[bestbits] Multi-stakeholder definition being developed using LiquidFeedback software
Jeremy Malcolm
jmalcolm at eff.org
Fri Aug 15 16:56:55 EDT 2014
I am starting a separate thread to highlight a current initiative that
was buried in a previous thread last month - that there is a new fluid
working group experimenting with the use of "LiquidFeedback" software at
http://bestbits.net/lf to develop a rough consensus definition of
multi-stakeholder Internet governance, and which could potentially be
used in advocacy as a "quality standard" of multi-stakeholder processes.
So far the only proposal posted for discussion is one based on the
NETmundial principles. But anyone can create a proposal for others to
discuss and express support for. The software is currently configured
so that inputs are shown as anonymous to non-registered users, which
should help people feel that they can express themselves freely, whilst
still maintaining transparency.
It is a technical requirement of the LiquidFeedback software that
participants receive an invite code before they can register. Until now
only a few members who affirmatively expressed interest received an
invite code, but anyone else who wishes to participate should contact me
and I will send you one. You can then simply click "Registration" at
http://bestbits.net/lf to create your account.
There will be a 10 minute reporting back from this working group at our
meeting in Istanbul, so if you wish to contribute, now is the time to do
so.
Below is a more detailed primer about how to use the software, partly
copied and pasted from an online document here
<http://karl.aegee.org/lf/dummyguide.html>.
What is Liquid Democracy?
Liquid Democracy is a democratic system for grass-root participation in
the creation of, refining of and public voting on proposals. Although
similar to a direct referendum, it allows votes to be delegated by topic
or area, and for those delegations to be revoked at any time. Liquid
Democracy is sometimes referred to as Delegated or Proxy Voting.
What is LiquidFeedback?
LiquidFeedback is a formal on-line decision support system that is the
first user-friendly Web-based implementation of the Liquid Democracy
concept, which has been used by the German Pirate Party amongst others.
There is not much you can do in LiquidFeedback: You may create a
proposal, express your support, make a suggestion and vote. That's
essentially it.
Quickstart - what to do first
For now, you will require an "invite code" to use LiquidFeedback. Later
we can hook it into a Best Bits membership database (which does not yet
exist). If you did not receive an invite code and would like one, please
let me know.
* *Quickstart for participation in the multi-stakeholderism definition:*
o Click on the *unit Best Bits
<http://bestbits.net/lf/unit/show/1.html>* and enter the *area
Multi-stakeholderism <http://bestbits.net/lf/area/show/2.html>*
o *Create an issue
<http://bestbits.net/lf/initiative/new.html?area_id=2>* for a
new proposal or motion, or look at existing issues in the list
of /Open issues/
o Important: Add your *support* to all those issues that you agree
with
o Create a *suggestion* for an issue to make it better, or rate an
existing suggestion as /should, should not, must, must not/ be
implemented
o Click on your name on the top right and go to *upload
avatar/photo <http://bestbits.net/lf/member/edit_images.html>*
for making things a bit more colourful for everyone.
o If you completely dislike an initiative, then simply do nothing
and wait for the voting, or create a competing proposal, an
/alternative/.
* Come back to LiquidFeedback and vote once the voting phase has
started. When establishing your account, you can specify that you
want to be notified of this by email.
* Optionally, go to "Members" and add those persons as Contact that
you might to delegate your vote to. Then go to "Areas" and maybe
click "Set Area delegation", or go into an issue and do "Set Issue
delegation"
Important: During the discussion phase (in the states /New/ and
/Discussion/) you should support all initiatives that you can agree with
(generally, or under certain conditions), and make suggestions for
improvements (you can find details on the initiative page). Hereby you
give the initiators the chance to improve the draft. This early feedback
makes for vital feedback and changes the graphical "approval bars" in
green and grey that you see in front of each listing of initiatives.
Keywords explained
An "initiative" is a proposal or motion. "Alternative initiatives" are
counter-proposals.
