On this page you'll find more information about some of the words and terms seen and used around Public Lab: - [Structure](#Structure) - [People](#People) - [Ways to communicate](#Ways+to+Communicate) - [Events](#Events) **** ## Structure ### Open Community Public Lab is a community anyone can participate in online and in person. Public Lab spaces include in-person events, publiclab.org, and online meeting and call-in spaces. “Topic-based communities” within Public Lab form around specific environmental topics that community members can subscribe to. All Public Lab spaces are open to anyone and are subject to the [code of conduct](https://publiclab.org/conduct). _To have your contributions attributed to you online, create a profile on [publiclab.org/signup](https://publiclab.org/signup) which you can use on all Public Lab websites. Creating an online profile is not required to participate in Public Lab._ ### Nonprofit The [Public Lab nonprofit](/wiki/plots-staff) is a 501(c)3 entity that supports the broader Public Lab community through providing resources, infrastructure and people support for the larger community. It is governed by a Board of Directors and is the body that employees the Public Lab staff. ### Board of Directors The [Board](/board) is governed by the bylaws of the organization. The Board is a volunteer group of individuals who, to the best of their abilities, make policy and assume fiduciary responsibility for the full realization of the organization’s mission, goals, stability and security. The board is responsible for the hiring and firing of the Executive Director and overseeing the work of the Executive Director. ### Kits Initiative The [Kits Initiative](/wiki/kits) creates, assembles, and distributes kits (in the [store](http://store.publiclab.org)) from the open research designs of the Public Lab community and affiliated individuals, organizations, and companies. Revenue from the Kits program directly supports the Public Lab nonprofit. ### Coding Community Public Lab software, including this website, is written collaboratively by a community of contributors. This coding community is based here: [https://github.com/publiclab/](https://github.com/publiclab/), with more information on their welcome page here: [https://code.publiclab.org/ ](https://code.publiclab.org/) **** ## People ### Community member Anyone who interacts with Public Lab through any channel online or offline. Some community members maintain profiles on this website, view those who have been recently active on https://publiclab.org/people. ### Fellows [Public Lab Fellows](/wiki/fellows) are individuals who are paid by the Public Lab nonprofit over different terms to take part in developing and applying Do-It-Together pollution monitoring techniques and advocacy. ### Organizer Public Lab values healthy feedback loops, collaboration systems, and the active facilitation it takes to work on challenging environmental justice issues together. The Public Lab community is filled with many types of leaders sharing their learned and lived expertise in this space. Community organizers working on the ground—those who help collate information, coordinate events, facilitate discussions, contribute to tool development, and exercise their platforms to elevate the stories of those most affected by environmental injustice—these are the [organizers](/organizers) and leaders of Public Lab. You can support the work of community organizing by following the tag ["organizers" ](https://publiclab.org/tag/organizers) and responding to requests that follow. **** ## Ways to Communicate ### Blog The purpose of the [Public Lab Blog](/blog) is to capture the “who” in Public Lab. It is a space for people to share out the stories beyond the research results, and in more depth than the comments on individual posts. ### Public Lab Q&A The Public Lab [question/answer system](/questions) is designed to help connect people who have environmental questions with those who can help to answer them or provide resources on the subject. Anyone with a Public Lab account can ask or answer questions. ### Post or Research Note Posts or research notes are the primary way we share what we learn and critique one another's work. Research notes can include: photos, examples of things that you’ve done or made, requests for troubleshooting, proposals for new projects, announcements of events, and reports from field tests or meetups. Research notes are only editable by their authors or co-authors, but anyone with a publiclab.org account may leave comments, click "like", or award emoji or barnstars to posts. View all research notes by most recently posted at https://publiclab.org/research. #### Issue Briefs An Issue Brief is a kind of post on Public Lab that includes basic information about an issue or a local concern. The Issue Brief is intended to be a basic way to share the "who, what, where, and why" of an issue, while leaving lots of room for