Much of the Public Lab community's discussion and collaboration happens on our mailing lists. Join one today to get involved, ask a question, or find a collaborator!

publiclaboratory - the main place for Public Lab discussions, ideas & news; if in doubt, post here!

(since 2010. Now with >4,000 members)

laboratoriopublico - la lista de correo en castellano

(since 2010. Now with 100+ members)

Public Lab - Português - lista de discussão em português

(since 2014. Now with 50+ members)

Public Lab China Use the WeChat app to scan this barcode and join the group:


You may also be interested in subscribing to specific topics on the website by tag, for instance the weekly newsletter.

Topics

Discussions and questions about tools, hardware and software development, field techniques, real world and educational applications.

grassrootsmapping - the place to discuss everything about balloon, kite, and low aerial pole-mapping. (since 2010, now >900 members)

plots-spectrometry - spectrometry and spectral analysis discussions. (since 2012, now >1000 members)

plots-infrared - near-infrared imaging and vegetation monitoring discussions. (since 2013, now >300 members)

plots-waterquality - water quality discussions, including thermal fishing, "the riffle", and the potentiostat. (started ~ Oct 13 2013)

plots-airquality - discussion list for air quality related topics. Was started for a project with EPA and is now open to all. (started summer 2012, >100 members)

plotz-3d - Everything about 3D printers, especially the Rep 1s that were donated to Public Lab by MakerBot Industries.

plots-dev - group for people interested in conceptualizing and testing new web infrastructure for Public Lab, also the location for developers discussing detailed code-related topics. (Started late October 2013, 95 members)

plots-education Started at the 2013 education-themed barnraising, this group is for teachers of all varieties!

Writing Working Group - started at the 2013 barnraising, this group is for folks interested in writing articles, conducting interviews, assembling case studies, and more!

Google Summer of Code - a logistically-oriented discussion group for Public Lab's Google Summer of Code program.

Open Pipe Kit - for folks lowering the bar to environmental monitoring with Raspberry Pi computers.

Places

Connect with other Public Labbers in your area, announce/coordinate local events and meetups, borrow equipment, and ask for local help.

Amsterdam, Netherlands: plots-amsterdam - ~50 members

Baltimore and Washington, DC: plots-baltimore-dc ~30 members

Boston metro area: plots-boston >175 members, the second largest geographic community!

Butte, Montana: plots-butte

Chicago metro area: public-lab-chicago Since February 2014 ~75 members

The Gulf Coast: plots-gulfcoast - Serving the New Orleans metro area and the entire Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida! Public Lab's core geographic community with over 200 members.

Jerusalem: publiclab-jerusalem - a new list, ~25 members.

Northeast US: plots-northeast The northeastern United States.

Northern California: plots-norcal The Bay Area and beyond, ~100 members, lots of aerial mapping.

Los Angeles metro area: publiclab-la - Serving Los Angeles and Southern California, just formed in January 2014.

Midwest, US/Canada: publiclab-midwest - midwestern region of United States and Canada, since April 2014. ~50 members

Mountain West, US/Canada: publiclab-mountainwest - September, 2016.

New York City metro area: plots-nyc >200 members, the largest local list. Includes New Jersey and Connecticut!

Philadelphia metro area: plots-philadelphia - ~25 members.

Providence, Rhode Island: plots-providence ~ 40 members.

Skane, Sweden: plots-skane

Southeast, US: plots-southeast - broad regional list for Appalachia & down east.

Vancouver, BC: public-lab-vancouver

The Northwest: public-lab-northwest - Serving Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta

Don't see your area listed here but want to find out if there are any folks nearby? Email organizers@publiclab.org

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Working Groups

Working Groups (WGs) preform vital support functions for the Public Lab ecosystem. Most WGs are open by nomination only, so if you are interested in contributing, read the description of each group to learn how to get involved.

organizers@publiclab.org - Public Lab organizers are community members who are leaders in the Public Lab community, and have an interest in the way our community collaborates and grows. Visit the Organizers Wiki Page to learn about how to nominate yourself.

web@publiclab.org - the web working group, focused on support of existing users of the Public Lab website, our browser-based software, and spam moderation. Email the WebWG if you would like to become a moderator of this website.

moderators@publiclab.org - the moderators group supports online and in person interactions, and manages the guidelines: publiclab.org/wiki/moderation. To become a moderator, email organizers@publiclab.org.

Graphs

Guidelines

Please treat our mailing lists as a place of respectful conversation. Our lists have moderators to ensure civility. Moderators review the posts of all new members before approving them to post automatically. Some existing members may be placed into moderation if their posting pattern changes such that it violates our list guidelines (see below):

1. Stay on topic
- stay on topic to make long threads easier to follow
- if you diverge from the main thread/topic/subject, consider breaking off into a new thread/topic/subject to help others follow along
- avoid sending one-line spurious responses that effectively "spam" hundreds of people and lowers the overall content quality of a conversation

2. Use clear subject lines when starting a new topic
- Subject lines are not the place for humor or euphemisms, although enthusiasm is OK.

3. Mind your tone
- since we are in a conversation in email form, maintaining a tone of respect is essential. Any of the following can result in a member having their posts moderated before going out to the whole list: aggressive tone, disrespectful tone, mocking tone, off-color tone
- a note on humor: expressing ourselves online in text is different from expressing ourselves in person by talking

List management