14 September 2009: Conversation between Kitty and George

The conversation revolved around the mySociety proposal filed today by Kitty. This is essentially a memorandum of understanding for my own benefit.

Neutral editing

Wikipedia and Citizendium are open to alteration by readers and this tends to ensure neutrality, factual correctness with supporting references and the avoidance of subtle spinning. In this way MPs can be confident that they are not being got at by a peace groups which ignores inconvenient facts but are being provided with a legal resource they can trust.

However, we have yet to see whether the Encyclopedia style precludes the Question and answer format.

Website

The encyclopedia would be helpful but not the complete solution. We need a website as well for the use of citizens. This will be dedicated to our particular aims with - links with whatever form our legal resource takes whether in wikipedia or not.

One page legal information sheets will be on the website and be aimed at our particular concerns. These will be complemented by encycopedia material either produced by us, or by other people and edited and altered by us. The content of both encyclopedia and website material will be discussed with Robby, Nick Grief, Angie, John McDonnell and others.

An example: A cross party group on War and Law wanted to set up a legal reference. We would hope for a cross-party group having editorial oversight but not the power to dissolve material on a whim or the power to make secret the criteria by which arguments are resolved.

Beyond MPs to officials

The main issue today is to get the proposal out. We can extend our project to encompass officials in due course.

We can see our main purpose to be that of ensuring MPs’ accountability to their constituents. It is unlikely that we can directly change the mind of the Government. However, we can also prise open a window onto the official mind as we are anxious to know what the real government thinking about legality (if any) is. MPs often bounce letters to officials and the reply can cloud their minds as well as those of citizens.

Finance

We need to identify which of our ambitions need specific skills. Kitty can do a specification for what we need - people who can provide marketing skills or who write software, for example (the sort of thing Julian does). We need software that analyses information automatically. In addition, many of the features we would need on the website are beyond what amateurs (like myself) can provide. Some people might volunteer and much mySociety work is done by volunteers. But professionals may do it more quickly. Rowntree and mySociety have co-operated to do this before.

MySociety can provide a web service base - very cheap or free. My Society has street cred and technical know-how and a history of project managing - who works on which bit in what order etc.

Organisation

NETLAP is the name for the whole Wiki . As a project within Netlap the proposal for mySociety is “Help your MP ---- etc”.

The whole network might also be called “NatLap”, but this will be decided at the next meeting. We shall also need to discuss the nature of our network. A true network does not does not have an opinion as such. Instead the constituent groups collaborate on focussed areas they agree on.

However, we cannot be prescriptive about this. We shall experiment as the project develops.