[P2P-F] Mapping the World through Commoning for the Federated Commons

[Kevin Flanagan]

*Mapping the World through Commoning for the Federated Commons*

by Silke Helfrich originally posted
https://commonsblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/mapping-as-a-commons/

Maps shape our perception, they direct our transitions and they inform our
decisions. Who doubts the power of mapping, might think of google-maps‘
impact on the lifes of the many; not all, because there is an alternative:
Open Street Map. The difference between the two becomes cristallclear when
asking: Who owns the maps? Who owns the data? And who reaps the benefit?

Open Street Map is based on free software. It is owned and governed by you
<http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/FAQ>. It is constantly in the making,
and open to all those who wish to contribute to it on the basis of the
collective Open-Street-Map-community-criteria. Open Street Map is the
topographic sister of Wikipedia.

When TransforMap was initiated, back in 2014, the community was seeking to
combine the Open Street Map approach with the ambition of making the
plethora of socio-economic alternatives – TAPAS: There Are Plenty of
AlternativeS – visible. We wanted to add to the many crowdsourced maps a
possibility to see TAPAs unfolding at a glance, all at once, at people’s
devices, in a userfriendly way without being patronizing nor concentrating
data. That was and still is TransforMap’s ambition: to challenge both: the
dictatorship of corporate-owned data and the cultural hegemony of a an
economy stuck in a neoliberal or neoclassical Market-State framework
through bringing plenty of Alternatives to everybodie’s attention, among
them: the Commons.

Countless mapping projects around the world have similar ambitions. Just as
TransforMap they are committed to enhance the visibility and impact of all
those projects, initiatives and enterprises who contribute to a free, fair
and sustainable future. However, most of them receive only small attention
in mainstream media and general culture, because they are

# utterly disconnected from each other
# partly enclosed on proprietary platforms – like google maps
# built on different taxonomies and
# (luckily) highly diverse in their mapping approach

In short: not interoperable.

Working towards interoperability of the countless alter-maps is widely
perceived as a key element for enhancing their impact. Thus, the need for a
convergence and for atlassing maps based on a ‚Mapping *as a **C**ommons**‚*
as opposed to ‚Mapping *the* Commons‘. The former is a mapping-philosophy
and crucial for destilling the governance principle of emancipatory mapping
projects, the latter is just one out of many ‚objects‘ or ‚items“ to be
mapped.

The following lines roughly sketch out our understanding of ‚Mapping *as* a
Commons“. Later on, they might turn into a manifesto for ‚M*apping **as* *C*
*ommoning**‚** for **many many maps **and through **a multitude of **mappers.
**They are** written in an *inimperative manifesto form, to be used from
now on as a guideline or quick analytical tool to evaluate the own mapping
practices.


*Mapping as a Commons, what does it mean? (0.2) *

The following is based on the raw notes from
<http://jon.2016.wsf.federated.wiki/view/welcome-visitors/view/mapping-for-transformation/view/mapping-as-a-commons>Commons
Space at
<http://jon.2016.wsf.federated.wiki/view/welcome-visitors/view/mapping-for-transformation/view/mapping-as-a-commons>WSF
2016
<http://jon.2016.wsf.federated.wiki/view/welcome-visitors/view/mapping-for-transformation/view/mapping-as-a-commons>
and an initial summary by @almereyda
<https://discourse.transformap.co/t/mapping-as-a-commons-article-project/1181>.
The principles are the condensate of globally dispersed, locally found
initiatives which collaborate for building and maintaining a shared mapping
commons.

*1. Stick to the Commons: as a goal and a practice*
The challenge is twofold: contribute to the Commons as a shared resource
and do it through commoning. Your mapping project is not a deliverable, nor
a service-product to compete on the map-market. Hence, it is paramount to
systematically separate commons and commerce
<https://discourse.transformap.co/t/separate-commons-and-commerce-to-make-it-work-for-the-commons/625%20separate%20commons%20from%20commerce>
*and* to integrate the insigths (patterns?) of successful
commoning-practices into your mapping initiative. Strive for coherence at
any moment!

