September 2026 - Advisors - list.chattanooga.digital

Building community software infrastructure
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 30, 2026

Sept. 30, 2026

Hey, everybody! We're getting it done! Modest, small steps, making sure we're heading in the right direction, building community software infrastructure. At this point we have the basic platform for platforms, the online equivalent of a blank slate: * A single site app (Chattanooga Venturing <https://venturing.chattanooga.digital/> Discourse <https://www.discourse.org/> server) * A production Swarm managed by Portainer, behind a reverse proxy server (Traefik <https://traefik.io/traefik>) running multiple production apps: o Bigcapital <https://bigcapital.app/> accounting o CiviCRM <https://civicrm.org/> o Cloud/server monitoring o Drupal <https://new.drupal.org/> websites (including the coop website https://chattanooga.digital/) o GNU Mailman <https://list.org/>/Postorious listserv (https://list.chattanooga.digital/mailman3/lists/) o Hubzilla <https://hubzilla.org/page/info/home> (https://hub.chattanooga.digital/) o Mastodon <https://joinmastodon.org/> (https://toot.chattanooga.digital/public/) o A private Nextcloud <https://nextcloud.com/> and a shared Nextcloud for the coop (https://cloud.chattanooga.digital/) with a TURN server <https://webrtc.org/getting-started/turn-server> for Nextcloud Talk online conferencing. * A locally hosted (by RoushTech — thank you, William!) staging/test swarm that parallels the production set up, behind a VPN <https://www.wireguard.com/>, with Gancio community calendar demo <https://gancio.staging.chattanooga.digital/> and IAM test instances * Working on: o Identity and access management (IAM) software for members to transparently access their apps and data; evaluating four options all currently running on our staging server. This would basically go between the users and the coop, the entry ramp to our infrastructure. o Setting up back up for our data/systems. Beyond that we're looking at establishing our own cloud, email, and git code repository services! We have opportunities to partner with Civic.Social civic software <https://civic.social/> and Love Computing <https://computingwith.love/> for decentralized, hardware-based cloud... and we haven't even ramped up! The vision is for a portfolio of community apps everyone can use and private apps for customer members and their guests, behind a firewall for additional security. There are so many options it's a bit crazy! All of these apps represent collaborative networks, too. Our challenge is how to communicate effectively about the coop, the /why/ as well as the /how/. The list of cool stuff above means digital autonomy for personal, community, and business purposes. We also need to create on ramps folks who want to pursue tech career and stepping stones for those who just want to minimize their digital footprint. I'm working on getting data into administrative systems while thinking about how to do outreach and draft organizational documents. -- Greg Laudeman, Ed.D., Instigator Chattanooga.Digital <https://chattanooga.digital/> greg(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:greg.laudeman@chattanooga.digital> 706-271-5521

1 0

Decentralized identifiers for self-sovereign digital identities
by Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Sept. 27, 2026

