##Welcome to the Public Lab research community

The Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science (Public Lab) is open for anyone to join and will always be free. By [signing up](/signup), you've joined a diverse group of community researchers and tapped into a lot of grassroots expertise. We're excited to have your contributions! Feel free to introduce yourself and reach out to others in the community for collaborations or advice. 

###Mailing lists
These open discussion lists are a great place to float ideas, ask questions, offer help, and find collaborators. <ul> <li><a href="mailto:publiclaboratory@googlegroups.com">publiclaboratory@googlegroups.com</a> is a general community science community mailing list. Send an email here to ask questions.</li> <li>Also see our <a href="/lists">other mailing lists</a>, which include local event lists, tools lists (like balloon mapping or spectroscopy), and those for working groups.</li> </ul> <div class="well"> <form class="form-inline" action="https://groups.google.com/group/publiclaboratory/boxsubscribe"><input class="input-medium" name="email" placeholder="you@email.com" type="text"> <input class="btn btn-primary" name="sub" value="Subscribe" type="submit"><span class="help-inline">Join the main publiclaboratory list</span></form></div> 

###Using and contributing to PublicLab.org

The Public Lab website is where our community is developing [open-source](/licenses) documentation and literature around our DIY civic science research.

###Research notes
[Research notes](/research) are the easiest and best way to share (i.e. open source) your work in a more permanent form. [Post a research note](/post) about your work to solicit input, publish tests or prototypes, ask questions, or just to keep track of links and research documents.
<p><a class="btn btn-large btn-primary" href="/post">Research note »</a></p> 

<h3>Diagram of the Public Lab research community</h3> 
<p>Also see:</p> <ul> <li>Staff: http://publiclab.org/wiki/plots-staff</li> <li>Organizers: http://publiclab.org/wiki/organizers</li> <li>Board: http://publiclab.org/wiki/board</li> </ul> <p><img src="https://i.publiclab.org/system/images/photos/000/002/655/medium/organization_chart.png" alt="diagram"></p>