Project Contribution Procedures

Read this overview if you want to join Project Auravana

The Auravana Project is a contribution effort to develop a community-type society by means of a set of socio-technical standards for its conception and operation. Herein, community is a societal-level organization that orients individuals toward their highest potential of human need fulfillment. The desire to commit to work toward global human fulfillment is strong in many of us, our coordinated effort will bring into existence a society that works well for everyone.

The Auravana Project coordinates and hosts the development of the societal standard for a type of society with several features unique to community: (1) A societal system based upon cooperatively shared access to common resources, and thus, trade-less (and hence, moneyless). (2) A societal system based upon a formalized socio-technical standard and open-source development, and thus, coercionless. In a community-type society, there is no property and no trading of property (either for other property or for money). In a community-type society there is no State coercion. In a community-type society the resources, and hence, production outputs are the common heritage of everyone.

A community-type society is conceptualized by means of a Societal Standard, and operationalized by a habitat service team. When another society, like the market-State, is operating, then the project also has a transition team to coordinate between the different societies. Auravana could be considered a societal standards setting organization, and like any professional standards organization, working groups develop the socio-technical [societal specification] standards.

Overview of agreement and alignment

To agree to work toward the direction of global human fulfillment through the development of a community-type society necessitates agreement to relate to others and do work under bounded conditions. The Auravana Project is an open source project operating within the market-State under a CC BY-SA 4.0 International License. Please read the Terms and Conditions for the project; these explain how data is processed and is available through the Auravana Project organization. To agree with the project means to agree to a set of open source agreements and what the project is about (see auravana.org/about). Fundamentally, the Auravana Project is a service to all of humanity.

People who commit to contribute to the development of a community-type society are in alignment with the Project’s direction, orientation, and approach. The following are some important questions for potential contributors to ask themselves:

1. Am I aligned with the description of the project?
2. Am I aligned with the direction, orientation, and approach of the project?
3. Am I committed to the dedication of my time and effort to bring a community-type society into existence?

Follow this procedure if you want to join Project Auravana

The Auravana Project maintains a contribution service for those who desire to contribute to a community-type society. The procedures and overview for contribution are available below.

To become a contributing member of the Auravana Project involves four simple steps:

1. Join two communications platforms.
2. Agree to the open source terms.
3. Meet with a coordinator for alignment determination and project role assignment.
4. Start working.

To become a project contributor you must have at least three types of accounts:

1. A GitHub account. [github.com]
2. A specific chat messenger account (may be whatsapp.com, telegram.com, or discord.com).
3. An email address.

The procedure to become a contributing member is as follows:

