2Gather

All for One. One for All.

A research and prototyping project for the open digital commons.

2Gather explores open source, decentralized alternatives to advertising-driven social platforms, with a particular focus on identity, trust, and verification. The project prototypes and demonstrates how people might own and govern the platforms they use, rather than being the product sold on them. We welcome users, developers, and contributors of all types.

Conceptual Overview

Start here → A summary of the 2Gather vision was included in the Nesta Innovation Foundation's Decentralised Futures essay collection (read it here).

You can also read Don't Let the Blockchain Get Pwned: How to Combat Creeping Centralization and Create a More Open #ForkandMergeEconomy.

An entry on Coorganisms, a model for member-owned organizations, is on the P2P Foundation's Wiki.

Component Initiatives

The project is organized around a set of interlocking technical initiatives:

1. Socially Verified Accounts — peer-attested account verification and Sybil resistance, establishing that a real, unique person stands behind an identity without surrendering it to a central authority.
2. Self-Sovereign Data Commons — user-owned data with portable, user-controlled access.
3. Safe, Open Communication and Social Media — federated messaging and social tooling without surveillance-based monetization.
4. Community-Owned Hosting — infrastructure operated by and for its users.
5. Open Cryptocurrency and Exchange — member-governed payment and exchange mechanisms.
6. Member-Owned Organizations (Coorganisms) — structures for collective ownership and governance.
7. Decentralized Governance Tooling — participatory decision-making for online communities.
8. Compassionate Accountability — values-aligned community moderation.
9. Shared Resourcing — coordinating work that members cannot accomplish alone.

→ See our technical roadmap for more detail on each initiative.

Our code is on GitHub.

Recognition and Published Work

• Vision summary included in the Nesta Innovation Foundation's Decentralised Futures essay collection.
• An early concept paper was submitted to the Global Challenges Foundation New Shape Prize in September 2017. The project's ideas have been in development since.
• Can I Trust This Software? — a decentralized guide to evaluating the trustworthiness of any software.

The 2Gather Model for Full Democracy

Team

2Gather was co-founded by Ziri Rideaux and Brendan A. Miller. You can reach us on the Matrix network at Ziri Rideaux and Brendan Miller, or by email at info [at] 2gather.one.

2Gather is committed to using open source software throughout its operation, including Ubuntu Linux, Matrix, Element, IPFS, Tahoe-LAFS, Ethereum, Loomio, Lemmy, Mailtrain, Mailu, Nginx, Ansible, Docker, Acme.sh, Gogs, VSCode, LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird, Wireguard, and more.