💬: when this community grows large enough, I think it makes sense to move to a different platform for voting. But Substack works for early development.
💬 I vote for the Like + comment system because it mirrors how ideas grow in real life not through binary judgment, but through resonance, reflection, and remix.
🔵 I’d love to see a rhythm where ideas aren’t just ranked, but lived into where dissent isn’t disruption, but depth.
🕊️ Count me in especially for formats that allow emotional nuance and slow thinking.
x3
I shared with 3 friends who care about idea ecosystems.
Sometimes it can help if a group agrees on criteria for choosing first - e.g., "Reaches more people" or "Is lower in cost" or "Is easier to understand" etc. That can lay the groundwork for more consensus vs. the numbers game that voting is too often based on (as if human decisions can be reduced to kilograms on either side of a scale). Also, I am reminded of Follett's quote that what we should be aiming for in democracy, at any scale, is the evolution of an idea created in common, and not simply evaluating only the ideas put out for consideration (and certainly not the simple "either/or" that our culture so often defaults to. And finally, I am reminded of Follett's reminder that even total consensus may not necessarily reflect the common will; it really depends on whether the common will has been evolved (like mentioned above) or if it's just been assumed because 51% or 75% or even 100% of people assent). Now, assenting isn't all bad; sometimes a choice is naturally very limited and obvious. But often it isn't.
Matthew, thank you for this! Bringing criteria into the process is a smart move. It shifts things from a simple vote to a clearer way of thinking together. And your Follett reminder is spot on. The point isn’t choosing between fixed options, but shaping something shared.
Curious, what criteria do you think matter most for this first round?
x10
I shared this with my trusted 10.
💬: when this community grows large enough, I think it makes sense to move to a different platform for voting. But Substack works for early development.
💬 I vote for the Like + comment system because it mirrors how ideas grow in real life not through binary judgment, but through resonance, reflection, and remix.
🔵 I’d love to see a rhythm where ideas aren’t just ranked, but lived into where dissent isn’t disruption, but depth.
🕊️ Count me in especially for formats that allow emotional nuance and slow thinking.
x3
I shared with 3 friends who care about idea ecosystems.
Sometimes it can help if a group agrees on criteria for choosing first - e.g., "Reaches more people" or "Is lower in cost" or "Is easier to understand" etc. That can lay the groundwork for more consensus vs. the numbers game that voting is too often based on (as if human decisions can be reduced to kilograms on either side of a scale). Also, I am reminded of Follett's quote that what we should be aiming for in democracy, at any scale, is the evolution of an idea created in common, and not simply evaluating only the ideas put out for consideration (and certainly not the simple "either/or" that our culture so often defaults to. And finally, I am reminded of Follett's reminder that even total consensus may not necessarily reflect the common will; it really depends on whether the common will has been evolved (like mentioned above) or if it's just been assumed because 51% or 75% or even 100% of people assent). Now, assenting isn't all bad; sometimes a choice is naturally very limited and obvious. But often it isn't.
Matthew, thank you for this! Bringing criteria into the process is a smart move. It shifts things from a simple vote to a clearer way of thinking together. And your Follett reminder is spot on. The point isn’t choosing between fixed options, but shaping something shared.
Curious, what criteria do you think matter most for this first round?
💬 Can you help me better understand an up/down vote looks like?
Thanks for asking this, Jillian. It helps others too.
Up/down voting adds a basic directional signal.
Up adds weight in the positive direction.
Down adds weight in the negative direction.
No vote adds no directional weight at all.
This gives us a simple one-axis signal without adding complexity.
It helps us see the shape of the group before we look at comments.