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Overview of the Cooperative Assembly

Cooperative Network Assembly (CNA)

A Cooperative Network Assembly, Coop Assembly, Assembly, or CNA, is a member organization dedicated to the production and maintenance of information on a particular topic, by way of its constitutionally ruled use of standard CNA protocols.  Consider the following topical examples of what one CNA might be about:

By design, all new material submitted to a CNA will by its rules be queued up at a stated number of “task stops”, where the material will be reviewed in a specific set of capacities before being accepted as part of published CNA output. 

CNA software gives people everything they need for their data in implementing and operating their own organizations using computers over networks.  The standard set of CNA tools is designed to facilitate readership trust.  Each CNA drafts its own constitution, which states all of its rules.  Each CNA bears a crest, which quickly illustrates its primary promises to its readership (on checks).

A CNA is ultimately comprised of its accepted members, its output content and its stated rules, and may include records of any of its internal changes over time, to its members, content and/or rules.  Stated rules, published output, access to cited members and change records together facilitate public trust by their ongoing availability for public review.

CNA Membership Levels

Standard CNA membership occurs at Principle (P), representative (L2) and general (L1) levels.   Principle members tend to found, define, own and oversee organizational property and activities.  Representative (L2) members tend to oversee general member activities, perform reviewing tasks, author new material and to be appointed from within.  General members (L1) tend to enter through the front door joining policy of a given CNA, perform reviewing tasks and author new material.  L0 members may be limited in their membership abilities prior to completing an initial probationary or quarantine period before entering general membership.

Above is an illustration of layers of defense.  Inside of a CNA, principle (P) members defend against corruption at any layers beneath them, but must answer to “all assemblies” beyond them.  When an organization receives external disapproval, its defining (principle) members must respond to it.  L2 members must also provide a layer of protection over L1 members, such as recruits from open doors joining policies for new members.  New material that is being “sponsored” is material currently being reviewed, and is at a higher (defense) layer than material that has been authored but not sponsored.

Membership Branches (and Tasks)

Standard CNA membership is broken up across three branches, for branch members to perform the three primary tasks upon all submitted material.  Across standard CNAs, branch membership will tend to be instituted at the general level, but not at the principle level.  This allows principle members to function across branch capacities as a whole.  A CNA indicates its branches and required tasks on its Crest.

For all submitted material, the Validations Branch checks informational sources, the Framing Branch places and references content in the published output and the Editorial Branch applies content rules.

Sponsorship Protocol

A CNA enforces Sponsorship Protocol by way of its own constitutionally ruled implementation and use of standard CNA software.   Such an implementation governs the reading and enforcing of a CNA’s constitution in the process of sponsoring submissions; by identified, accepted CNA members performing tasks upon material submissions and binding their names to statements of the actions that they have performed. 

For all submitted material, sponsorship tasks are queued at each in a list of task stops, as directed by CNA constitution.  At each task stop, new material submitted may by rule be either a) rejected for not meeting CNA requirements, b) returned to its author(s) as in need of further revision, or c) accepted for incorporation into published product.

B/L Bar – Branches, Layers, ID levels, Tasks – Sponsorship Protocol

For each membership layer listed, these values are provided:

• ID: Required membership ID level of verification (And D for decoration(s) required)
• B: Number of branches supported (could have a range min-max)
• T: Required number of task stops (could have a range min-max)

CNA Types 

Rules will vary from one CNA to another.  Privately run CNAs may run as principalities, whereas publicly run ones may run as democracies.  A democratic CNA is protected by member ownership and “open doors” joining policies.  A republic gains its stability by way of a commonly pre-stated set of laws and internally-appointed central representatives. Defining principle leaders may maintain their principalities with oversight on membership and on material ownership and publication. 

CNA Review: A World of CNAs

CNAs are created by topic or by group, for public or private use.  Multiple CNAs may overlap on the same topic(s) or sub-topic(s).