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What: An initial version of the vision/mission for the project, and the principles/values that guide it. Why: To communicate the spirit of the project and the direction it's going, and so we have something concrete that we can point to/update as necessary. Notes: Initial inspiration and input taken from https://discord.com/channels/1210620048297955448/1212947061755088959 in the V-Formation Village Discord server as well as from conversations with the community. Other sources of inspiration: * https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/meow-wolf-announces-layoffs-why-i-quit-december-joanna-garner-sm0zc (first posted here: https://discord.com/channels/1210620048297955448/1211677680194289716/1237767024311144479) * https://organiccouncil.ca/regenerative-organic-certification/ * https://principles.xrguild.org/ (first of several pages) * https://phys.org/news/2024-08-drought-sicily-rainwater-dumped-sea.html * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccrmlHTUB2Q V-Formation Village Discord server invite: https://discord.gg/XD7jdR33Ba
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I've given this a cursory first read through. Besides a typo on line 49, I need to let this sit with me for a day or so to figure out what's missing, think about priorities, etc. I will have more comments later. |
Exairnous
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At the 2025-07-04 Hubs Community Meetup, @hobbs-Hobbler, @nurse-the-code, and I were talking about this document and it was suggested that I add some clarification on the ethical/social justice aspect of the original free software/open source software movement (I believe they were originally synonymous) from which Mozilla and Hubs stems because people don't necessarily know about that anymore (plus, as usual, things have gotten more complex because free software and open source software have diverged on principles).
This is a very complex topic and there is far more that could be said on the matter (and has been said, if anyone wants to go looking), but hopefully this is enough to get the idea across while still being short enough for people to read.
| ### Open Source | ||
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| As an open source project ourselves, we value and prioritize open source and the freedom and control it gives us to take full command of our own experiences. While we don't object in general to proprietary software, we will either seek open source solutions first, or at least try to make sure there is an open source option. |
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The following is a rewrite to include a paraphrase/expansion of the four essential freedoms of free/libre software, customized for our community/project and a clarification on where we stand as kind of a hybrid between the two philosophies of free/libre software and open source software.
References:
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html
https://opensource.org/osd
| ### Open Source | |
| As an open source project ourselves, we value and prioritize open source and the freedom and control it gives us to take full command of our own experiences. While we don't object in general to proprietary software, we will either seek open source solutions first, or at least try to make sure there is an open source option. | |
| ### Freedom and Open Source | |
| We as a project believe we all should have the freedom to: | |
| * use the software we create as we wish, for any purpose (including in combination with proprietary software) | |
| * learn how the software (and larger project) works | |
| * change how our software works to suit our needs | |
| * share the software, any modifications of it, and knowledge about it with others | |
| * offer contributions back to the project and get involved | |
| * not have to worry that it stays accessible and open to all for the common good (most of our stuff is under the [MPL-2.0 license, which is a weak copyleft license](https://web.archive.org/web/20250513025257/https://milvus.io/ai-quick-reference/what-are-the-restrictions-of-the-mozilla-public-license-mpl)) | |
| In addition, as a free/libre open source software project ourselves, we value and prioritize free software and open source and the freedom and control it gives us to take full command of our own experiences. While we don't object to people using proprietary software, we will either seek free/libre or open source solutions first, or at least try to make sure there is a free/libre or open source option. | |
| See https://www.gnu.org/philosophy, https://www.fsf.org/, and https://opensource.org/ for more information on free/libre software and open source software (we're kinda a hybrid). |
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Even though I was present for the conversation, my thoughts were elsewhere. But I like this elaboration and I'm impressed with the clear direction it shows.
