Quick note for folks watching this space.
As discussed, I’ve been working on a detailed proposal for an international federation of local atproto meetup groups. This is the type of organization thatwould give member groups a shared legal entity for grants and liability insurance, shared infrastructure for organizing, and equal voice in governance regardless of size or geography.
Key structural tenets:
- Member-owned
- Member-governed
- Built to resist capture by funders, founders, or any single jurisdiction.
The proposal is pretty detailed: bylaws skeleton, governance framework, an architectural case for the choices, operational recommendations on banking, insurance, translation, time zones, a provisional Code of Conduct, and an overview slide deck. It draws on the federation patterns that run the Linux Foundation, the Wikimedia chapter network, and the Apache Software Foundation, adapted for our particular needs
Why this post first before the full proposal: I’m running the documents past some of the current atproto.local organizers that I’ve had more in-depth conversations with. Their feedback will help refine things over the next couple days. Expect the full proposal post by EOD Tuesday.
A working session is scheduled for 2026-05-21T22:00:00Z→2026-05-21T23:00:00Z (RSVP Here) with a handful of local groups who’ve RSVPed (ATProto LA, ATProto Boston, ATProto PDX, ATProto Seattle, ATBrasil so far, with NYC, Colorado, and Norway in conversation). The session is open to any group organizing local atproto activity or thinking about starting. If you want in, RSVP and DM me so we know which group you’re from!
More soon! Thanks for the patience while the small-group review happens.
Bryan