I’ve just ‘finished’ doing a significant update for the website. Loads of work has gone on behind-the-scenes, and yet it feels like there’s nothing obvious here from me about it. This feels kinda odd. Even though everything is edited live – it feels like there’s something missing or as if there’s nothing to show for it, apart from the slowly evolving website itself… So I decided to write this post about where things are up to..

Originally I had intended for the signal chat groups to be only accessible to people who understood the Pirate’s Code. Then for a few reasons, I decided it makes more sense for the website to do this, mainly because its generally a much more fertile environment for communication.

The main thing I’ve done with this update is to create a set of forms which people can use to offer and request help within the 6 areas of the Cypher. The forms are hidden unless you’re logged in. They are designed to make it easier to ask for or offer help. They do this by breaking requests and offers down into chunks. This makes you think more deeply about whatever you’re doing. It will also help to line up all the different offers with one another .

When I filled out these forms for the first time, I went through them all. I found that was quite an overwhelming experience. They’re intended to be used one at a time. I embraced struggling to compose sentences, by just using lists of 3 or 4 words without worrying about grammar. That helped me to offload my ideas a bit more easily. Maybe that’ll help you when you fill them out…

No doubt you’re itching to see these hidden forms! Well there is one form that you can fill out without logging in… It’s the request for help with learning more about using the Pirate’s Code form – obviously! (oh, but it took me sooooo long to figure that oot!)

Send a request through that form, and you’ll be supported by the Scrolling Affinity Group to learn the Pirate’s Code. Once you can explain it to someone else who has never come across you’ll be all set-up to collaborate cohesively with Space Pirates in the remaining four Affinity Groups. Then you’ll be given your Space Pirate’s username and website login details.

I’m really pleased with the end result of all this hard work and while there’s gonna be a lot more work to come this has been fun. And its also been great to write this post about the whole thing too..

Now I’ve finished this stage, something inside me – probably my ego – expects hundreds of people to suddenly start registering immediately! As if I’ve just made a hole in the internet! I think it’s gonna work at a much slower pace though, at least to begin with.

I hope you’ll use the form to ask for help in learning the Pirates Code. Its available here at this snazzy URL:

https://411615.squat.net/#pirates-coding-requests

…and here’s that URL again in glorious technicolour…

411615.squat.net/#pirates–coding–requests

There’s lots more that could be plotted on the Holding A Safe Space For A Group Transformative Experience diagram above, I’m just starting this long post off by touching briefly on that. This post will take about five to ten minuets to read, hope you’ve got that kinda time!

As seen in the video and photo below, I finished updating and archiving all the compasses and re-positioned them on the Treasure Map yesterday. Its looking a lot tidier this morning! I’ve also filled out a few new compasses, and there’s plenty more to add!

There’s a lot of information on these compasses which relates to recent and upcoming events, for example: Court, the IPO, Parties, Cops & risk of arrest, Mare Street Co-op, the Washing Machine Installation, and lots more also on the whiteboard, here in the squat in real life.

There’s also lots of chat about these and other things in the Space Pirates General Group Chat.

The pace of that Group Chat has started to pick up, with more and more people responding to posters, word of mouth, etc, and so the dynamic of that group has started to change. As we start to approach 100 people that will obviously accelerate.

To adapt to this – and as part of my painfully slow decapitation process! – messages there are starting to be colour-coded by some of us using emoji heart reacts to reflect the colours of the Cypher.

For the rest of this post it helps to be familiar with the way affinity groups work as set out in this zine, for example but the basic idea is that:

You and your friends already constitute an affinity group, the essential building block of this model. An affinity group is a circle of friends who understand themselves as an autonomous political force. The idea is that people who already know and trust each other should work together to respond immediately, intelligently, and flexibly to emerging situations.

Affinity Groups: Essential Building Blocks of Anarchist Organization

Space Pirates is an affinity group based on a shared understanding and use of the Pirate’s Code.

As so much importance is dedicated to group chats generally, it feels necessary to point out that sharing an affinity for the Pirate’s Code, ie being a Space Pirate does not depend on being in any group chat. The Pirates Code Space Pirates Original Cipher Affinity Group aka SPOCAG chat is just one of many ‘places’ where The Pirates Code is shared, used and understood.