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I haven't talked about this too much, but I've been thinking that I don't really want the Hubs Foundation to own anything other than stuff like names/logos (and a few other small things) and that the rest should essentially belong to "the commons". For example, let's say in the future the Hubs Foundation hires someone to write code or create 3d assets, I would like to have them release their work under the appropriate license and not transfer any copyright to the Hubs Foundation (they would retain their copyright). This would prevent any future version of the Hubs Foundation from close sourcing anything and ensure that authors can continue to create in an unrestricted manner. Although I don't think this would preclude limiting access to certain materials that are considered more sensitive than others. If this is agreed upon, I feel like it should be written down somewhere, but I'm not sure whether it fits as a guiding principle. Thoughts? Edit: Updated for clarity. |
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| ### Quality | ||
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| We want to build a world class metaverse that is solid and dependable. To do that, we impose strict quality controls on all contributions (both internal and external) and work together to make sure each feature is carefully designed from the beginning so that it fits into our vision. |
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I like this clause here. To me, taking time to provide quality features is far more important than moving quickly in an attempt to provide more features. If the core offerings are solid, people can always fork or create an add-on for a feature we don't have.
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| ## Vision | ||
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| Our vision is simple: to build an open, decentralized, high quality, unopinionated, web-based metaverse that puts freedom of expression, privacy, community, and integrity first. |
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Should we clarify that this is not a crypto-based metaverse? (Although people can always fork the code to add that functionality as long as the follow the licensing conditions.) The word "decentralized" is sometimes used with crypto projects and we don't want to turn-off crypto-skeptic folks.
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Crypto would presumably belong in an add-on. There's a lot of initiatives besides crypto under the umbrella of "decentralized". "Web3" is a marketing term more associated with crypto.
I think it's best not to mention crypto at all.
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Both valid points. I tend to lean towards Doug's conclusion, however: best not to mention (or not to mention HERE).
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@nurse-the-code
You do have a good point. There is already Decentraland and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) and a quick web search seems to show a lot of literature referring to decentralized metaverses as blockchain powered. Although decentralized is used a lot in non crypto/blockchain contexts (e.g. Git is decentralized and no one would think it has anything to do with crypto), in the metaverse context it might be confusing. However, hopefully by the time people are reading this document (they'll probably have been through the hubsfoundation.org home page at least) they should have a bit of a sense of what Hubs is and should know that it doesn't have anything to do with crypto (at least right now. Maybe someone will create an add-on for it someday).
Another thing to consider is that adding that we aren't crypto-based to this document would violate our "unopinionated" principle. So, I think I agree that we shouldn't mention it here, but we may want to add something to the hubsfoundation.org home page clarifying that Hubs currently doesn't have anything to do with crypto.
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@nurse-the-code An issue about adding a crypto policy has been added to this repository #9 and an item has been added to the Documentation team's roadmap to update the website with a clarification that Hubs does not do crypto. Does this resolution work for you, and we'll leave the vision and guiding principles document unchanged?
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@DougReeder I don't know your thoughts on mentioning crypto outside this document (your reply suggests to me that you might be against it), but I was looking at the Hubs Foundation's homepage and I think it could potentially use some revision to better describe what Hubs is (to me the homepage kinda suggests it's a single instance, although the get started page does briefly mention multiple instances), and I think a description of what we mean when we say decentralized could fit well there.
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| ### Fun and Enjoyment and Wonder | ||
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| We believe that fun and enjoyment and wonder are important.and coexist with and enhance the other high bars that we set for the project. Let's face it, if we aren't evoking these emotions in people then we're doing something wrong because what could be more awesome or inspiring than being able to create and shape a shared metaverse, from the three dimensional constructs to the underlying code! Hubs presents us with infinite possibilities and we believe it's our job to embrace it and make sure this is highlighted and never lost. |
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| We believe that fun and enjoyment and wonder are important.and coexist with and enhance the other high bars that we set for the project. Let's face it, if we aren't evoking these emotions in people then we're doing something wrong because what could be more awesome or inspiring than being able to create and shape a shared metaverse, from the three dimensional constructs to the underlying code! Hubs presents us with infinite possibilities and we believe it's our job to embrace it and make sure this is highlighted and never lost. | |
| We believe that fun, enjoyment and wonder are important, and coexist with and enhance the other high bars that we set for the project. Let's face it, if we aren't evoking these emotions in people then we're doing something wrong because what could be more awesome or inspiring than being able to create and shape a shared metaverse, from the three dimensional constructs to the underlying code! Hubs presents us with infinite possibilities and we believe it's our job to embrace it and make sure this is highlighted and never lost. |
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I did this on purpose to convey a more informal/fun/childlike tone for this principle as a contrast with the other, more serious, principles, but if people would prefer the more standard list syntax we can go with that.