"Areas" sort issues into groups, and each issue contains one or more
initiatives. Issues are numbered and have neither titles nor names.
The user can create "suggestions" and label them as either "should" and
"must", or do so with suggestions created by other users. This is analog
to a request for a (friendly) amendment:
* A "should" suggestion is a an amendment that will not lead to a vote
against the proposal if not accepted.
* A "must" suggestion is an amendment that needs to be fulfilled or
else the user indicates to disagree with the proposal.
Phases
In Liquid Feedback a proposal, which is called an "initiative", moves
through 5 different phases:
* *New:* A freshly submitted initiative. An "issue" groups initiatives
for the same topic, which constitute the competing choices.
Every user can create both a new issue or a new initiative within an
existing issue.
* *Discussion:* A initiative has received sufficient support to enter
into the public discussion phase.
In LF typically a quorum of 10% of supporters is required for the
discussion to start. Declare your support by clicking on "Support this
initiative". Apart from voicing support you can suggest changes (with
SHOULD or MUST) or create an alternative initative.
The proposer of the initiative can modify its text during the discussion
to adjust to the feedback.
* *Verification/Frozen:* The proposed text cannot neither be modified
anymore.
So this is the time when to discuss how to vote on this initiative in,
for example, a local board meeting.
Note that it is still possible to propose alternative initiatives, i.e.
to create counter proposals.
* *Voting:* The users begin to vote - the results are only shown after
the voting period has ended.
Competing initiatives can be rankend and voted for or against, and a
priority of the proposals can be established by the user.
LiquidFeedback will afterwards sort out this "mess" and announce the winner.
* *Finished:* Either the voting phase was completed (and a result
determined), or one of the potential quorums wasn't reached, and the
corresponding initiative was stopped early.
Procedures
You can become a "participant" of an entire area or a specific issue,
and by that add your count to the quorum and therefore say: "I want to
take part in the decision."
You can become a "supporter" or a "potential supporter" of an initiative to
* a) help a new issue to move to the discussion phase, and
* b) during the discussion phase give an indication to the creator of
the initiative what his odds are to be successful.
Different draft versions of the initiative (older and newer) can be
easily compared line-by-line so that you can see what exactly was changed.
You can create an alternative initiative if your suggestions are not
heard and not integrated into the proposal text by the inititator.
Finally you can vote, or delegate your vote to another user you trusts
to take the right decision. Delegation is also known as proxy voting and
ensures that your vote is not lost if you do not have sufficient time or
knowledge to dive into a specific issue are a certain area.
If you completely disapprove an initiative
In case you disapprove an initiative fundamentally, then you should not
submit any suggestion in order to avoid becoming a supporter. Either
wait for the voting phase, or use informal channels (mailing list,
direct contact with the author) to express your disagreement. There is
no "Dislike" button. LiquidFeedback is a formal decision-making system,
is not moderated, it is designed to foster constructive input, and it
makes an effort to prevent a potentially negative atmosphere. Next to
the above options, you should support those alternative initiative(s)
that you are positive about, or you may start your own initiative
related to this issue. Finally, if you are not already a member of the
area, you can increase the population of the necessary support quorum by
becoming a member of the area, or by adding your interest to the issue.
Schedules
So called "policies" determine the duration of each phase and any quorum
that might be involved along the way.
Some policies may skip certain phases, while others might not require
any quorum.
The quorums are, if set, essentially a SPAM protection mechanism.
For example, for the multi-stakeholderism discussion, the schedule is
for 14 days of discussion, followed by 8 days for verification and 15
days of voting... but these are arbitrary and can be changed. More of
the settings of the default policy are found *here
<http://bestbits.net/lf/issue/show/1.html>*.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
--
Jeremy Malcolm
Senior Global Policy Analyst
Electronic Frontier Foundation
https://eff.org
jmalcolm at eff.org
Tel: 415.436.9333 ext 161
:: Defending Your Rights in the Digital World ::
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