Structure for a Decentralized Collective
You decide your own level of involvement in the The Creekmasons.
Still, informed consent is literally righteous. So unlike Project Mayhem, let’s shoot for “upfront” when it comes to what roles are available to you upon getting involved and avoid troubling stipulations like “carry personal burial money in your shoe.”
At the moment there are essentially six roles available to Creekmasons: Initiate, Neophyte, Patron Practicus, Adeptus Minor, Adeptus Maker, and Node. “This Golden Dawn spoof feels like hierarchy,” I hear you lamenting, but none of these roles is managerial or executive. Achieving one doesn’t make you worth anything more than anyone else. The Creekmasons are governed primarily through a simple form of anarchic direct democracy, with ranked choice voting available equally to anyone who wishes to participate.
At some point, I intend to gate decision-making behind The Creekmason Patreon paywall because people instinctively care a little bit more about keeping a space nice when they are paying membership dues to gain access to it. With our current community of about thirty friendly regulars, however, there’s a long way to go before that ambition is realized.
Where does the money go? Eventually, Patreon subscriptions will supplement publication sales to fund the activities of “Adeptus Makers,” Creekmasons who have been published in some form by the collective and who subsequently receive regular, egalitarian paychecks and potentially even peer-distributed bonuses for acknowledgement of above-and-beyond contribution. More on that below.
Initiate
So you wandered into the creek and liked what you saw? Why not become an initiate? All you have to do is sign up for the mailing list and for TikTok and Twitter notifications.
Social media likes to use the word “followers” to describe this kind of involvement in a community, but that sounds a little too much like “disciples.” A Creekmason is more likely to think that everyone is Jesus, rather than that they, themselves, are the second coming exclusively.
Neophyte
Loiter at a liminal hang out spot long enough and you’ll run into the dope strangers who use it as well. By digging a little deeper into the community and joining discussions on Discord, you become a Neophyte.
Joining the discord is likely to remain free, or at least very inexpensive. That means that for the time being, Neophytes are just as welcome to participate in voting as any other role, but that those responsibilities may change in the future.
Neophytes are expected to have “moved one rock with the intention to improve their surroundings,” as is described in the Who We Are essay and to share that story with the group on Discord when they first enter the chat as a precondition of gaining access to channels. “Moving a rock” can be any act of service, from cleaning up pseudo-nature of the detritus leftover by revelers to something as simple as taking a walk and smiling warmly at every person you pass.
Patron Practicus
Now we’re rolling boulders! A Patron Practicus is, you guessed it, someone who has made the beautiful choice to support Liminal Trickster Mystic artwork and become a subscriber to the Creekmasons Patreon.
Again, voting is currently available to anyone who wants to call themself a Creekmason and hang out with us in Discord, but in the future, only Patrons will be able to participate in decisions about the collective’s governance and identity and about admission to the Adeptus Maker role.
Adeptus Minor
Hungry for a low-stakes, high-frequency creative community? The Creekmasons have you covered. You can participate in Discord by contributing prompts or by writing, illustrating, composing or otherwise riffing on them.
In the blue sky world of my dreams, becoming an Adeptus Minor and participating enthusiastically in our little creative coven—along with participating in the governance discussions available to Patrons—might help one break into the role of Adeptus Maker.
Adeptus Maker
If you’re looking to get your work published by the Creekmasons, you’re looking to become an Adeptus Maker (AM).
Getting published—and earning a stable salary thereafter—is dependent on first getting sponsored by a current Adeptus Maker, then by a vote accessible to anyone in the collective who wishes to participate. The artist’s work should be submitted via discord for consideration and a vote will take place after a thirty day period of review.
Because being inducted as an AM grants a Creekmason a regular salary, AMs are responsible for one or more Services and one or more Arts.
Service examples include
- Governance
- Editing
- Marketing
- Copy-editing
- Running Meetups. For example, this could include running the Lunar Lunacy Creative Coven, Meditation sessions, Book Clubs, Courses in Liminal Trickster Mystic Thinking etc.
- Miscellaneous administrative work necessary for publishing physical and digital books
Even wacky things like divination and the performance of rituals can be considered!
Art examples include
- Regular blog entries
- Books
- Podcasts
- Other digital content
In addition, AMs are expected to participate in voting that determines the allocation of the budget.
Budget
Yuck, money. Considering it a medium for the equitable exchange of energy might help you navigate the following section. Hell, if you don’t have any ambition to become an Adeptus Maker, you can avoid it entirely.
First off, borrowing from Yanis Varoufacis’ practical manifesto, Another Now, exact percentages of each slice of revenue will be decided yearly on a One Adeptus Maker, One Vote basis. If an Adeptus Maker has a proposal for a reallocation of budget, they should submit a plan describing where money comes from and where it goes.
As a side note for those who love procedure, Varoufacis recommends Ranked Choice voting if more than two plans are proposed, which sounds good to me.
Ok, so what slices are there?
The Creekmason publishing model demands consideration of both fixed and variable costs. Fixed costs, such as web hosting, payroll, and software subscriptions, must be consistently paid to maintain the collective’s infrastructure. On the other hand, variable costs, such as shipping sold books, printing physical books, and travel for promotional events, may fluctuate depending on the needs of the organization. A major feature of traditional publishing that The Creekmasons ought to emulate is investment in advertisement, social media boosting, entry into writing contests, and booking tours and convention tents in order to increase visibility and reach.
Adeptus Maker Bonuses
Both bonuses and base pay are considered fixed costs, and their percentages of the total pie are open to Adeptus Maker vote.
Bonuses are decided through the allocation of 100 points for each AM to distribute amongst their peers for stellar work in any of the services listed above, and for finding new writers and artists, and participating in voting and discussion. These points are then used to determine the percentage of the bonus fund that each Adeptus Maker receives.
In addition to being a fun form of peer appreciation and validation, the bonuses can represent a helpful indication of whether a given Adeptus Maker is pulling their weight. If an Adeptus Maker goes four consecutive quarters without receiving any points, it may be best to off-board them from the role.
Node
Lastly, there’s Node: an honorific for those who guest on the Nodes in the Net podcast and find themselves wanting to stick around and hang out with the community.
Join us!