Ruby CoOp2012-02-12T16:32:46+01:00http://rubycoop.orgFrank Oxenerfrank.oxener@gmail.comProposal for a formal (commercial) co-operative2010-05-23T00:00:00+02:00http://rubycoop.org/general/2010/05/23/proposal-for-a-formal-cooperative<p>So you’re an independent Ruby developer with all the <em>benefits</em> you can think of.</p>
<p>With a lot of <strong>freedom</strong>. You work from home, you choose your own assignments, no adjustment to a corporate culture, no managers to deal with etc.</p>
<p>But what about the <strong>downsides</strong>? No feedback on your work (from which you can learn), not a lot of interaction with other programmers, not easy to consult a colleague on technical or other matters and sometimes the workload is too much or too little.</p>
<p>So that leads me to the question: is there a form of working together without losing the valued benefits of an independent developer. Somehow it must be possible to work together on a commercial basis as individual developers more or less the same way we contribute to an Open Source project.</p>
<p>Living in a community (on an island) where we have a lot of benefit of existing co-operatives (for <a href='https://teso.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&Itemid=69&lang=en'>transport by ferry</a> and the <a href='http://texelenergie.nl/'>delivery of energy</a>), I of course thought of a formal co-operative as an organization form for working as an collective.</p>
<h2 id='benefits'>Benefits:</h2>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Acquisition as a collective.</li>
<li>More flexible in workload. No more running or standing still. A more even distribution of the workload.</li>
<li>Higher occupation on average.</li>
<li>Share knowledge and practical experience.</li>
<li>Learn by working together on the same project.</li>
<li>More change to do what you do best (specialties).</li>
<li>More change to make some money as a part time ruby developer.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>The co-op will also offer the customer more continuity. A customer will value the lower dependence on a single developer or a small company.</p>
<h2 id='release_early_release_often'>Release early, release often:</h2>
<p>With this proposal I like to research the possibility of working together in a formal co-operative. Of course I don’t have all the answers (yet), but I’m hoping that we can together answer a lot of them.</p>
<p>Let me know what <strong>you</strong> think. I made a first draft of a proposal on Github with the following subjects:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Definitions</li>
<li>Objectives</li>
<li>Rights</li>
<li>Responsibilities</li>
<li>Obligations</li>
<li>Financials</li>
<li>Board</li>
<li>Workflow</li>
<li>Examples</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>I like to invite you to <strong>join this discussion</strong> and <strong>make your contribution</strong> by forking and submitting your patches!</p>