Formalisation of the Alliance’s decision-making processes
See Agora user’s guide.
Decision-making process: admissibility of objections
If an ally contests the admissibility of an objection, they can call for arbitration by the Alliance via the Agora.
5 allies are then randomly designated to deliver this arbitration within 15 days.
To guide them in the arbitration, to be carried out and delivered in a radically transparent manner, the following criteria of admissibility have been defined:
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an objection is inadmissible if it gives priority to another ethic than that of the Alliance;
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an objection is inadmissible if it is based on an understanding or belief not generally validated by democratic institutions with the mission of establishing the degree of collective validity of information (data, proposals, arguments, hypotheses, theories, etc.). The term “democratic institutions” refers to those having the trust of the general public, even if their legal status is not strictly public. For example, private establishments that can be publicly audited, with radical transparency, can claim this status;
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an objection is inadmissible if it is based on an illogical argument.
Procedure for an individual to become an ally
Any individual can join the Alliance, the sole condition being that they consider the alleviation of suffering in the world to be an ethical priority.
Any ally has the power to serve as a witness that another individual has joined the Alliance: this testimony is the only way to become an ally. It must be communicated to algosphere@gmail.com, with a copy to the new ally, in order to register them.
This testimony must include the following information:
As an ally of the Algosphere, I testify that the participant copied on this email is asking to become an ally and considers the alleviation of suffering in the world to be an ethical priority.
Accompanying of invitees
Every invitee is put in contact by the webmaster team with an ally who has agreed to help them as needed to understand how the Alliance functions, in particular with respect to the basic texts (for example, homepage, Vision, Constitution, User’s guide to the Alliance, Operating rules) or the collectives activities (for example, meetings, welcoming guide for invitees, involvement in centers of interest).
Communication Committee
The members of the Communication Committee are authorized to handle proposals that they judge to be minor (on the condition that they are at least 2 to handle each proposal).
From 28 July 2013, only the Communication Committee, which has webmaster responsibilities, is mandated to integrate decisions made by the Alliance into the Collaborative Platform.
Official communication of the Algosphere Alliance
The only official spokesperson of the Alliance is its website. Any modification of the Alliance’s official platform must be validated via the Agora.
Allies cannot be considered official spokespersons of the Alliance, unless they have been mandated by the Alliance for specific purposes. These mandates are published on the Alliance’s public website.
AlgoNews
The AlgoNews is a trimestrial collaborative publication. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views or positions of the Algosphere Alliance. See its user’s guide.
Technical choices concerning IT systems
The Alliance prefers tools that it can use itself and for which the source code is accessible. It encourages the use and development of open source software. If it temporarily intends to use a proprietary tool that it considers indispensable, it commits to communicating the advantages and risks associated with the use of this tool, as well as alternative solutions that would allow it to be replaced as quickly as possible.
Access codes to the information systems of the Algosphere Alliance
Algosphere Agency is responsible for financing the Alliance information systems. Its directors are recruited by cooptation. The Agency is mandated by the Alliance to ensure the management and allocation of access codes to the Alliance’s information systems, in particular for the WebTeam members. This allocation is made with the advisory opinion of the Communication Council.