Projects for the Media Weapon community

last updated: January 16, 2005
page editor: Ben Seattle

Media Weapon home page

Media Weapon wiki

Projects (active and proposed)
for the Media Weapon community

Here is how we will make use of:
(1) the emerging revolution in communications and
(2) open source methods of project management
to wage information war that will energize progressive activists
and swept away the confusion and corruption which paralyzes the left

The Media Weapon community may eventually emerge
in the form of a group of activists who work in common on
projects that advance our mission and program of action.
Different projects will compete with one another for
mindshare and attention in a way that is somewhat darwinian.
The projects that advance our mission in a practical and realistic way will
tend to generate the most enthusiasm and attract the attention of the most
talented people -- and will be more likely to get done. The projects that
are poorly thought-out or which do not correspond to the needs of
our mission -- will tend to be ignored and abandoned.
The projects listed on this page
may be able to help get this process started.
If you are a subscriber to the pof-200 email list -- then feel free to
add your "endorsement" (see the extreme right-hand column of the
projects table) to projects which you believe would be the most useful.

Time for action
project status
will be one of the following:
• Active projects
-- work is being done every week ( Project has momentum ) • Semi-active projects
-- some activity in the last six months ( Project may be gaining or losing momentum ) • Projects in hibernation
-- no activity in the last six months ( Project has lost momentum ) • Proposed projects
-- may become active someday
• Completed projects
-- projects that are done project categories
will be one or more of the following:

• wiki function -- improving the wiki: navigation, help files, software scripts
• wiki content -- adding pages of interest to readers
• theory -- development (or popularization) of ideas or theory (via exposition, discussion
or debate) which confronts the crisis of theory which has paralyzed the left
• syndication -- developing digital channels of revolutionary syndication:
(a) email lists, (b) Indymedia sites and other web-based forums, (c) blogs/RSS,
(d) pages on other wikis (such as wikipedia or the urban dictionary)
• leaflets -- creation of leaflets (or modification of leaflets created by other groups
on the left) that can be distributed at antiwar actions and progressive meetings
• anti-reformism -- the struggle against reformism which converts
the progressive movement into a plaything in the hands of the bourgeoisie
• anti-sectarianism -- the struggle against sectarianism which isolates activists
from one another, engenders stupid quarrels and undermines principled cooperation
• news site -- development of an interactive news site fueled by the consciousness
of readers who will filter articles, posts and comments and create
a signal-to-noise ratio far more powerful than anything found on Indymedia
• left-transparency -- development of a comprehensive and in-depth survey and analysis
of the progressive movement: including a study of the strengths and weaknesses of
the theory and practice of the most important anarchist, "marxist" and
left social-democratic organizations, newspapers, web sites, blogs and email lists.
Which of these groups, sites or lists are most deserving of attention and support?
Where do these various groups stand in relation to the life-and-death struggles
against reformism and sectarianism?

List of Projects ( please see detailed explanation below concerning the content of each column )

proj nbr	project name and description	status	Project categories	• Who is the lead? • Who has endorsed? • Size of the project? • Date of most recent status report? • Related projects?	What skills are required?	Add your endorsement Only one endorsement per minute Want to make a comment on a project ?
100	anti-reformism wiki page • create a page explaining, in simple language, what reformism is, how it works, and the social strata it is based on. Give lots of good examples.	active	wiki content, anti-reformism, left-transparency	Lead: DJ / Ben Endorsed by: DJ, Ben Size: *** * *** Status: Jan 16	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name
116	Organize a study group to learn something about Marxism • A number of pof-200 subscribers are enthusiastic about this. We have not settled on what to study. Our first study will be of Lenin's famous Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism	active	theory	Lead: DJ Endorsed by: DJ, Ben Size: *** * *** Status: Jan 10	requires: • Political skill	comment name
105	add "blog" feature to wiki • add functionality that allows readers to post a comment in the right-hand column of any wiki page. (See this mockup page )	semi- active	wiki function	Lead: Ben Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Tech skill	comment name
118	DJ / Ben discussion concerning the fundamental goals and tactics of our movement • Continue the DL/Ben exchange from September-October See: DJ-566 (Sep 2), WF-17 (Sep 19), DJ-588 (Sep 20) and WF-18 (Oct 3) regarding these topics: (1) should our focus be on building a party or a community of activists? (2) the crisis of theory, (3) political transparency and (4) the struggle against the draft as a struggle for partial demands. This discussion holds potential for clarifying key issues and raising the consciousness of some of the pof-200 subscribers. Prerequisite: DJ and Ben have agreed to first work together on an anti-reformist web page as a confidence-building measure.	semi- active	theory	Lead: DJ, Ben Endorsed by: DJ, Ben Size: *** * *** Related: 100	requires: • Political skill	comment name
117	Create a leaflet • A pof-200 reader proposed that we create a leaflet briefly describing how a society run by workers would function -- so that people know that there is an alternative. Ben responded with a proposal for a "dual-use" leaflet that (at least on its front side) would address the tasks of activists in the antiwar movement.	proposed	leaflets, theory	Lead: no one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name
110	Wiki / clean-up top, side and bottom margins • eliminate all dead or useless links from the margins which appear on all wiki pages	proposed	wiki function	Lead: no one Endorsed by:Ben Size: * *	requires: • Political skill • Tech skill • Media skill	comment name
104	create user zones in wiki • modify scripts so that each user has a "zone" such that only he can modify the pages in that zone Also: (1) users will have the ability to give specific users editing rights to specific pages in their zone (2) each page will have text at top explaining to readers who is allowed to edit	proposed	wiki function	Lead: no one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Tech skill	comment name

