What is and is not a commons?

If we take it as a starting point that nothing is a perfect commons, and some things are not a commons, how do we decide what is and isn’t ‘commons’?

How do we teach the semi-permeable membrane, or skin, of the Bristol Commons what is nourishing and good and should be kept in or allowed inside, and what is other, dangerous or harmful and should be kept out or expelled?

The question of whether something is or isn’t a commons is multi-dimensional. One way of visualising it is a circle image (see acknowledgement note below for inspiration source), where at the centre we put that which is definitely a commons, and at the edge that which is not.

Here is a first attempt, as an opening for discussion - the actual content will need a lot more development!! The text is written out below in a table.

The text in the image is as follows (centre = very commons; middle = somewhat commons’; outside = not commons):

Perhaps we can use a framework like this one to teach our Bristol Commons skin what to invite in, and what to keep out. We could also use it as a learning and development tool to work with community or commons groups and organisations who would like to more deeply develop their commonsness, to see where they have most scope for making changes toward greater commonness. 

This wording and content needs collaborative, commoning reflection. Maybe we want to throw it away and start again.  Who wants to play with this framework to understand what is and isn’t a commons?

Thanks to sylviaduck and https://ccrweb.ca/en/anti-oppression for the inspiration of the circle image - theirs is much more beautiful!