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Because it's a not-small part of my life and non rpg career, I think *a lot* about the open source model and game design. But it wasn't until I started talking to folks who have built and operated coops that I started chewing over those lessons and learnings for open source.
One of the really interesting and good things about the indie rpg scene (or, at least, the corner of the niche in which I sit) is that there are several modes of funding creation which happen side-by-side. Crowdfunding projects, reverse sales, subsidized development...
work-for-work, revenue sharing, building networks of capability and interest and solidarity so folks aren't just able to help each other on projects but also when life kicks someone in the teeth. Several times this year alone we've raised money to keep creators housed.
Since I started working in RPGs I've worked on half a dozen successfully laterally structured projects which were successful and even been the initial mover of a couple. All of the greatest projects and successes I know of / have been a part of were definitively team efforts.
Equity, not equality, is the focus on these teams, making sure everyone is getting fairly compensated and opportunities are being nurtured and made available.
This work, these collaborations, the new (to me) methods and modes and models make it hard to be happy with tradcorp models of software design and development.
Maybe I was primed for this after finding devops, systems thinking, restorative justice, etc.
Maybe I was primed for this after finding devops, systems thinking, restorative justice, etc.
But I keep circling back to thinking about a truly cooperative model of software development and maintenance - not just of the maintainers and contributors, but of the users and people whose projects take it as a dependency.
I don't think the modes and models we've seen ossify in the space are the final ones, or even all that good. The answer to "what do we do when a project gets too big for a small team" looks a lot like "corporatize the structures"
So now I'm looking at the model used by worker self directed enterprises (s/o to @BlackSocialists for their incredibly good explainer) and chewing on what it means to take that model towards software development.
Open source software is not *actually* bereft of hierarchy; like all unexamined efforts it will unconsciously recreate and imitate familiar structures, models, and modes.
I think there's better options out there, especially around road mapping and iteration, waiting for us to experiment & explore.
I don't have a pithy wrap up, it's just weighing on my mind, sneaking into my spare moments & burning cycles while I try to imagine new modes & models.
I don't have a pithy wrap up, it's just weighing on my mind, sneaking into my spare moments & burning cycles while I try to imagine new modes & models.
