That which belongs to everyone belongs to no one.
There are useful things that should not need a gatekeeper: a queue, a survey, a register, a ledger, a simple way to organise work, information or people.
The twelve principles
Foundational convictions guiding our architecture, access philosophy, and community stewardship.
Useful systems can be part of the commons
Value doesn't always depend on turning every user into a customer, every action into an account, or every dataset into a platform.
Access should be simple
If an application can work without registration, without permanent connectivity, or in an ordinary browser — it should.
People should retain their data
A person or organisation should be able to leave a tool without leaving their information behind.
Systems should remain small enough to understand
A system should grow because real use requires it, not because architecture can be imagined.
The network should help, not become a condition of existence
Where the task permits it, SoOS applications remain useful offline and synchronise, export or share later.
Open systems cooperate
Portable data, documented formats and simple interfaces let tools coexist and let users change direction.
The commons requires stewardship
"Belongs to everyone" does not mean "nobody is responsible." Clear accountability preserves the public good.
Community need should shape what is built
We need a smaller collection built because people can explain a real problem, not speculative excess.
Not every idea should become an app
Sometimes the right answer is a template, a documented method, or nothing at all.
The common good is practical
Fewer barriers, fewer unnecessary dependencies, more portability, more honest limits.
Small systems can matter
A small application used reliably can be more useful than a large platform that never fits its environment.
The Society remains open to contribution
Proposing, testing, documenting, translating, designing or maintaining — all of it counts.