Joining and/or leaving any group chat is still a new experience socially and there’s plenty of chattiquette that remains undeveloped as yet. But getting back on track…

As this slightly chaotic diagram shows, having joined the first Affinity Group, the Pirates Code, there are then five further Affinity Groups to choose from in a variety of sequences outlined here:

There are a range of reasons for the Pirate’s Code being a ‘gatekeeper’ SPOCAG. If you’re unclear about these, please feel free to ask for clarification in the General group chat..

For the sake of clarity… a ‘SPOCAG’ is a Space Pirate’s Original Cypher Affinity Group. ‘Original’ is used in the sense “present or existing from the beginning; first or earliest.” rather than the slightly contranymic “created personally by a particular artist, writer, musician, etc.; not a copy.”

As with any of the SPOCAGs anyone who shares an affinity for 🔵 Scrolling (ie admin), for example, is automatically part of the Scrolling SPOCAG.

Being a member of the group chat on signal means you’re part of the SPOCAG. But being a member of the SPOCAG doesn’t mean that you have to join or be in the signal chat, it’s just there as one of many ways to collaborate within the Scrolling SPOCAG.

Other ways to collaborate in real life include using the treasure map, the whiteboard, and with the scrolling example, looking over the legal docs here, and of course actually talking to people in real life!!!

Here’s another slightly chaotic diagram to show how the signal chats relate to one another and to the Space Pirates General Signal Chat:

In the above hypothetical snapshot, there are two aspects of scrolling (bottom right in blue) which have their own dedicate affinity group chats: ‘£’ and ‘Legal’. These group chats would have Originated in the SPOCAG signal chat dedicated to Scrolling with a message like “Anyone want to discuss our court case?”

This new Affinity Group would then be called something like ‘Court on Tuesday’ and anyone interested would join that new Affinity group set self destruct timers etc and potentially leave it when it’s over, or go on to create a new more relevant group or be followed-up with on the next court date.

To wrap up this post I’m going to encourage you to read about Affinity Groups with this quote:

But an affinity group need not be a permanent arrangement. It can serve as a structure of convenience, assembled from the pool of interested and trusted people for the duration of a given project.

A particular team can act together over and over as an affinity group, but the members can also break up into smaller affinity groups, participate in other affinity groups, or act outside the affinity group structure. Freedom to associate and organize as each person sees fit is a fundamental anarchist principle; this promotes redundancy, so no one person or group is essential to the functioning of the whole, and different groups can reconfigure as needed.

The affinity group is a flexible model

I hope this long post has made sense, and will prove useful. Please let me know your thoughts, questions, concerns etc. I’m sure there are areas that don’t fully make sense and I’d love to iron them out with your help.

Thanks, Cyborg

As part of today’s weekly Cypher meeting, I’ve decided it would be a good idea to find out who feels capable of explaining the Pirates Code to someone who doesn’t understand it.

That other pirates should explain the Code is a key part of the decapitation I was requesting at last weeks Sunday evening check-in.

Please answer the following questions so that we can start to organise some in-depth use of the Pirates Code together

Thank you.

Sorry that form was deleted this one should help:

This contact form is available only for logged in users.

An open invitation…

Introduction

This is an open invitation to anyone who would like to become a Space Pirate to learn the Pirates Code and Cypher!

It will take about 15mins to read through, and much longer to digest.

The Pirates’ Code is a shared language around consent and accountability. Knowing from the outset that consent and accountability are expected, helps protect against malicious intentions whilst encouraging genuine support to grow in a collectively understood manner.

On completion you will have:

• A clearer understanding of the Space Pirate’s Code.
• A clearer understanding of the Space Pirate’s Cipher.
• Joined the Space Pirates Code Affinity Group.
• Identified and requested to join other Cipher Affinity Group(s).
• Received a Pirate’s name and password to access this site.
• Ideas for a bio, outlining what you have to offer, what you’re looking for, what you love, what you hate, etc.
• Shared a rough outline of your availability.
• Begun thinking about your challenge and which affinity group(s) you’ll be collaborating with on it.

