Why I’m developing new ideas for Yes

by Dale Harvey
Posted on
4 years ago
2 min read

Last year I noticed @YesScot tweet about posters they were creating, I printed one out for my window but also noticed hundreds of replies to that tweet asking for a customised poster mentioning their own groups, areas and various slogans.

I have had more interest in politics recently and was considering volunteering, however with no experience in politics and 2 small children at home (therefore very little spare time) I just didn’t see any way I could join in.

I do however know how to build websites. So I got in touch to ask if it was ok then built poster.yeslabs.scot, a simple website where people can make their own customised Yes poster, you can change the layout and the text of the poster and download, print or share your own version. It was quite simple and quick to build but some people found it useful and it hopefully saved somebody a lot of time making hundreds more individual posters.

I also uploaded the code for the website to github.com/yes-labs/yes-poster. I work in the Open Source movement and a big part of Open Source is to remove barriers to participation. You don’t need to work for a particularly company, live in a particular area, join a special club, be a programmer or look a particular way to join in. You just need what skills you have and an enthusiasm to collaborate. It sounds unworkable but it is actually the way a huge amount of the most popular software in the world is written, the web browser you are reading this with is very probably an Open Source project that you could get involved in if you wanted to.

I haven’t found an equivalent space for politics where anyone can join in and collaborate online together but I think it could be exciting and have a big impact. If you are interested, have ideas for new projects or your indy group needs a site/app built I would love to hear from you, either on Slack @ https://indy.chat or @daleharvey.