articulating the: "I don't know” that always exists when we’re just starting out. By compiling these things together and posting them, you're able to bring others into your exploration and/or concern. This will help you gather information, questions, resources from others, and share out as you learn. Read more on https://publiclab.org/issue-brief. #### Activities Research notes can be written as activities for people to do to replicate something someone has tried. The focus of activities is to "show each other how to do something" rather than just tell people about something you've done. Read more on https://publiclab.org/activities ### Wiki page Wiki pages are web pages that anyone can create or edit. They are used to collect and organize information, documentation, and instructions. Unlike research notes, which are only editable by the authors, wikis can be updated or edited by anyone with a Public Lab profile. Wikis often have multiple authors and a recorded revision history. View all wikis by most recently created or updated at https://publiclab.org/wiki. #### Project Pages A Project Page is a wiki page on Public Lab where information on Projects can be collected and organized. Project pages can help you: create a homepage for your project on Public Lab, organize project materials in one place, collaborate with others, attract project followers, share data, and collate questions related to your work. Read more on https://publiclab.org/projects. #### Methods/Techniques Methods and Techniques wiki pages are built to help explain a certain way in which someone can do environmental monitoring. They can include information on tools, protocols, or strategies for environmental monitoring. Method pages often include information about what environmental problem the method might be useful for, the limitations of the method, supporting literature, and a list of activities and questions related to the method. Visit https://publiclab.org/methods. ### Tags Tags are single words or short phrases that you can attach to posts and wiki pages to describe the work and connect it to related resources on PublicLab.org. Tags can be environmental topics (`air-quality`, `land-use`, `microplastics`), tools and methods (`sensors`, `spectrometer`, `mapping`), locations and regions (`new-orleans`, `gulf-coast`), and more! You can use existing tags or create new ones on a post or wiki. Tags provide a way to organize information on the website, and exactly how they’re connected will evolve as tags are continually created and used by the Public Lab community. You can also follow tags that interest you (look for links or blue buttons that say “Follow”). View popular tags, search for existing tags, and follow them at https://publiclab.org/tags. ### Chat room The Public Lab chat room is a place to communicate in real-time with other people who are online. Find information on how to join at https://publiclab.org/chat. **** ## Events You can read all about Public Lab events on https://publiclab.org/events. Below are some examples of Public Lab events: ### Barnraising The Public Lab [Barnraising](/barnraising) is the closest thing we have to a Public Lab conference -- but with an emphasis on "doing stuff together" rather than just presenting/talking. We come together to develop tools, toolkits, supporting materials such as guides and tutorials, test the tools and develop new research directions and projects. More information about Barnraisings can be found at https://publiclab.org/barnraising. ### Workshops Workshops are local gatherings that focus on a specific topic and can be hosted by anyone. Workshop can focus on anything from community organizing, to methods exploration and activities. Learn more about [hosting events here](https://publiclab.org/post-an-event). ### Open Call [Open Call](https://publiclab.org/events) is a time every week when Public Lab opens a phone line and live online link for anyone to call in. People use the Open Call to learn more about Public Lab, talk to other Public Lab community members, discuss projects, ideas and how to get involved. The call is every Tuesday, at 3pm Eastern Time ([convert to your local timezone here](https://arewemeetingyet.com/New%20York/2022-05-24/15:00/w/PublicLab-OpenCall#eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczovL3B1YmxpY2xhYi5vcmcvd2lraS9vcGVuLWNhbGwifQ==)). [Notes are kept on this page](http://pad.publiclab.org/p/opencall). Find the link to join the call on a computer and phone numbers for calling in at https://publiclab.org/wiki/open-call. ### OpenHour (currently on hold) [OpenHour](/openhour) was a monthly interactive seminar hosted by the Public Lab Community both online through video meetings and a chat room, and also in in-person meetups. The topics of OpenHour varied from presentations on tools and methods, to discussions on environmental issues, to approaches to data-based advocacy. OpenHours are archived on the [OpenHour page](/openhour). ...