111	Registration page for community members • a web-based form will ask new users questions and create a standardized output formatted for use as the source of a wiki "who" page	proposed	wiki function, left-transparency	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * *** Related: 114	requires: • Political skill • Tech skill • Media skill	comment name
114	Wiki / Improved who's who page • Readers should not get lost in a sea of verbage when trying to learn about community members. All information should be clearly and cleanly laid out and easy to find.	proposed	wiki function	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * *** Related: 111	requires: • Political skill • Tech skill • Media skill	comment name
112	Wiki / member links page • recommendations by community members • everyone gets a small window (or combines their real estate with others to get a larger joint window)	proposed	wiki function, left-transparency	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Political skill • Tech skill • Media skill	comment name
115	Wiki / recommended reading page • everyone can promote their views and favorite articles on a level playing field.	proposed	wiki content	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Political skill • Tech skill • Media skill	comment name

113	Wiki / Democracy page • we need one good enough to replace the crap on wikipedia. The word "democracy" is a decisive ideological fortress serving the bourgeoisie. The proletariat must storm this fortress and put it at the service of our class. Note 1: We could also send email to various left groups asking for their opinions on how to best define this. Note 2: We can eventually replicate our success with other key words such as communism, proletarism, reformism, etc	proposed	syndication, theory, left-transparency wiki content	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * *** Related: 107	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name
101	experiment with email syndication • (a) send article (formatted for email) to a number of lists and systematically (b) collect all responses, (c) give "quick response" within 48 hours, (d) give deeper response within ten days Candidate articles for syndication: proletarism, burning man, part 7 of ALDS (in installments), article on religion in post-bourgeois society which could be written	proposed	syndication, theory	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * *** Related: 106	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name
102	Report on Indymedia development and evolution • a series of ongoing reports, 3 or 4 times a year, summarising developments in the indymedia world. What sites are being added, removed or reorganized (and why)? What are the controversies? What are the major schools of thought and practice re: filtering of posts by trolls, more advanced filtering, reformism, team-building, 501(3)c status, etc	proposed	news site, left-transparency	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name
106	Survey of radical email lists • Which are the best ones? Where do we go to make contact with the most serious, thoughtful, militant activists? We should survey anarchist, "marxist" and antiwar lists as well as lists for technical activism. We need something better than the outdated, incomplete and one-sided list at marxism.org	proposed	left-transparency, syndication	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * *** Related: 101	requires: • Political skill	comment name
107	Systematic line comparison • compare the views of 3 or 4 leftist groups on religion in post-bourgeois society -- or reformism -- or democracy -- or something interesting	proposed	left-transparency	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Political skill	comment name
103	Report on a key email list • A monthly report on Proyect's list at marxmail.org	proposed	left-transparency	Lead: No one Endorsed by:Ben Size: *** * ***	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name

108	Wiki / clean-up front page • have nothing on the front page except the bare minimum that needs to be there so page is not so confusing to readers • eliminate all dead or useless links and garbage	done Dec 2004	wiki function	Lead: Ben Size: * *	requires: • Political skill • Media skill	comment name
109	Wiki / create decent help pages • New readers should be able to navigate around and create wiki pages without a college degree in software development	done Dec 2004	wiki function	Lead: Ben Size: * *	requires: • Tech skill • Media skill	comment name

More projects can be found at: Digital Infrastructure for Communist Transparency

Explanation of columns in the list of projects

project number	project numbers are added sequentially as projects are added to the list
project name	concise descriptive name of project
project description and/or mission statement	concrete objectives of project
project status	will be one of these: active • semi-active • hibernation • proposed • completed (see top of this page for detailed descriptions of each)
project categories	will be one or more of these: wiki function • wiki content • theory • syndication • leaflets • anti-reformism • news site • left transparency (see top of this page for detailed descriptions of each)
Lead (ie: person in charge)	Who has volunteered to make this project happen? Who do you contact if you want to complain about something, or have a suggestion or want to help? Who "owns" the project and has responsibility for making hard decisions?
endorsements	who endorses this project (ie: recommends it to others as a potentially useful place to invest one's time, energy and passion) ?
size of project	Does this project require a lot of time, effort and thought? Will it be easy? -- or will it require a medium or substantial amount of effort? Or should the project be broken into smaller, easier projects? * = easy = medium * = substantial **** = we need to break this project up into smaller, easier projects
status report date	date of most recent status report (and link to the wiki page with status report)
related projects	Related to other projects? (ie: mother, daughter or sister projects) If so -- there will be link to the row in the Projects table that describes the project
Political skill req?	Requires political experience and judgement. This includes understanding how the bourgeois/imperialist political system works, and how reformism and sectarianism corrupt and paralyze the progressive movement.
tech skill req?	Requires technical experience or aptitude This ranges from being comfortable playing with the wiki as a user -- to being comfortable modifying the wiki code.
media skill req?	Requires media or journalistic skill. • Can you write effectively so that readers can understand new ideas? • Do you understand how how to lay out a web page so readers can easily navigate around? • Do you understand how new readers might "see" an email posting or web page?
add your endorsement or make a comment	add your name here together with a short comment if you believe that this would be a worthwhile project. Of course the most powerful endorsement would be to volunteer to help out with the project or to lead the project. Note 1: If you want to simply make a comment or ask a question without endorsing the project -- then simply add "(comment only)" or "(question only)" at the beginning of the comment text field. Note 2: If you want to volunteer to help out on the project, then simply add "(volunteer)" at the beginning of the comment text field. Note 3: Want to suggest a new project? Post your ideas on the pof-200 list. Note 4: You can use up to 240 characters (about 40 words) for your comment.

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