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I think it's funny that most of us here LOVE the Oxford comma and as soon as it goes missing, we're all like (see picture) so much that @Exairnous has to explain that he's being "fun".
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Yup, gotta love those Oxford commas 🙂
The extra "and" also adds emphasis, I think. I see now that I did the same thing for the Inclusion and Diversity and Mutual Respect section, but I'm pretty sure that was solely for emphasis and because I thought Inclusion, Diversity, and Mutual Respect seemed less genuine and more like ticking off a box.
The period after "important" is definitely a mistake, though. @hobbs-Hobbler flagged it as well.
Let me know if people still want it changed, or if now that I've provided an explanation they have different thoughts.
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Oh, I like the "no comma" when you meant fun. I also can accept that you didn't want a box-ticking vibe. I'm OK with NO oxford comma in these cases. Because....
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| The community and its culture of giving is at the heart of our project. Each of us comes from the community and so we all decide the future of Hubs together. All of us play a part in defining our culture by the choices we make, the little things that we do, and the time we put in. This is what makes it worth our time to keep participating, and we believe in preserving and celebrating the community and all the little (and big) things that make it special. Hubs will survive as long as there are devoted people who care about it. | ||
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| ### Fun and Enjoyment and Wonder |
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| ### Fun and Enjoyment and Wonder | |
| ### Fun, Enjoyment and Wonder |
Regarding this, while I'm not strong on the full ramifications of this stance, it would appear to bypass many potholes that could be ahead for the Hubs Foundation. I do know that the Hubs software gets interest from education which will want to least amount of hindrance when it comes to copyrights...because most of the time it can't afford to pay them. It seems as though some comments on the vision and guiding principles wording is now indicating that we'll need some further documentation. ChatGPT tells that might be an "Operating Philosophy" which covers how Hubs Foundation operates (as opposed to why and what....which is what the vision and guiding principles covers). I propose that the comments about copyrights/ownership and crypto/decentralized be reflected in an Operating Philosophy-like document of the future. |
I'm not sure I entirely understand your suggestion. |
What: Removes a duplicate "the" from the privacy principle. Why: Maintenance. Fixes grammar. Co-authored-by: Malachi Gruenhagen <68450431+nurse-the-code@users.noreply.github.com>
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Further thoughts on a crypto policy: maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have one (as long as it doesn't conflict with any principles), but it kinda feels to me like it's too early and we don't know enough yet. Unless maybe it's something like "we're only interested in crypto functionality being added through an add-on"? But I'm still kinda thinking that maybe a little note on one of our website pages that we currently don't do anything with crypto and then not mentioning it again would probably serve us better (if we decide to do anything at all, that is). |
Agreed. After I posted this, I thought about how Hubs Foundation is crafting its policies. It dawned on me that the policies are acting like an Operating Philosophy. I'll try to create a chart: Mission, Vision, Principles --- TOP LEVEL, meant to be non-specific, grandiose-type language, explains WHAT and WHY Therefore, I support that any talk RE crypto and copyrights really isn't for here in the Values and Principles. Agreed that a statement of fact, that Hubs software/Hubs Foundation is decentralized but currently does not "do" crypto (a form of decentralization) is suitable for the website. |
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| ### Integrity | ||
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| In a world where too often it seems that money is the only important thing, we value doing what's right and sticking by our principles. That means that in everything we do, from the products we create to the services we use and/or recommend, we will do our best to make sure they align with our principles. This isn't always easy (or sometimes even fully possible), so we must all do our part to keep us on track and speak up when needed. We want to create something that we can all feel good about and proud of, without reservation. |
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Hmm, actually, I think this better conveys my intention for this principle.
