Open Social Protocols: A Commons-Based Protocol Layer

TalkJose Leal, Scott ClearwaterSeptember 24, 2026

Jose Leal (with Scott Clearwater) presents Open Social Protocols, a framework built on Needs (recurring coordination conditions) around which communities publish, fork, and adopt Protocols rather than collapsing into single fixed agreements. He describes 'bridging protocols' that let multiple competing protocols for the same need coexist and interoperate, built atop the AT Protocol and a 'Common Ground' layer, citing examples like Morning Star Farms and Buurtzorg as organizations already operating this way without naming it 'protocol'.

Topics

at-protocol-common-ground-layer bridging-protocols distributed-non-collapsing-agreement forkadoptadapt-lineage governance needs-based-protocol-design organizations protocols symposium-2026 technology

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