Communication

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With our Element.io, P2, and WordPress communication stack, we cover the three levels, three speeds, and three archetypal spaces of communication, collaboration, and sociality.

Three Levels: Conversation, Discussion, Publication
Three Speeds: Realtime, Async, Storage
Three Spaces: Caves, Campfires, Watering HolesFuturist David Thornburg identifies three archetypal learning spaces— the campfire, cave, and watering hole—that schools can use as physical spaces and virtual spaces for student and adult learning (bit.ly/YvRuWC)Australia’s Campfires,… More
Three Sensitivities: DandelionsAccording to empirical studies and recent theories, people differ substantially in their reactivity or sensitivity to environmental influences with some being generally more affected than others. More sensitive individuals have… More, Tulips, Orchids

This communication stack is based on the one we helped develop at WordPress.org and Automattic.com. StimpunksStimpunk combines “stimming” + “punk” to evoke open and proud stimming, resistance to neurotypicalization, and the DIY culture of punk, disabled, and neurodivergent communities. Instead of hiding our stims, we… More augments it with the vocabulary of neurodiversityNeurodiversity is the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodiversity is a biological fact. It’s not a perspective, an approach, a… More and contemporary progressive educationProgressive EducationA movement based on connectivism & communities of practice -the networks we create for meaningful relationships, collaboration, & learning.A pulsating web of autonomous engagement.Growing and Expanding Progressive Education w/… More.

For details, visit our Stack Field Guide page.

Stack

I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company.
I will communicate as much as possible, because it’s the oxygen of a distributed company – Automattic

Guides to Our Stack

Progressive, Project-Based Onboarding

When onboarding new contributors into our communication stack, we borrow heavily from prosocialThe eight prosocial design principles provide guidance for dealing with people who regularly ignore relevant advice (or consistently refuse to seek or give advice) and therefore regularly cause downstream problems… More models and the NeurodiVentureNeurodiVenture : an inclusive non-hierarchical organisation operated by neurodivergent people that provides a safe and nurturing environment for divergent thinking, creativity, exploration, and collaborative niche construction.NeurodiVentures | Autistic Collaboration NeurodiVentures create safe spaces for groups… More model.

Prosocial

NeurodiVenture

Part of those models is an onboarding process that involves collaboration over time.

An intensive 12-month induction and on-boarding process
☞ a foundation for mutual understanding
The Beauty of Collaboration at Human Scale: Timeless patterns of human limitations

At Automattic, we developed a project-based hiring process that also features working with someone over time to build a foundation of mutual understanding.

All positions at Automattic involve a paid trial in the application process, which is a short project or set of tasks that will be assessed by our hiring teams. We’ve found that the best way to evaluate working with someone is to do just that!

Trial projects vary depending on the role you are applying for, but they are based on very real areas of work within our teams.

Depending on the role you are interested in and the time you’re able to commit, the trial can last anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. Most candidates complete the trial while working full-time and we know life is busy! Because of this, we encourage all candidates to determine their own working hours and schedule during this project.
How We Hire – Automattic

As such, we onboard volunteers progressively into our systems as we work together. We believe strongly in “default-to-open”.

Default to Open

But we don’t give volunteers the keys to everything immediately. We work with you over time, get to know each other, and then let you into everything except a few rooms that must be private for legal/regulatory reasons and to preserve your privacyLiving Privately. - Building and maintaining a sense of what to show in each social environment. - Discovering and creating new environments in which we can show more of ourselves. - Assessing where you can grow… More when reporting and discussing Human Resources/Covenant/Code of Conduct type stuff.

That time is usually a few months if you’re a regular contributor. If you’re an occasional contributor, that’s cool, but it’ll take longer to get to know each other.

So, if you don’t have access to our General P2 or certain rooms in Element, that’s why. Our organization is fairly wide open on our General P2, and we want to get to know you first before exposing those bits of our selves.

We also have a commitment to “bring safety to the serendipitycreated serendipity: the more connected you are, the more ideas seem to find you, not the other way around.3 Obvious Ways Twitter Promotes Literacy – The Principal of Change Yet… More” of online collaboration, especially for the minors in our communityWhat I have always been hoping to accomplish is the creation of community.Community is magic. Community is power. Community is resistance.Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-First-Person-Stories-Twenty-First-ebook/dp/B082ZQBL98/ https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Visibility-Adapted-Young-Adults-ebook/dp/B08VFT4R9T/… More and for the folks who have been taken advantage of online because of their disabilities.

🌎 Online: Bringing Safety to the Serendipity

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