Show LW: Diaspora Project Map and Preregistration Database

Hi everyone,

I and a handful of other folks have been compiling a list of different LessWrong Diaspora projects. I started it after someone asked me how they could volunteer for LessWrong and I didn’t have a good answer for them.

It’s optimized for people who are researching what sort of things have already been done in the community, or are looking for a place where they can help. The basic criteria for eligibility are:

Being something I’m sure is a ‘real’ Diaspora project. i.e, started by a credible person who is a member of the Diaspora. (Membership is of course a little fuzzy, err on the side of inclusion.)
Either a web presence or contact information.

Suggestions for additions should go in the comment box on that page. (I’ll also accept them in this thread, but understand I’ll probably only check back on it for the first three days or so.)

We’ve also put together a preregistration database. A preregistration database solicits plans for projects and experiments before their results are known. It helps with the problem where no one wants to talk about something that didn’t work. Ideally it becomes part of a framework for helping people put together solid projects.

Right now that framework includes a Project Litmus Test that’s meant to help people who want to do something not fail from the outset through poor planning. The current question set is based on what we think are common failure modes for Diaspora projects, but over time I’d like to refactor it based on empirical interaction with peoples real ideas. In the best case scenario a workshop would be developed that helps people go from concept to execution.

My hope is that such a framework could put a real dent in the chronic lack of coordination that you’ve already been told about a thousand times.

The Map

The Preregistation Database