1. Join the Auravana Project’s GitHub project by submitting a NEW “Issue: Contribution membership request” through github.com/TrvsGrant/Auravana-Project/issues
   1. Via GitHub, create a new “Issue: Contribution Membership Request”
   2. Fill in the template, and send it. The sent form is a request to apply to a working group or transition team.
   3. *Warning* Please use the appropriate project issue labels in issue creation or coordinators may miss issues. Labels are necessary for effective search.
   4. *Warning* If you do not complete step 2 within one month, your Contribution Membership Request will be denied and closed.
   5. *Notification* Make sure an Auravana Project coordinator can associate your WhatsApp account with your GitHub account or a coordinator may miss the association.
2. Agree to all open source Terms and Conditions and standard operating procedures (see Terms and Conditions page) through an email to the projects email address [coordinator@auravana.org]. Please include all of the following in your email:
   1. #Volunteer [Do not change; this is the Tag]
   2. @Travis Grant [Do not change; this is the Global Projects Coordinator]
   3. Full real name: 
   4. GitHub profile link:
   5. Chat messenger contact number:
   6. Signed statement of agreement to the Project’s Contributors License Agreement, and email/meeting agreement to Terms-and-Conditions and the Project’s standard operating procedures:
   7. Item of note:
      1. Remember to include #Volunteer and @Travis Grant, and the other required information. If any information is missing the Agreement may not be coordinated effectively.
3. Join the Auravana WhatsApp Work Communications Group from the link sent to your email address. Please use your real name. You cannot join a working group or team if you are not accountable, and you are not accountable if you do not use your real name.
   1. After you send your chat messenger contact details in an email to the Project’s website (step 2), a project coordinator will send you a link to the Auravana chat messenger Contribution Group.
   2. When posting in this group please always use:
      1. The appropriate Coordinator [ @mentions ].
      2. The appropriate Category/Tag [ #hashtags ].
   3. *Warning* This is the main contribution group for high-level coordination of contribution among all contributors. Please keep the messenger work group clean of distractions and unnecessary attention attractors, such as unnecessary emojis and all caps. Post only content relevant to the contribution service system (i.e., to the coordination of people contributing to the project).
   4. *Notification* If you do not become a contributor, or become inactive in all contribution efforts for one month, then you will be removed from this group. Also, if you post content that harms the project, then you will be removed from this group. When you are no longer contributing, you will be removed from this group.
4. Schedule and attend a “Meet and Greet” by means of a link sent to you over WhatsApp by the Global Projects Coordinator. After completing steps 1, 2, and 3, the global coordinator will send you a link to schedule a meeting with a projects coordinator. Scheduling and attending the meeting is step 4. The “Meet and Greet” will help all parties determine contribution feasibility. (webcam required)
   1. Attend the contribution service introduction meeting with a project coordinator. (webcam required)
   2. The meet and greet has several functions:
      1. For the potential contributor to discuss possible roles for contribution.
      2. To share understandings; to present an understanding of the Project’s description, organization, and goals.
      3. To discuss agreement/alignment with the project.
      4. To confirm alignment/agreement with the project.
      5. To present evidence of prior competence, or not.
      6. To confirm a role/position for contribution.
      7. To review and agree to a work description.
      8. To provides data for the coordinator to make a decision on contributability to project roles.

Important procedural items:

1. A webcam is required for the Meet and Greet.
2. The Meet and Greet will be recorded and may be shared publicly. It may be shared with other contribution service coordinators to decide a best outcome. Meetings for contribution service are recorded and should be expected to be public access.
3. Work descriptions are agreed to over recorded video for all to see. The terms of the Project are agreed to via email. The contribution desire instantiation is created with coordination software.
4. The link will be sent directly to “you” in WhatsApp, and should NOT be posted in the WhatsApp Auravana Group. The coordinator will send a personal, single-use scheduling link over WhatsApp (directly to you, and NOT in the WhatsApp Auravana Group).
5. Regardless of the time for the duration of the meeting specified in the scheduling link, please expect to spend ~45min in the Meet and Greet.

The “Meet and Greet” may lead to:

1. An acknowledgment of alignment and/or dis-alignment with the Auravana Project’s direction, orientation, and approach (as explained in the Societal Specification Standard).
2. A coordinator’s approval, denial, or wait status of the membership request:
   1. An approval to contribute to an Auravana working group or team.
      1. An assigning of a role and tasks to the volunteer.
         1. Roles have work descriptions, which is what the contributor is agreeing to.
      2. A scheduled plan to assign a role and tasks to the volunteer in the near-future.
   2. A denial of approval to a contribution team.
   3. A need for further coordinator consultation for approval; wherein, coordinators will review the “Meet and Greet” and consult with one another.
   4. A need for additional “Meet and Greets” between a coordinator and the volunteer to ensure understanding and agreement.
   5. A need for further applicant self-reflection and orientation for approval.

If approved for a role, the coordinator will assign a role contribution identifier to you, which identifies your location/position on a group/team. Once approved for a role “you” will have tasks to complete. Some of these tasks may be assigned by another member and some of these tasks may be self-assigned. After 3 months of completing a minimum of 10 weekly working hours your photo and details will be added to the Project’s Team roster webpage as a currently active contributor. It is important to clarify here that the contributor becomes active when they commit to a role and begin completing tasks in a coordinated manner. When work starts, the person doing the work is added to a public tabled roster of contributors. However, persons are not recognized as fully recognized contributors to the project by having their identity listed on the Project’s website until they have completed a basic amount of work.

