THEORY OF SELF-DETERMINED PUBLICS    chat when editing, so we know our colours
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Mirroring and self-determination of publics

A self-determined public is an open, topical community that stakes out the definitive bounds of its own communications.  The boundary stakes are formed as a timely sequence of references (e.g. web links) each pointing to a communication of the public, such that all references together define the total of that public's communications in time and space.  For example:

    Ago     Place      Thread                    (click to visit)
   -------  ---------  ------------------------------------------
   17 min   r/Foo      How do we attach the doohickey?
    5 hr    Foo-L      The problem with so and so's proposal.
    1 day   FuBarz     Who are these Foos, anyway?
    1 day   r/Foo      This, that, and the next thing.
    2 days  FooForum   What's the best thingamy for such and such?
           . . . and so on

The staked boundary is similar in form to a conventional news feed.  It concerns a specific topic or topical category.  The differences are in a) the exclusion of mass communications, b) the claim to totality, and c) the self-determination that redeems that claim.  (a) A principle criterion for the inclusion of a boundary reference is that one may immediately join the referenced communication and reply in kind as a peer.  The reference is always actually to an *inter*-communication; unidirectional, mass communications are excluded.

(b) The staked boundary is asserted to cover the entire public discussion of the topic across all communication media and sites.  It claims to be the most complete, accurate and up-to-date outline of the extended discourse that is available anywhere.

(c) This claim is redeemed by the public members themselves who continually submit the boundary references, self-organize the necessary labour, and self-constitute the necessary government.  No aspect of this redeeming self-determination is controlled by an external authority.


See also
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