| In a world where too often it seems that money is the only important thing, we value doing what's right and sticking by our principles. That means that in everything we do, from the products we create to the services we use and/or recommend, we will do our best to make sure they align with our principles. This isn't always easy (or sometimes even fully possible), so we must all do our part to keep us on track and speak up when needed. We want to create something that we can all feel good about and proud of, without reservation. | |
| In a world where too often it seems that money and ease are the only important things, we value doing what's right and sticking by our principles. That means that in everything we do, from the products we create to the services we use and/or recommend, we will do our best to make sure they align with our principles. This isn't always easy (or sometimes even fully possible), so we must all do our part to keep us on track and speak up when needed. We want to create something that we can all feel good about and proud of, without reservation. |
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| ### Sustainability | ||
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| We believe in playing the long game, in doing things the right way from the beginning. Basically, we put out the fires before they start and do things in a way that works, is likely to keep working, and won't burn us all out along the way. |
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After further reflection, while this text works to describe sustainability and sustainable practices, it potentially could and should be improved. Unfortunately, from the research I did, sustainability doesn't have a really clear definition, but I did come up with some terms/phrases that I think embody it pretty well.
- responsible use
- don't take too much
- plan for future
- maintenance
- balance
- regenerative
- stays healthy/in good condition
- make sure something will continue on and not collapse
From these ideas, I've prepared a possible replacement for this text. Feel free to brainstorm/workshop it as much as you like (I don't think what I've written is quite right, but hopefully it's going in the right direction), and let me know your thoughts.
Note: I did use AI to aid my research in this endeavour, but the proposed text is entirely my own.
| We believe in playing the long game, in doing things the right way from the beginning. Basically, we put out the fires before they start and do things in a way that works, is likely to keep working, and won't burn us all out along the way. | |
| We believe in sustainability, in playing the long game and doing things the right way from the beginning. By being responsible, planning for the future, not taking too much from people, and actively maintaining ourselves and the project, we believe we will build something that will stand the test of time, have better quality, and provide more enjoyment for all involved. We feel it is important to make sure that the project and all its parts, both people and product stay healthy and balanced. | |
| Basically, we put out the fires before they start and do things in a way that works, is likely to keep working, and won't burn us all out along the way. |
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So I was thinking (always dangerous, I know 😛), a lot of the community spirit has revolved around sharing knowledge/helping people and while there is stuff about sharing/giving mentioned in passing in this document nothing is explicitly about that. So my question is, should we add something explicitly about sharing knowledge/helping people or leave it general? One worry with including it explicitly might be that it could make it feel like a mandate/job and rob it of what makes it special, but I'm not sure. Thoughts? |
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| ### Openness and Transparency | ||
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| We believe that by making everything open and transparent, at all levels, we empower people, encourage collaboration, experimentation, participation, and that the whole project benefits as a result. |
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"everything open and transparent" could be construed to apply to people's personal data.
It might be better to say "We believe that by operating in an open and transparent fashion, at all levels, we empower people, encourage collaboration, experimentation, participation, and that the whole project benefits as a result."
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Good point. We don't want anyone to think Hubs shares people's personal data. What you suggest is probably good, but saying "operating in an open and transparent fashion" puts me in mind of the phrase "in a fashion" (or "after a fashion"), which means "only to some extent". If others are of the same mind, what about one of these as a replacement?
"operating completely openly and transparently" or "operating openly and transparently"
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"manner" could be substituted for "fashion" but it means the same. I would pull back from the absolute phrasing "whole" or "all", because most folks realize that we don't live in a black-and-white world.
How about:
We operate as open and transparent as possible. We empower people and encourage collaboration, experimentation, and participation. As a result, the project benefits.
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| ### Quality | ||
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| We want to build a world class metaverse that is solid and dependable. To do that, we impose strict quality controls on all contributions (both internal and external) and work together to make sure each feature is carefully designed from the beginning so that it fits into our vision. |
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Maybe this could be "...a world class metaverse that is solid, dependable and maintainable"
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That works for me. (With possibly the addition of an Oxford comma 😉 😛)
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In addition to @DougReeder's suggestion, what about rewriting the second sentence like so? Modifications are bolded.
"To do that, we do the work that is needed (even though it might not be glamorous), take the time needed to do a good job, impose strict quality controls on all contributions (both internal and external), and work together to make sure each change is carefully designed from the beginning so that it fits into our vision."
