DAF Community Space Guidelines

Last updated by Dorian on Nov.14, 2022

These are guidelines proposed by moderators on the Deep Adaptation Forum Community Space (CS) to help structure the use of this platform.

When to create a new category in the CS?

If the theme to be discussed…

• Is central to the continued involvement of at least one active group of volunteers in DAF over the past year;
• Is discussed sufficiently often within DAF (e.g. within regular calls open to all), beyond this group of volunteers, to warrant a specific conversation space;
• Does not fit as a sub-category (or merged category) within one of the existing categories.

Then, the theme can become a new category. Please get in touch with the CS Moderators through this page. If not, for now let's just make sure to use tags for the conversations around this theme, to easily find the conversations that could be moved into a new category later on.

In the CS, “groups” are for conversations that need to happen privately, among people who either:

• are part of a DAF small group (Task Group, Circle, Team, Crew…); or
• are part of a larger affiliated group with a particular topic of conversation that requires privacy.

Please see the guidelines below for details in each case.

Anyone who is a part of an existing DAF small group (with a clearly defined membership and topic of conversation) can create their own group space in the CS, or ask Moderators to create it for them.

Small groups that don't exist yet need to create a Circle in order to have their own group space within the CS, in order to avoid too many empty conversation spaces.  Please follow the process below.

(We're looking into renaming the current “Groups” into “Circles” within the CS, to avoid having to add yet another social structure to the long list above! For now, when we refer to a new “Group,” we mean a “Circle”)

What is a Circle?

It’s simply a group of DAF participants, who decide to work on a particular issue – whether practical, spiritual, or even political – whilst keeping to the 'Deep Adaptation ethos' (see the DAF Charter).

They’re good spaces in which to:

• work together on meaningful tasks and projects;
• practice ways of being, and self-awareness, as we try to throughout DAF – things like attention to compassion, curiosity and respect, and patterns of structural oppression;
• practice forms of mutual care and mutual aid – eg following Microsolidarity patterns;
• practice how to tell ‘signal from noise’ – what really matters in all the “information” bombarding us – and build grounded resistance to unhelpful systems of control and manipulation.

How to create a new Group/Circle in the CS?

In the Community Space (CS), conversations are best had within categories.

Circles may choose to have their conversations:

1. In an existing public category (e.g. the Community Lounge);
2. In a new private category (functioning as a confidential discussion space)

1. To use a public category

Find collaborators

To get started, you’ll need at least 3 Circle Initiators; they take ownership, and are accountable for the Circle’s activities.  One Initiator is nominated as the contact person, to provide information to the rest of the network. You can find collaborators by opening a new topic in the category of your choice, to explain your circle idea, and discuss what you want to do.

Announce your Circle

Once you have a couple of people interested in joining, please write a Circle announcement (tagging @moderators) in the category you want to be using for your conversations, including the following information:

• Circle name
• Circle initiators (and contact person)
• Basic mission statement
• Expected outcomes (if any)
• Are you open to more members joining you?
• What kind of help or support would you appreciate from the community? (if any)

And off you go!

NB: Remember to tag the @moderators, or they won’t see the message! The moderators will help the rest of the community know about your circle, for example in the monthly Inside DAF newsletter.

2. To use a private category

Private categories are best suited to conversations that require more confidentiality.

Find collaborators

To get started, you’ll need at least 3 Circle Initiators; they take ownership, and are accountable for the Circle’s activities.  One Initiator is nominated as the contact person, to provide information to the rest of the network. You can find collaborators by opening a new topic in the category of your choice, to explain your circle idea, and discuss what you want to do.

Announce your Circle

Once you have a couple of people interested in joining, please write a Circle announcement to the Moderators, by messaging the Moderators group here. Please also provide the following information:

• Circle name
• Circle initiators (and contact person)
• Basic mission statement
• Expected outcomes (if any)
• Are you open to more members joining you?
• What kind of help or support would you appreciate from the community? (if any)
• Mention that you need a private space for your conversation

NB: If you wish, the moderators can help the rest of the community know about your circle, for example in the monthly Inside DAF newsletter. They will also create a private conversation space for you.

Start using your new conversation space

A moderator will create a private group for you and your collaborators on the CS.  The group will be associated with a private category in which your conversations can take place.  Anyone wishing to join you in these private conversations will have to apply to join your group - the moderators can assist you with this.

Admins of groups that are already affiliated with the Forum (see here: https://www.deepadaptation.info/affiliated-groups/) can request that their private group space be created within the CS - or create it themselves if they know how to do so.