I am building a church called The Out of Band. Well, its a bit like a church to me.

This occurred to me as a friend described some aspect of another intentional community he is building.

then we can ditch the whole !!!!!!! property management business and just be an IRC-based church"

The Out of Band is a church whose membership is comprised of really cool people in the world, and there is a lot of that around me.

If you're reading this, I want you to come hang out in The Out of Band's IRC channel. It lives on The Out of Band's own private network with Tor on top for encryption. This isn't Freenode, Quakenet, or anything like it, but its own kind of pragmatism. I'm looking to grow this church into something that outlives itself. This invitation is open to all the hackers, queers, YIMBYs, cryptographers, scientists, artists, fabricators, engineers, and more. Freeaks, weirdos, and anarchists like us will feel right at home.

Its cool. We've got candy. Jump through this link to see whats up.

I'm hoping to bring in people from all over the planet to get together and share thoughts and ideas. At some point I'd like to have a hackerspace in Oakland, California pop out of it. If that's a thing you're interested in, you should totally come join.

For now though, I'm going to build the congregation first before even thinking about building some pews.

While that is happening, there are some qualities about this church that everyone should know about.

We value radical transparency, where everyone can openly communicate whats on their mind. We also value love within and without; even with open communication we each respect the feelings of others and take care to make them feel heard. Don't let the words "open communication" this seem like the libertarian paradise one might commonly associate with the phrase, such as Reddit or other "bastions of free speech". Those who wish to participate but do not subscribe to this idea wholly and fully are not welcome and will be swiftly ejected. Yes, this is a Safe Space and if you think feminism and political correctness has gone "too far", you're wrong. I encourage you to check out the Community Standards that everyone supports and has committed to.

I want this to be a social support group for everyone who is fighting oppression and trying to rework the system. A forum where everyone can come together and build a better tomorrow and nobody gets left behind. Lets explore some problems and see what we can make. Its a bit like an R&D lab for our future society.