2Gather

All for One. One for All.

2Gather is the new digital Commons.

A trustworthy not-for-profit social platform of, by and for all people around the world.

2Gather is a community, a vision, and a collaborative project. We seek to prototype and demonstrate solutions towards open source, decentralized, not-for-profit alternatives to exploitative, advertising-driven platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Tik Tok, Telegram, etc. We welcome users, donors, developers and contributors of all types!

Conceptual Overview

Start here → A summary of the 2Gather vision called Taking the Power Back was included in the Nesta Innovation Foundation's Decentralized Futures essay collection.

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, our concept for what will supersede corporations as humanity's primary organizational model, is on the P2P Foundation's Wiki.

Major Component Initiatives

  1. Self-Sovereign Data Commons
  2. Safe, Democratic Communication and Social Media
  3. Democratic Cryptocurrency and Exchange
  4. Community Hosting: Infrastructure for the People
  5. 100% Realness: Socially Verified Accounts
  6. Building the Commons: Coorganisms, Not Corporations
  7. Digital Citizens Assemblies, Not Representatives
  8. Digital Communities of Values through Compassionate Accountability
  9. Common Goods: Doing Together What Cannot Be Done Alone
  10. Exodus: Movement of the People

→ Please read our technical roadmap for more details of these initiatives.

Our Github project can be found at 2Gather - Github.

Subscribe to our low-frequency (about once a month) 2Gather Announcements Newsletter here!

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

Funding: Because the core democratic principles of 2Gather requires that it be fully owned and controlled by its users from the beginning, we cannot accept venture/private investment. While ongoing operations will eventually be sustained by small fees from users of the platform, funding for initial development is more challenging. As a result, we must necessarily rely on donations and sponsorships. Please contact us if you would like to support our work financially.

Thank you for your interest in 2Gather.

2Gather is commited to using 100% open source software in all aspects of its operation. Open source in use includes Ubuntu Linux, Matrix, Element, IPFS, Tahoe-LAFS, Ethereum, Loomio, Lemmy, Mail Train, Mailu, Nginx, Ansible, Docker, Acme.sh, Gogs, VSCode, LibreOffice, Firefox, Thunderbird Mail, Wireguard and more!

The 2Gather model for full democracy

Additional Resources

2Gather on Trustworthy Software: Can I Trust This Software? A democratic, decentralized guide to evaluating the trustworthiness of any software.

Project History: The ideas behind 2Gather have been under development since 2017. You can read an earlier 2Gather concept paper submitted to the Global Challenges Foundation New Shape Prize competition in September, 2017.