Once a person is approved and agrees to join a team/group, it is useful to get up to speed as quickly and smoothly as possible. The next step will be working with the team coordinator (or, WG coordinator) to get you started on those project(s) relevant to your qualifications, role, schedule, and interest. The coordinator will set you up with access to relevant communications channel, explain everything needed for how to work as a member of the volunteer team, and provide other details relevant to your action item(s).

IMPORTANT: Once a team member is assigned to a task(s), s/he is held accountable for completing it on time.

Contribution necessitates agreement from several individuals. The individual volunteering to contribute must agree with the project and agree to an identifiable coordinated role. Simultaneously, the coordinators of the project need to agree that the individual is a good fit for a specific coordinated role.

The procedures the coordinators use to decide alignment is as follows:

1. Allow for procedural coordinator decisioning by the global project coordinator in the assignment of a contributor to an accountable role:
   1. If there is mutual agreement between you and project coordinators, then you can select either an immediate full working group position or a mentee position (where available). If you can demonstrate prior competence, then you can become a full working group member.
      1. I am (or, am not) able to demonstrate prior competency? Evidence of prior competence may include a resume or presentation of prior produced deliverables.
      2. Full working group members are expected to be competent (with knowledge and skills) in their subject area, and to become a full working group member, competence must be demonstrated. In the channel, project coordinators will ask you to demonstrate experience (prior competency) in the subject matter area of the working group to which you are applying. Full working group members should have a high-level understanding of the project, the proposed society, and their subject area.
      3. As a full working group member, you will not always be given tasks, you are expected to identify and to know what the tasks are for your subject area, and complete them.
   2. Mentees are expected to make mistakes and have their work double checked. I f you don’t have demonstrable experience, then request a mentee position. As a mentee, someone is available to give you tasks (if you don’t know what tasks to select yourself) and to double checks the outputs of those task. Depending upon the current status of contribution, there may not be any mentee positions available.
      1. As a mentee working group member, you may be given tasks and are expected to complete them with support and guidance if needed.
2. The project coordinator(s) will agree the individual as a full working member, or a mentee under the oversight of someone’s who is responsible for tasking and work output, another sub-coordinator. Or, the project coordinators will deny a membership because there is agreement that a potential risk is posed. The most common risk is a misunderstanding of the fundamental structure of a community-type society; therefore, taking decisions that are dis-unified with the rest of the system.
3. Simplified coordinator decisioning procedure for working group / team assignment:
   1. If the volunteer has no sufficient understanding of the project and/or no agreement to Terms and Conditions then the coordinator may decide to either carry with orientation, or may deny a role.
   2. If the volunteer has interest and no prior competence, then go to supervised contributor position, a mentee position (if available).
   3. If the volunteer has prior competency, then go to working group or team position (if available).
   4. Position availability is dependent on not threatening or harassing (seeking to hurt) others on the project. Position availability is also dependent on an agreement to work on an open source project. Position availability is further dependent on understanding the fundamental structure and operation of a community-type society and the Project.
   5. If prior competence with Auravana sub-projects, then request coordinator status (if available).

[GitHub] Issue: Contribution membership request template

The following is the Auravana Project GitHub membership request issue template to be filled out by an applying volunteer and submitted to Auravana Project Github Issues. Use the template directly below, which is already present in the GitHub issue creation area, to request to become a volunteer (i.e., to issue a contribution service request). The template starts directly below:

[PURPOSE] This issue concerns the coordinated admission of new contributing members.

[INTRODUCTION] Have you ever wanted to contribute to the global human fulfillment through societal design? This template will help a coordinator and “you” to the best understand a good place and position to get started contributing. There is no financial investment to becoming an Auravana contributor, only a time and effort requirement. Minimum time expectations to be a contributor at this phase of development are 7-10 hours per week.

[*WARNING*] This contribution request is public.

[*NOTIFICATION*] You will only be contacted to setup a “meet and greet” for volunteering if you state “Yes” to the required “Yes” sections.

[ACTION] Fill in the template below to complete the request.

