The lines between the digital and the physical blur everyday. The way we communicate and organize is intimately bound up in the technology we use. The digital platforms we are on are shaping the way we work, learn, communicate and socialize. What and how we use technology is a critical component of revolutionary organizing.

We see both a rapid consolidation of communication and organizing into the hands of a few tech giants as well as the proliferation of open source alternatives.

We must employ a divest/invest strategy to the technology we use if we are to combat surveillance capitalism and build radical infrastructure that reflects our vision of the world.

It can be dizzying to know what to support and what not to support. Not all open-source projects are created equal. Some are governed democratically, others by a single person. Some are funded through grassroots initiatives and others by large corporations.

We must strategically support projects that reflect the world we are fighting for.

To this end, IWOC adopts the following technology policy to help guide our choices. We choose technology that reflects these values as much as possible. When a technology does not meet one of these criteria we will organize to help raise a project to that standard. When we need to use corporate technology, we use it strategically and subversively - always on the lookout for alternatives.

1. Software - Libre
2. Design - Design Justice
3. Company/Community Culture - Diverse & Inclusive
4. Funding - Transparent & Independent
5. Governance - Democratic & Accountable

Some projects we will use enthusiastically. To successfully build autonomous infrastructure, we need to be willing to fund it. IWOC sets aside funds in its annual budget to support autonomous infrastructure.

For those projects that are in opposition to our values, we will use them as little as possible and strategically support alternatives when viable.

At the moment, here are the tools we use and our evaluation of them. We are always open to alternatives, especially for proprietary and corporate tools. If you know of an alternative to a tool we currently use, please suggest it and we will assess it.
 

Internal Communication

File Storage

NextCloud

1. Software - Libre
2. Design - Community-Driven
3. Company/Community Culture - Community-oriented, white male dominated
4. Funding - ?
5. Governance - ?

Discussion

Discourse

1. Software - Libre
2. Design - Community-Driven
3. Company/Community Culture- Community-oriented, white male dominated
4. Funding - ?
5. Governance - ?

Task Management

Trello

1. Software - Proprietary
2. Design - User Friendly, Corporate
3. Company/Community Culture- ?
4. Funding - ?
5. Governance - ?

Possible Alternatives: GitLab, Discourse

External Communication

Domain Registrar

Namecheap.com

1. Software - ?
2. Design - User Friendly, Corporate
3. Company/Community Culture- ?
4. Funding - ?
5. Governance - ?

Website Hosting

MayFirst

1. Software - Libre
2. Design - Design Justice
3. Community - Diverse & Inclusive
4. Funding - Member-driven
5. Governance - Democratic & Accountable

Website

Drupal

1. Software - Libre
2. Design - Community-Driven
3. CompanyCommunity Culture - Meets some expectations
4. Funding - Corporate sponsorship & community-funding
5. Governance - Benevolent Dictator for Life

Mailing List

Mailchimp

1. Software - Proprietary
2. Design - User Friendly, Community-Driven
3.  
4. Company/Community Culture- Meets some expectations
5. Funding - ?
6. Governance - ?

Possible Alternatives: Mail for Good

Social Media

Facebook

1. Software - Proprietary
2. Design - Corporate-Driven, Deceptive
3. Company/Community Culture- Corporate Toxicity
4. Funding - Surveillance Capitalism
5. Governance - Corporate

Twitter

1. Software - Proprietary
2. Design - User Friendly, Corporate
3. Company/Community Culture- Corporate Toxicity
4. Funding - Surveillance Capitalism
5. Governance - Corporate

Possible Alternatives: Mastodon

Donations

PayPal

1. Software - Proprietary
2. Design - User Friendly, Corporate
3. Funding - Corporate
4. Governance - Corporate

Possible Alternatives: Stripe, OpenCollective, Website customization