Let’s begin!

Understanding the Pirate’s Code leads to collaboration with other Space Pirates, in the 5 further areas of the Cipher:

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We’ll start with the Space Pirates Code in depth, and then skim quickly over the rest of the Cipher so you have a better idea about your options when it comes to joining an affinity group later on.

Please keep note of any questions that come up and feel free to dip in and out of the Space Pirates general chat to ask or comment on anything, that’s what it’s there for.

The Space Pirates Code focuses on consent and accountability and is represented on the cipher by the symbol of a circle with two lines on it.

The horizontal line represents Consent, the circle represents Action, and the vertical line represents Accountability.

The following diagram provides is the latest visual representation of the Pirates Code framework. It is also known as the Treasure Map or the Flag. It details these broad concepts of consent and accountability in more detail.

Before we go on to explore these areas, let’s just take a step back with some background information…

The Space Pirates code is based closely on The Consent & Accountability Framework. This is a model for a shared understanding of how to bring about – and respond to – action. It has been used and developed over many years at small and very large scale events, such as Burning Man. It’s creators are keen to share it and connect with others. More info here: consentframework.org

The framework embraces transformation and flow. It acknowledges the fact that consent does not always exist, and shows steps of accountability that can be focused on and explored for any given action ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It’s more than a set of rules about what to do and what not to do, it’s a way of exploring what’s been going on, what’s happening now, and what might be done next.

As such it can be used to collaborate and develop all areas of the Space Pirates Cipher, including the Pirate’s Code itself! This is why it is the portal to Space Pirate collaboration…

Okay lets dive into the details…

It is actually very simple.

The following areas overlap one another and time can be seen to pass from left to right across the framework.

As mentioned, this circle in the centre represents Action.

The Square on the right containing five horizontal rectangles represents Accountability, which comes after Action. We’ll end with a closer look at accountability.

The large equilateral triangle pointing into the circle from the left, represents Communication. We’ll cover the triangles above and below next.

Lets look at the framework’s definition of Consent…

Consent is defined as Communication leading to Agreement leading to Action

consentframework.org

This right-angle triangle above represents Agreement.

The one below represents Disagreement.

So, taken all together, this area represents consent.

This area represents Non-consent as it shows Communication leading to Disagreement leading to Action.

That’s enough on the Consent (and Non-consent) side of the framework for now.

There is also this area of Communication leading directly to Action without prior agreement or disagreement.

Remember, like all frameworks this is just a rule of thumb and is under constant development.

To deepen your understanding it might be a good idea to start thinking about using a couple of examples… you can think of literally anything. Remember you’re welcome to talk your examples through in the general chat.

Lets take a closer look at Accountability now…

Accountability on the right of the framework is shown in 5 stages or states of having experienced an action.

They are ordered as Feedback & Coaching, Space, Growth, Sharing, and Alerting.

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• 

• 

• 

• 

Feedback is characterised by informing, it is descriptive, it’s how we learn, and comes from everything around us.

Coaching is characterised by persuading and happens when a ‘learner‘ communicates with a ‘teacher‘ of some kind.

Feedback and coaching are often unasked for and tricky to give, but obviously very important, fundamentally they are intended to help individuals become better community participants.

Ideally these are the initial stages of accountability

The fact is however that Space is usually the initial stage or state of accountability.

Space can be physical space or emotional space, it can be in time, it can be temporary or permanent. It is about distance.

Space can be one of the easiest areas of accountability to move into and one of the hardest ones to move out of.

A lot of Space Piracy involves escaping space.

Growth is pretty self-explanatory and it is usually clear when you’re experiencing the state and stage of growth.

There is a useful distinction to be made between restorative and transformative justice when thinking about growth. One seeks restoration of the status quo, the other seeks transformation. The particular details of any specific Action will emphasise which, if either way to lean.

Growth can take so many forms it is hard to begin to describe it with words, empowerment is one aspect, but equally growth can occurring imperceptibly.

Okey dokey… How’s it going? Were nearly done!

Have you checked into the chat yet?..