[ MEMBERSHIP REQUEST INQUIRY ]

First name:
Last name
Role identifier:

Do you agree to all of the following?
I have skills applicable to a societal engineering project.
I have a minimum of 7-10 weekly hours to volunteer (20+ for coordination positions).
I have communication, project-management, and time-management skills.
I am accountable, responsible, and dedicated to producing quality work/end products.
I can accomplish all of the above when working under normal, healthy conditions.
—[Yes / No]—-

Do you agree to the Terms and Conditions and agree to be contacted?
—[Yes / No]—-

Do you agree to contribute if you are approved as a volunteer to an Auravana Project Role with Auravana Project tasks/activities, to be held accountable, and to co-operate with others by means of integration, coordination, and communication?
—[Yes / No]—-

Are you willing to put effort toward “tangible contribution” that addresses tasks on a globally coordinated Work Breakdown Structure? We differentiate this time from other activities because it directly impacts the completion of a project.
—[Yes / No]—-

Do you understand the direction, approach, and overall orientation of the project; do you understand the project’s vision?
—[Yes / No]—-

If “No”, then why?
If “Yes”, then why?

Do you know where you can best contribute? (Not a “Yes” required question)?
—[Yes / No]—-

If “No”, then why?
If “Yes”, then why?

How are you qualified to contribute? (Not a “Yes” required question)?
—[Yes / No]—-

If “No”, then why?
If “Yes”, then why?

How long (weeks, months, years) do you expect to contribute? (Not a “Yes” required question)?

Do you have any references you would like to publicly include (Not a “Yes” required question)?

Do you have any evidence of prior work would like to publicly include (Not a “Yes” required question)?

[GitHub] Current issue categories (FYI – For Your Information)

Project activities are completed through the coordination of working issues. There are currently three primary types of working issue present:

1. Contribution membership request issue.
   1. The onboarding of new members. This issue concerns the coordinated admission of new contributing members.
   2. Issue: Contribution membership request
      • This concerns volunteering.
2. Changes to an article in the standard.
   1. Issue: A change to a current article
      1. This concerns one article working group.
3. Additions, subtractions, and/or integrations of articles in the standard.
   1. Issue: A new article request, an article deletion, or an article integration
      • This concerns multiple article working groups.

Note: Issue categories will evolve in time as the societal system continues to develop. There will eventually be software decision system code added to the issue categories. Therein, instead of article changes, there will be actual software code changes.

Auravana Project membership role identifiers

A.k.a., Accountability identifier, membership role identification management, permission identifier, roster identifier.

Every [accountable] role in the Auravana Project has an identifier assigned to it. These roles are coordinated and assigned by the appropriate project coordinator. The role identifier identifies a members current location of contribution.

Note: Sometimes @mention (i.e., @person name) will follow the identifier. Please use the @person name to identify relevant persons in communications.

Possible role location identifiers include:

• SSSWG (Societal Specification Standard Working Group; sometimes also known as SSST (Societal Specification Standard Team)
  • PP-WG (Project Plan Working Group)
  • SO-WG (System Overview Working Group)
  • SS-WG (Social System Working Group)
  • DS-WG (Decision System Working Group)
  • MS-WG (Material System Working Group)
  • LS-WG (Lifestyle System Working Group)
  • LI-WG (Linguistic Interface Working Group)
• DSST (Decision Service System Team)
  • SD-T (Software Development Team)
  • SI-T (Solution Inquiry Team)
  • DI-T (Decision Inquiry Team)
• HSST (Habitat Service System Team)
  • LS-T (Life Support System Team)
  • ES-T (Exploratory Support System Team)
  • TS-T (Technology Support System Team)
  • IS-T (Information Service Team)
• STST (Societal Transition Service Team)
  • MT-T (Market Transition Team)
  • ST-T (State Transition Team)
  • PT-T (Public Transition Team)
• CSST (Contribution Service System Team)
  • MS-T (Membership Service Team)
  • OS-T (Orientation/Workshop Service Team)

Unique role location identifiers include:

• GPC (Global Projects Coordinator) – coordinator of the global projects coordinator team.
• GPCT (Global Projects Coordinator Team) – team of global project’s coordinators.
• PC (Project Coordinator) – coordinator of a local project.
• PCT (Project Coordinator Team) – team of local project’s coordinators.
• ARTICLE (Article Title) – the title of the article the working group is dedicated to developing; article-based working groups are titled after the name of the article.
• SUBTEAM (Name of Sub-Team) – the name of a functional team doing some action.