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What do people think about adding the following section? I think it reflects our culture as doers/givers and not takers, plus it reinforces both the the "Community and Culture" and "Quality" principles. Although given that it is quite close to those two principles, maybe one or both of them just need to be modified to include the sentiment of taking ownership and stepping up? I do think at least the second link (taking ownership) is very good and would be helpful to people (the do-ocracy part actually stems back to this post I made in Discord: https://discord.com/channels/498741086295031808/1208069489703518308/1227258270855729162).
Do-ocracy and ownership
Hubs belongs to the community, so it is up to us whether it succeeds or fails and what it becomes. We believe it is up to each person to step up, take ownership, and make a difference.
More info:
do-ocracy (note: we have a formal structure, but those that "do" get the positions)
taking ownership
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| ### Quality | ||
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| We want to build a world class metaverse that is solid and dependable. To do that, we impose strict quality controls on all contributions (both internal and external) and work together to make sure each feature is carefully designed from the beginning so that it fits into our vision. |
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That works for me. (With possibly the addition of an Oxford comma 😉 😛)
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| ### Openness and Transparency | ||
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| We believe that by making everything open and transparent, at all levels, we empower people, encourage collaboration, experimentation, participation, and that the whole project benefits as a result. |
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Good point. We don't want anyone to think Hubs shares people's personal data. What you suggest is probably good, but saying "operating in an open and transparent fashion" puts me in mind of the phrase "in a fashion" (or "after a fashion"), which means "only to some extent". If others are of the same mind, what about one of these as a replacement?
"operating completely openly and transparently" or "operating openly and transparently"
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| ### Inclusion and Diversity and Mutual Respect | ||
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| We welcome everyone from everywhere and believe that by cultivating a culture of inclusion and sharing that is based on mutual respect that we will enrich each other and make a better world. |
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I initially had something similar to this as part of the quality principle (to indicate that the high quality required wasn't a way to exclude people), but ultimately decided it wasn't necessary for that principle and removed it. However after a discussion with @hobbs-Hobbler, I think introducing this sentiment to the inclusion principle would be good (and it also reinforces our culture of helping people/sharing knowledge).
| We welcome everyone from everywhere and believe that by cultivating a culture of inclusion and sharing that is based on mutual respect that we will enrich each other and make a better world. | |
| We welcome everyone from everywhere and believe that by cultivating a culture of inclusion and sharing that is based on mutual respect that we will enrich each other and make a better world. As a part of this, we help people grow by sharing knowledge, support, ideas, assets, and working with them to ensure that they are able to participate and bring their own unique voice and ideas to the project/community. |
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@hobbs-Hobbler come back and review this.
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I checked some other wording and found this "Give more than you take." That's a nice philosophy.
I like what you have added too. But the "we help people" does put the responsibility on HF. Would adding a bit more (that phrase I added above??) turn the dial up on responsibility to the community too? I'm going for the idea that the community should have some expected responsibility to help others ...not just receive help.
Or is speaking of the community not the right place in a Vision and Principles doc?
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| ### Quality | ||
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| We want to build a world class metaverse that is solid and dependable. To do that, we impose strict quality controls on all contributions (both internal and external) and work together to make sure each feature is carefully designed from the beginning so that it fits into our vision. |
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In addition to @DougReeder's suggestion, what about rewriting the second sentence like so? Modifications are bolded.
"To do that, we do the work that is needed (even though it might not be glamorous), take the time needed to do a good job, impose strict quality controls on all contributions (both internal and external), and work together to make sure each change is carefully designed from the beginning so that it fits into our vision."
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Should we add anything about extending Hubs to serve new communities with different requirements? |
4 participants
What?
An initial version of the vision/mission for the project, and the principles/values that guide it.
Why?
To communicate the spirit of the project and the direction it's going, and so we have something concrete that we can point to/update as necessary.
Limitations
None known at present.
Alternatives considered
Putting this up as a page on the hubsfoundation.org website, but putting it in GitHub with the rest of the policies seemed like a better idea to ensure everyone could review, discuss, and collaborate on it.
Open questions
None at present.
Additional details or related context
Initial inspiration and input taken from https://discord.com/channels/1210620048297955448/1212947061755088959 in the V-Formation Village Discord server as well as from conversations with the community.
Other sources of inspiration:
V-Formation Village Discord server invite:
https://discord.gg/XD7jdR33Ba