How It Works
The internet is the last truly public forum, but it’s still not as open and inclusive as it could be. Most websites are hosted by specific institutions with responsibilities and agendas that lead them to restrict what happens there.
Tribe NYC will remedy this, not by founding a new institution, but by making it easy to create and cultivate authority-free common spaces.
Names and Nodes
New York City is a network of individuals, organizations, and tools. In social network theory, these are called nodes, and the connections between them are called links. Each node has a role to play in the community, and can be thought of as a shared resource.
Tribe NYC highlights this role by giving the node a domain name. For example, air is a shared resource, and its domain name is air.tribenyc.com. On the internet, a domain name is also an address, which points you to a specific website. If you click on that air link, it will take you to a website where you can join in the discussion about New York City’s air.
Thus, Tribe NYC’s naming system makes it easy for you to find the community website for any shared resource. Right now, there are just a few such sites. With your help, there will be thousands.
Making a New Node
You’re invited to make a new node by creating a new domain name and starting a new website. What it is is up to you, until some other folks come along and join the discussion. Eventually, it should be easy for anyone to build a new node. Right now there are some technological barriers to this process. To request a new node, simply email mattcoop [at] tribenyc [dot] com.
It All Depends on You
Like any online community, people will only want to join it if other people have already joined it. Every contribution you make, no matter how small, will make this resource more valuable. Find your node and cultivate it, and the entire tribe will benefit.
And remember, tribenyc.com - the website you’re visiting right now - is just another node in the network. It’s our job to care for the network as a whole, making sure it’s inviting, inclusive, and healthy. If you think that online communities have a big role to play in the quest for a better future, then this is the node for you.