Clarification:

1. Individual working groups (WG) develop individual Articles in the Societal Specification Standard, SSS).
2. Teams are sub-divided by primary function, and often named as such.
3. All identifiers in the project start with: AURA>

For example:

1. The role of Global Projects Coordinator is located at:
   • AURA>GPC
2. The role of a member of an article working group (on the Project Plan) is located at:
   • AURA>SSSWG>PP-WG>ARTICLE
   • ARTICLE is replaced by the title of the article working group the individual is a member of.
3. The role of a coordinator of an article working group (on the Project Plan) is located at:
   • AURA>SSSWG>PP-WG>PC>ARTICLE
4. The role of a member of an Habitat Service System Team (on the Life Support Team) is located at:
   • AURA>HSST>LS-T>SUBTEAM
   • ARTICLE is replaced by the title of the article working group the individual is a member of.
5. The role of a coordinator of a Habitat Service System Team (on the Life Support Team) is located at:
   • AURA>HSST>LS-T>PC>SUBTEAM
6. The role of a global working group member (someone who is a contributing member to multiple articles in the Societal Specification Standard) is located at:
   • AURA>SSSWG

Auravana Project membership requirements and qualifications

A.k.a., What it takes to contribute.

Project Auravana is a volunteer, contribution-based production. As a volunteer organization, we are not seeking paid consultants or offering any paid positions. We seek to work with like-minded individuals and organizations that:

• Have skills applicable to a societal engineering project.
• Have a minimum of 7-10 weekly hours to volunteer (20+ for coordination positions).
• Have excellent communication, project-management, and time-management skills
• Are accountable, responsible, and dedicated to producing quality work/end products
• Can accomplish all of the above when working from home and using virtual-collaboration tools like video conferencing services (e.g., WhatsApp, Discord, Microsoft MeetNow, or Google Meet) and file sharing services (e.g., Google Docs/Sheets, DropBox, Google Drive, etc.).

The people who join our team as volunteers and consultants typically fit one or more of the following descriptions:

• People who understand and wish to contribute to the goal of global human fulfillment.
• People looking to gain experience and share new skills (students, recent graduates, etc.).
• People seeking to share experience and build their relationships.

The project publicly recognizes contribution by:

• You can use the Auravana Project as a reference and add it to your resumé.
• The Societal Specification Standards are professionally citable.
• The Project credits sufficiently active contribution on the Team webpage related to the area in which someone is an active contributor. The contributor must be active for two months before being added to the Team roster on the website.
  • Inactive contributors (formerly active contributors) who wish to remain contributors may remain on the Team webpage and will be moved to the (current) Consulting Team position.
  • Inactive contributors who do not wish to remain consulting contributors are removed from the Team webpage.

A contributor to the project should be familiar with the organization of a project:

1. Project definition
   1. Focused scope
2. Project contribution procedures
   1. Contribution coordination procedures
3. Project elements
   1. Strategic definition (project purpose)
   2. Proposal (community-type society)
   3. Concept design (societal specification standard)
   4. Development (working groups and teams)
   5. Construction (habitat service construction)
   6. In-use (habitat service operation)
4. Project roles (working groups and teams)
   1. Coordinators (coordinating members)
   2. Working group members
   3. Habitat team members
   4. Transition team members
5. Project tasks (activities)
   1. Coordination tasks
   2. Article (Societal Standards) tasks
   3. Habitat tasks
   4. Transition tasks

Working Groups and Teams are expected to share understandings, resources, communications channels, etc. Sharing understandings and resources provides for effective communication. All conditions established regarding these shared understandings and resources must adhere to the principles of freedom of access and fulfillment for all Participants.