and social groups to explore.
- A digital space that is free from commercial influences that erode trust, privacy, communal interest, and individual wellness.
Participation can look like:
- Building and maintaining
- Documenting and communicating
- Teaching and learning
- Testing and bug reporting
- Welcoming people and organizing social groups
- Participating in meetings
Who is involved?
In our first iteration of the Gateway Co-op, we have three roles members can take on, member-stewards, member-users-contributors-advisors, and member-curious. These roles, their contributions and responsibilities, and a basic governance model are outlined here: https://gateway.commoninternet.net/wiki/notes/decision-making