Collected here are some patterns we've explored while community gardening. This is not a rulebook, and what's written here is not the way. Think of it more like rough notes on a cake recipe you inheritted from a grandparent - it's a good starting point, and you're probably gonna want to add your own care and love, and scratch some more notes in the margin for those that follow you.
- ssbc grants - we've been following a pattern for the dfinity grant.
- contributor calls - some ideas for where, when, and some how.
- readme swarm - brand new idea
- ...
Rituals are usually just a frame to support a group to do something. The most powerful rituals are the ones that work with the need of the time. Mapping your own feelings and others in the past, present, and future is a good way to sense the space for a ritual.
Did we do something together and people had different feelings about it? Might be good to find a way to process that.
Is there a divide between old people with lots of context and new people in our community? Perhaps it's time to start up community calls again.
To make a new ritual, all you need to do is cast the same spell with a group of people a couple of times.
The rough shape of most rituals is:
- invitation
- who is this for, how do you want to invite them?
- what vibe and energy do you want to also invite?
- what can you do to help people participate (accessibility, clear directions, safety)?
- opening**
- most rituals are opened by one or more hosts
- this is about helping people 'arrive', settle, understand the tone, and to introduce people to the shape of the body of the ritual
- body
- this is what most people think the ritual is, but it's really just a part
- close
- tell (or ask) people when you're closing, then close the ritual clearly
- rituals have energy and power, it's important to close them consciously
- running too long can burn people out
- if you don't close, people will wander off, and it's likely to leave people feeling muddled
- how are people feeling, is there anything unresolved?
- just name it (naming things gives you handles to be able to do something about it)
- can you offer a plan for resolution e.g. relevant people meet after the ritual, or later in the week
- if you're time pressured, don't try to do too much, it's better to do things later
If a ritual is a good fit you will hear it - listen for gratitude, or exciting new plans, or people asking when the next one is going to be. You might like to help people notice the new form by giving it a name.
One of the best ways to grow and stabilise a ritual is to pass the baton - run the ritual, then pass it on to someone else to run. You might want to leave some rough notes, or pair on preparing the invitation for the next one. This works by offering a pathway to share skills, sharing ownership, gives the opportunity to evolve by adding new perspectives, and helps prevent centralisation of power and burnout of the 'community coordinators' (Sometimes running the ritual 2-3 times for people to get the idea before passing the baton can be good)
Rituals are about serving the group's needs. If a ritual no longer fits or serves, change it or put it down.
The SSBC has been through different phases or ritual and these come and go and mutate over time. (e.g. SSBC calls, sprint plans, tech trees) This is healthy and good.
This is a document that lives alongside the community. Help it evolve by adding, adjusting, and making it your own.
This lives in 2 places, it would be nice to keep them synced:
- git-ssb:
ssb://%5UXYBEhe28FaH75qewO9vPSC/0x9j/9bFauSFpzYc4k=.sha256 - github:
git@github.com:ssbc/ssbc-rituals.git