*2. Create syntony on the goal*
Discuss your common goal and your understanding of „mapping as commoning“
again and again. And again! Everybody involved should resonate on the
essentials and feel in syntony with mapping for the Commons through
commoning at any time.

*3. People’s needs first*
Maps provide orientation to common people but also visibility of power and
policy-driven agendas. Make sure your map doesn’t feed the
power-imbalances. People’s needs trump desires of institutions, donors or
clients.

*4. Keep an eye on interoperability and use web technology*
To map as a commoner implies caring for other mappers needs and concerns.
You will take them into account through dialogue with partner-mappers and
make sure interoperability is a shared goal.

*[5.Contribute to the Federated Commons*
Mapping the World through Commoning is a double contribution: among commons
projects and initiatives toward a Federate Commons and between Commons
projects, solutions or initiatives and other socio-economic alternatives.]

*6. Provide open access*
Always. To everything.

*7. Use free software*
Work with free software at all levels is critical, as it is not about the
freedom of the software, but about your freedom to further develop your
mapping projects according to your own needs.

*8. Self-host your infrastructure*
Only use technology which allows to be replicated quickly as for instance
[@almereyda ?]. Eat your own dogfood [@almereyda, what does it mean?], and
document transparently, how you do it. Transparent documentation means
understandable documentation.

*9. Build on open technology standards*
Ensure your map(s), its data and associated mapping applications can be
reused on a wide diversity of media and devices. Ergo: hands off
proprietarian technologies and their standards. Don’t think about them not
even as interim solution. If you do, you risk to add one interim to another
and get trapped into dependencies.

*10. Make sure you really own your data*
‚Mapping as a Commons‘ strives for *mapping souvereignity* at all levels.
In the short run, it seems to be a nightmare to refrain from importing data
for geolocation or copying & pasting what you are not legally entitled to.
In the long run, it is the only way to prevent you being sued or your data
being enclosed. Make sure you really own your data. It prevents you from
the real nightmare of at some point loosing your data without being able to
do something against.

*11. Use free open data licenses*
To own your data is important, but not enough. Make sure nobody dumps your
common data back into the world of marketization and enclosures. What is in
the Commons must remain in the Commons. Free licences protect the result of
your collective work at any moment. Make use of them. It’s simple.

*12. Guarantee the openness of taxonomies*
A taxonomy is incomplete as a matter of fact. It is one out of many entry
points to complex social worlds. The more you learn about these worlds the
better you can adjust your taxonomy. An open taxonomy allows your peer
mappers and users to search it for a concept, link them -via tag- to a
parent category, to add missing concepts if you allow for or to merge tag
structures.

*13. Make the Data Commons thrive *
*through your usage *Link to WikiData and OpenStreetMap from the beginning!
It’s just nonsense to maintain your single data set. There is so much to
benefit from and contribute to the data commons. Explore abundance and
contribute loads to our shared data.

*14. Care for your Data Commons*
Strive for accuracy and remember at the same time, that there is always
subjectivity in data.

*15. Protect the ‚maps & atlasses commons‘ legally as commons*
Remember: each commons needs protection. Innovative legal forms help to
prevent cooptation. Make sure the resulting maps and atlasses own
themselves instead of being owned by any specific person or organization.

*16. Crowdsource your mapping*
Do so whenever you can and for whatever is needed: money, time, knowledge,
storing space, hardware, monitoring etc.

*Last resort*

*17. Remember* always why you are making the map and who you are making it
for. Remember that everyone is a mapmaker. Share what you can and if
everything looks dark: take a break, keep calm and continue commoning.

*18. Archive the map* when it doesn’t work anymore for you. Others might
want to build on it, somewhen.

PLEASE HELP US  TESTING AND IMPROVING THESE PRINCIPLES.
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