(forwarded from the pof-200 email list)
-----Original Message-----
From: Ben Seattle
Sent: Sunday, February 26, 2006 11:41 AM
To: 'pof-200'
Cc: Red-Team; 'pof-300'
Subject: [pof-200] CIW # 53-- the Attention Refinery: the next
step in wiki evolution
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
focus on building a community of information war # 53
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
the Attention Refinery:
the next step in wiki evolution
(1) Why we need a new kind of wiki with:
. (a) individual zones of control
. (b) a column on all pages where readers
. can post comments and criticism
. (c) blog-like features
. (d) the ability to rate and filter comments
(2) The weaknesses of existing wikis and blogs
(3) My proposal
(4) What practical steps can make this a reality?
(5) Where to find the mockup page
============================================================
Appendix: from the masthead of the Attention Refinery
============================================================
------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Why we need a new kind of wiki
------------------------------------------------------------
. We need a new kind of wiki with:
.
. (a) individual zones of control
. (b) a column on all pages where readers
. can post comments and criticism
. (c) blog-like features
. (d) the ability to rate and filter comments
In recent years web-based applications such as blogs and wikis
(as well as news sites that allow readers to post articles and
comments) have proven their usefulness and captured the popular
imagination. Sites such as Slashdot, LiveJournal, MySpace,
Wikipedia, Indymedia and OhMyNews have earned audiences of
millions and been much written about.
For militant leftists who are concerned with making use of the
emerging revolution in communications for the purpose of
mobilizing the working class for the overthrow of bourgeois rule
-- there is much, in these applications, to study and learn.
But we do not study these applications for academic reasons or
from the point of view of business investment. We study these
applications because we need a digital nervous system for the
militant non-reformist left and, ultimately, for the working
class.
For our purposes -- to connect with one another; to compete and
cooperate; to resolve our contradictions in full view of friend
and foe alike -- we need software that combines the best and most
useful features of existing blogs and wikis while avoiding the
serious shortcomings which at present limit their usefulness. In
order to overcome our isolation (from one another and from the
working class) we need software that allows us to combine (a) the
energy and initiative of individual activists with (b) the power
of open criticism and public debate.
------------------------------------------------------------
(2) The weaknesses of existing wikis and blogs
------------------------------------------------------------
Wikis are democratic, by their nature, inasmuch as anyone can
edit any page in order to correct errors and/or disinformation.
But this democratic potential tends to collapse as soon as the
stakes are raised.
The weaknesses of nearly all existing wikis are revealed in the
process of creating a page which can describe and explain a
controversial topic (and in hard core politics -- all important
and decisive topics will _always_ be controversial). What, for
example, is the objective and accurate description of the nature
and reasons for US imperialism's war in Iraq -- or the conflict
between Israeli Jews and Arab Palestinians?
In Wikipedia (the most widely known wiki) the "controversial"
(ie: important) pages end up "locked" in order to avoid "edit
wars" between supporters of competing schools of thought. This
means that the democratic potential inherent in the principle
that anyone can edit any page -- falls short as revolutionary
activists are, to a significant extent, locked out of the process
of editing these pages. And this is what will always happen in a
class-divided society where, in effect, a state of war exists
over all key ideas.
This is a fundamental problem that cannot be solved simply by
creating a wiki that is controlled by militant non-reformist
leftists -- because even within the militant non-reformist left
the _crisis of theory_ has made it nearly impossible to have
intelligent discussion (much less unity of views) on nearly any
important question. What, for example, is the meaning of
"socialism" or "communism" which is the supposed goal of hundreds
of groups on the left? Or how should we describe the lessons of
Lenin's 1917 revolution -- or an assessment of the life and work
of Stalin, Trotsky, Mao or Castro? How shall we describe the
strengths and weaknesses of all the various groups which assert
themselves to be the guiding light of the proletariat's future
revolution?
There is no agreement on these topics and little hope of sorting
out anything important in the near future -- because the various
groups which are based on one or another interpretation of
history or revolutionary theory -- find their existence
threatened by any conclusions which might shake the faith of
their supporters in the group's leading circles.
Furthermore, on existing wikis (such as Wikipedia) -- discussion
of a page takes place in an extremely crude form by means of a
mechanism (ie: discussion pages) which was added as an
afterthought -- and which allows anyone to erase the comments of
anyone else and which makes unclear who said what and when.
