Discussion
RE: Proton
I am once again kinda tempted to start a tech co-op, but I always feel like starting new co-ops is like creating new standards (xkcd.com/927)
That being said, I do also have hella compute and storage I purchased in the before times (pre-AI-pricing)… Anyone think it’s a good idea? 😆
(And more importantly, would want to be a co-founder. That’s probably the most important step, but… I know some people, maybe there’s a desire to make it happen)
@jonah Like self-hosted @ente, @stalwartlabs etc under a coop? I'm definitely interested seeing that :)
I’m putting together a Signal group if anyone is interested in potentially being a part of the creation of this :)
@woo I’m not sure why it would necessarily have to differ from other businesses? I mean, worker co-ops definitely exist within a capitalist framework, they’re not socialism.
@jonah I feel like co-ops at least don't qualify for the standards comic, since you can keep them to whatever size you feel is appropriate, with the rules you want. It's not necessary for others to join up if it doesn't make sense for them. There are tons of specific-use co-ops of many sorts, so I suppose the question is: what is the purpose of the one you'd start?
@eldersea I guess I should be clear, I’m probably talking about a worker co-op, like a for-profit business selling services, not a collective/club.
There is certainly a business opportunity to offer services to customers based on regular open-source software instead of all the nonsense everyone else is doing lately lol
@eldersea I guess to be even more clear, it could certainly be collectively managed by the workers, but consumers of the services wouldn’t be members if that makes sense.
I feel like I’ve seen a lot of sentiment that people would like to self-host services for others especially since the Proton fiasco, if it weren’t for X. X being some reason that could perhaps be solved by joining forces in a co-op startup.
@jonah For sure, I'd be very interested in paying for such a thing. At this point, I'll be looking into a custom domain for email, and figuring out a VPN option. I self-host a few things, but it's mostly internal. I'd love to have a well-managed group that can handle more web-facing things.
My secret passion for boring corporate law and organization could finally come in handy 😆
@jonah
It absolutely will. Here's the go-to guide for starting a tech co-op.
http://www.geo.coop/sites/default/files/tech_co-op_how-to_short.pdf
http://www.geo.coop/sites/default/files/tech_co-op_stories.pdf
Lot's of co-ops about in the tech world, and even here on fedi, like @agaric and @igalia to name just the two that spring to mind.
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@jonah I think it’s a swell idea and a powder keg of possibility, what with all the smart and creative people who’ve been laid off