These last two stages of accountability can be understood in relation to one another and are very simple concepts. Alerting is the final and most intense stage or state of accountability, but first Sharing:

Sharing is peer-to-peer or horizontal in nature and generally occurs within a group. It is the stage or state of having experienced an action among equals

Alerting is the stage or state of having experienced an action through a hierarchy in some way. This hierarchy may or may not be respected. It is not necessarily a hierarchy of power.

To get a better idea of the subtle differences between Sharing and Alerting, we’ll use a book and a fire-exit as couple of example ‘actions’. Anything can be thought of as an action, perhaps phenomena is a better word… anyway..

A book, written by a single author is an example of a hierarchy of respect where the author is respected by their readership, but the author may not respect their readership in the same way. A written book is usually a one-to-many mode of communication. There’ll also probably be a financial hierarchy involved with a publishing house. A reading circle based on a book on the other hand would be an example of Sharing.

A fire-exit may be Alerted to by shouting “FIRE!” if there actually a fire taking place, this would be experienced through a hierarchy of sound or volume. The fire exits may have already been pointed out when first entering the building, in this case its more a matter of Sharing.

So that’s it, The Pirates Code!

Thanks for reading through this far. As the above information starts sinking in, it will become clearer how to collaborate as a Space Pirate using the Code. Feel free to dive into the general chat now if you haven’t already where you can expect some feedback and coaching!

Finally let’s skim over the rest of the Cypher..

Now we’re going to wrap up with a recap of the main six Space Pirates Affinity Groups, in other words, the Space Pirates Cipher, to help you choose which affinity group(s) you’d be interested in joining in the form below.

more about affinity groups and anarchist organising

As detailed in most of this post so far the Space Pirates Code, based on the Consent and Accountability Framework is used as a structure upon which to build Space Pirate’s culture.

Hopefully it is becoming clear how the Code makes it easier to communicate and share an understanding of what’s happened, what’s happening, and what might happen next.

Working from this strong foundation, Space Pirates collaborate within the areas of Navigating, Scrolling, Squatting, Domesticity & Welcoming as follows…

The symbol for Navigating is from the compass arrow on maps, it is also known as scouting.

Navigating is about plotting locations, both plotting them on a map, and plotting ways to secure them. There are various aspects to a well-scouted location. These include visits having been spaced out over weeks at different times of day to ensure it’s unused, finding the full address(es) and postcode(s), an internal inspection assessing the water, electrics and general safety, and so on.

Once an address or location is identified, it is possible to start scrolling the web for more information about how long it has been empty, why, who owns it, etc.

This symbol, based on a scroll has a double meaning. Scrolling involves a lot of scrolling around the internet, but also Scrolling deals with official documents like property deeds, court papers, maps, spreadsheets, meeting agendas, minutes, educational materials, squat kitty management, rotas, preparing letters, posters, notices, Ahoy~World! etc. ie Scrolls.

You’ve been doing a lot of scrolling to get this far through this post!

Scrolling is the all the secretarial and administrative stuff. Scrolling is therefore very wide-ranging affinity group and involves being in close communication with all other areas of Space Piracy.

The Squatting symbol is – of course – the internationally recognised squat symbol! Squatting here in the sense of the pirates Cipher however is about remaining in locations and maintaining their basic usability, ie their physical security and safety.

Squatting begins the moment access to a building is secured for the first time and follows on closely from Navigating.

Domesticity is symbolised by a heart shape. Its focus is on tending to the daily needs and comforts of those who maintain and inhabit locations, physically, socially, psychologically, etc. Domesticity is closely connected with using the Pirate’s Code and wellbeing in general.

Symbolised by a window frame, this is the ultimate objective of Space Pirates: to welcome everyone to co-create and participate in events & activities with us, and have the opportunity to benefit from becoming a Space Pirate themselves. In an inclusive and conscious way, Space Pirates aim to co-create virtuous cycles of direct action and mutual aid in and around squatted social centres

So there you have it!

You’re now ready to become a Space Pirate! Your answers to the following questions will help you to draft a bio for this website and to introduce yourself to any of the Cipher Affinity Groups you’re interested in joining as outlined above.

Please fill out the following form and we’ll be in touch!

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