In addition, many of the editing features on most wikis are
somewhat clumsy, non-intuitive or difficult for many
non-technical people to quickly understand. Examples of this
include the use of tables (ie: that can display information in
rows and columns) and the methods which pull text from one page
for display on another page. In particular, revolutionary
activists will need to make use of tables in order to display
information in a systematic way about anything which can be in
the form of a list (ie: a list of valuable books to read,
worthwhile and active projects, indymedia threads, important
email discussion forums, revolutionary or pseudo-revolutionary
groups or activists who are deserving of attention, etc).
Activists will also need the ability to easily create forms on
their pages which readers will be able to use to reply to a poll
or to add information to a table.
Blogs overcome the problem with wikis because each blog has an
individual owner who maintains exclusive control over the
frontpage posts and who can delete comments which are useless
flamebait or spam. And while blogs are terrific -- they overcome
the weaknesses of a wiki by also giving up the main strength of a
wiki -- a single page to which readers can go in order to get the
straight dope on any topic.
News-related sites to which readers can post (and sometimes rate)
articles or comments, whether controlled by decentralized groups
of activists (like Indymedia) or by centralized editors who work
for reasons of personal or commercial interest (ie: like slashdot
or OhMyNews) also have problems. The rating and filtering which
take place can never be fully "democratic" and significant work
remains to be done before collaborative filtering finds practical
application on a mass scale.
The great unsolved question of social software that seeks to play
a role in the self-organization of the working class -- is how
individual responsibility and collective control can enhance one
another rather than cancel one another out.
------------------------------------------------------------
(3) My proposal
------------------------------------------------------------
After much study and consideration, I have put together a
proposal, in the form of a mock-up, for something that I call the
Attention Refinery. The Attention Refinery may be the next step
in wiki evolution. It combines the best and most useful functions
of blogs and wikis while avoiding the key weaknesses of both.
Each activist will have the ability to create wiki pages in a
zone over which he or she has exclusive control. Each page in
this ecosystem of wikis will automatically link (in a side
column) to all similar pages in all other zones -- and to all
comments and criticisms of that page posted by activists.
Each wiki page and each comment will become a node which readers
can rate and to which, in a recursive manner, they can attach
further comments. Readers will have the choice (and the ability)
to make use of ratings of pages and comments in order to find the
best stuff and leverage the assessment of other activists in our
community. Readers will be able to navigate around this ecosystem
-- rating or attaching comments to the side column of any page
they wish -- while the main central section of each page will
always remain under the exclusive control of the activist who
created it and who takes responsibility for it.
------------------------------------------------------------
(4) What practical steps can make this a reality?
------------------------------------------------------------
The next step for me is to collect comments and feedback on my
proposal and to create, possibly over the next few months, a
working prototype that includes essential features -- and which
is stable. Such a working prototype would serve as a "living
spec" (ie: a blueprint for a more professional version) and might
actually prove useful for practical work by some activists in the
Media Weapon community.
Once a functional prototype has proven itself to be both (a)
useful for practical work and (b) stable -- then possibly some
activists in the Media Weapon community can begin efforts to link
up with open source software developers to implement some of
these proven design principles in a code base which is
professionally written.
------------------------------------------------------------
(5) Where to find the mockup page
------------------------------------------------------------
The existing mockup page can be found at:
http://AttentionRefinery.com/bart/democracy
None of the forms on the mockup page are functional. However you
can post your comments, ideas, questions and criticisms to the
form at the bottom of the page where this introduction is posted
at:
http://struggle.net/ben/2006/AttentionRefinery.htm.
Your comments, ideas, questions and criticisms are needed!
Sincerely and revolutionary regards,
Ben Seattle
http://struggle.net/ben
Isolated from one another we are easily defeated.
Connected to one another no force on earth can stop us
http://MediaWeapon.com
============================================================
Appendix: from the masthead of the Attention Refinery
============================================================
The Attention Refinery
* information war wants to be free to serve the class struggle
The Attention Refinery is an ecosystem of parallel and connected
blogs and wikis that serve as an arena for progressive activists
in the Media Weapon community to talk to one another -- compete
and cooperate -- organize our thinking -- discover and develop
powerful and practical principles and projects -- resolve our
contradictions in full view of friend and foe alike -- gradually
assemble a common agenda -- and learn how to wage information war
as an essential and decisive component of the class struggle --
so we can help mobilize the working class for the overthrow of
bourgeois rule.
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