[JoPP-Public] Proposal for the evolution of jopp

Mon Apr 27 17:02:28 CEST 2020

Hi all,

On Mon, Apr 27, 2020 at 11:49 AM Mathieu O'Neil <mathieu.oneil at anu.edu.au>
wrote:

> [...]
>
> Peter said: I was wondering if building a “rolling issue” that would
> collect relevant work over a period of some months or even years with
> publication of individual articles when reviewed and ready could become an
> alternative model for jopp to publish contributions for certain topics.
>
> Mathieu said: I've never really cared for the rolling article model that
> tripleC for example uses - too loose, no sense of a journal, of a
> structure. At the same time it is clear that the current model is not
> sustainable right now.
>

I agree, this is probably the main disadvantage of the rolling model
compared to the themed issue format...

>
> I have been thinking anyway: doing a purely academic/scientific journal is
> not what we need right now. Jopp was born at Oekonux and it has always had
> a political / activist aim as well as a scientific one. We have established
> a body of work, time to do something with it.
>
> So I want to propose a move to "jopp Vol. 2" where we release 2 or 4 times
> a year a shorter issue, with a newsletter, political news about the
> commons, practical-legal-political advice on building commons
> infrastructure, etc as well as one or two peer-reviewed articles. This
> could either happen straight away or after a "POST" or "TRANSITION" issue.
> Interested to know your thoughts. This discussion will need to be moved to
> jopp-public.
>
>
I am not really fond of turning JoPP into "a newsletter" with "political
news about the commons" and "practical-legal-political advice on building
commons infrastructure". Whether we like it or not, the JoPP is not a
website for people looking for *news* or *advice* (and I wouldn't like to
turn it into such a website). Rather, its contribution is socially-engaged
analysis and reflection, that is, food for thought, not news or practical
advice. Besides, I don't think the JoPP has the capacity to provide
practical legal or political advice, considering that most of us in the
editorial group are theorists rather than practitioners...

> Kat said: I think Mathieu's suggestion here is a solid one - one of the
> (many) reasons we've all been attracted to jopp, I think, is the politics
> attached to it - the sense that it, in its own small way, helps us all
> imagine a different way of doing things to that of the status quo. Given
> this, it makes a lot of sense to enable the journal format to evolve with
> the times and the shifting needs of those involved in it.
>
> On this note, I found the reframing of the Interactions ACM magazine
> submissions very inspiring - as they have engaged in exactly this process.
> Take a look here if you've not seen it already:
> https://interactions.acm.org/submissions Perhaps jopp can think though a
> more informal submission structure like this, which while still allowing
> for and welcoming peer-reviewed pieces where applicable, also prioritises
> creative and/or practitioner submissions that are shorter-form, focused on
> pressing issues at hand, and flow freely between digital and print formats.
> This might need to involve a different website structure, which enables
> syndicated blog/short-form posts that can be easily distributed - but I'm
> sure that's doable too, if we all put our tech skills together to assist
> Peter in doing so.
>

I like some of the ideas they're experimenting with: for example, it would
be interesting to organize *debates* around controversial topics (which is
something we've actually done in the past: see Issue #1)...But apparently,
they're not abandoning the "themed issue format" entirely (neither should
we, in my opinion): two of the main content areas are the "forums" and
"features", which are basically collections of articles on the same topic.

> [...]
> My proposal involves (a) adopting a more frequent publication schedule of
> shorter issues divided into sections and (b) articulating the journal with
> a (yet to be created) Commons Policy Council.
>
> [...]
>
> I believe the jopp has a role to play here, which necessitates that it
> expands its work beyond academic research into practical advice to develop
> commons and policy formulation to grow the ecology which supports the
> commons. However a journal is not an appropriate vehicle for addressing
> concrete proposals to entities in the public policy sphere such as
> political parties, governments, unions, and civil society, so another
> institution must be created.
>
> I have some external research grant funding until the end of the year,
> part of which can’t be used because of Covid-19. I am proposing to
> repurpose some of this funding to assist in the creation (website design?
> publication design? what else?) of a “Commons Policy Council” website and
> organisation that would release White Papers and How-to Guides. It could
> also have a “policy tracker” system documenting where commons-oriented
> policy initiatives are being proposed, where they are at, what support they
> need, etc.
>

> In this scenario jopp would acquire a new purpose, in addition to its role
> as instigator and disseminator of research into peer production and social
> change: operating as a development site for practical resources, and as a
> laboratory for policy proposals.
>

That's an idea we could surely experiment with (and it's also something
we've tried in the past, as in Issue #7): as you write below, the policy
proposals could become one of the "new content areas" of JoPP.

>
> [...]
> So, now seeking input from the broader jopp community: what do you think?
> Any suggestions, objections, observations?
>
> Well, it could work, so I cannot see any reason why we shouldn't go ahead
and give it a try :-)
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