Sept. 27, 2026

It seems to me that it would be valuable for Chattanooga.Digital to support self-sovereign digital identities. The first of the three “pillars" <https://www.identity.org/self-sovereign-identity/#What_Are_Three_Pillars_of…> is decentralized identifiers. See also https://www.dock.io/post/decentralized-identity. Excuse the AI outputs as a starting point: Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) are unique digital ID strings that let people, devices, and organizations prove who they are online without relying on a central company or government. [1 <https://www.w3.org/TR/did-1.1/>, 2 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_identifier>, 3 <https://www.dock.io/post/decentralized-identifiers>] Unlike traditional user accounts, emails, or government-issued passports, DIDs are fully owned and controlled by you. They form a core part of the official W3C Decentralized Identifiers Standard <https://www.w3.org/TR/did-1.1/>. [1 <https://learn.mattr.global/docs/concepts/dids>, 2 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_identifier>, 3 <https://www.dock.io/post/decentralized-identifiers>, 4 <https://www.w3.org/TR/did-1.1/>] How DIDs Work Unique Text Strings: A DID looks like a normal web address, starting with did: followed by a method and a unique number (for example, did:example:123456). [1 <https://curity.io/blog/decentralized-dentifiersand-verifiable-credentials-b…>, 2 <https://www.coinbase.com/learn/wallet/what-is-a-decentralized-identifier-did>] Cryptographic Keys: Each DID connects to a digital record containing public cryptographic keys. [1 <https://www.w3.org/TR/did-1.1/>, 2 <https://curity.io/blog/decentralized-dentifiersand-verifiable-credentials-b…>] Self-Proof: You prove you own the ID by signing messages with your private key, removing the need for a central database to check your password. [1 <https://www.sardine.ai/learn/decentralized-identifiers-did>] Main Benefits Complete Ownership: No third party can delete, freeze, or change your identifier. [1 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_identifier>, 2 <https://learn.mattr.global/docs/concepts/dids>] Better Privacy: DIDs do not store personal details like your real name, phone number, or email address inside the ID string. [1 <https://www.crowdstrike.com/en-us/cybersecurity-101/identity-security/decen…>, 2 <https://curity.io/blog/decentralized-dentifiersand-verifiable-credentials-b…>] No Password Fatigue: You can log into websites or apps securely using your cryptographic keys instead of remembering endless passwords. [1 <https://ethereum.org/decentralized-identity/>, 2 <https://learn.mattr.global/docs/concepts/dids>] DIDs have to be generated somehow. More AI output on this: The leading open-source software for creating decentralized identifiers includes Credo, ACA-Py, walt.id, Veramo, SpruceID, CREDEBL, and Sphereon. These tools support various credential formats and protocols, aligning with the current standards for decentralized identity management. startwithidentity.com <https://startwithidentity.com/articles/top-7-open-source-decentralized-iden…> gartner.com <https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/decentralized-identity> Overview of Open Source Software for Decentralized Identifiers Decentralized identifiers (DIDs) are crucial for managing digital identities in a secure and user-controlled manner. Several open-source software projects have emerged to facilitate the creation and management of DIDs. Leading Open Source Tools The following tools are recognized as the leading open-source software for creating decentralized identifiers: Software Description Key Features Credo A TypeScript framework for decentralized identity, supporting mobile wallets. Supports DIDComm and AnonCreds; React Native support. ACA-Py A mature Python agent for decentralized identity, maintained with government support. Well-documented; widely used in various applications. walt.id Focuses on identity and access management using decentralized technologies. Tools for issuing and verifying digital credentials. Veramo A framework for building decentralized identity applications. Supports multiple credential formats and protocols. SpruceID Provides tools for managing decentralized identities and verifiable credentials. Interoperable with various identity systems. CREDEBL An open-source platform for managing decentralized identity at an organizational scale. Multi-tenancy support; issuer and verifier console. Sphereon Offers tools for issuing, verifying, and managing digital credentials. Integrates with existing systems for credential management. Key Features of Decentralized Identity Tools Interoperability: These tools support various credential formats and protocols, ensuring compatibility with existing identity systems. User Control: Users maintain control over their identities, enhancing privacy and security. Support for Standards: Many of these tools align with current standards for decentralized identity management, such as OpenID4VCI and OpenID4VP. The other two pillars are verifiable credentials and blockchain or other means to make DIDs and credentials are accessible, private, and secure. Of course, a key aspect of blockchain is that those using it replicate it. Everyone has a copy all of which are updated when DIDs are added or modified. It seems to me that Chattanooga.Digital could enable all three pillars, and the place to start is providing means to create and manage DIDs. Thoughts? Let’s discuss vis-a-vis IAM… It seems that Keycloak, at least, supports DIDs. — Greg Laudeman, Ed.D. Executive Officer and Principal Eduity, LLC www.eduity.net greg(a)eduity.net 706-271-5521

1 0

Beginning outreach, using Nextcloud, and Open Source Camp
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 24, 2026

Sept. 24, 2026

If you are out and about on Saturday, come by the Choo Choo for Racket on the Rails <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/racket-on-the-rails-2026-chattanoogas-vinyl-vi…> record fair and market. I'll have a modest booth and be hitting people up to fill out our survey. If I have power, I'll do some demos. This is the first foray into outreach for the coop! You now have an account on cloud.chattanooga.digital, our coop Nextcloud instance. Have you tried it out? What do you think? Share your thoughts! I'll do an intro to Nextcloud at our next monthly member all-call on October 21st (calendar file attached). Also, plan to join us at Open Source Camp, November 13 and 14, at the UTC Library, register online here <https://www.eventbrite.com/e/open-source-camp-chattanooga-2026-tickets-2001…>. -- Greg Laudeman, Ed.D., Instigator Chattanooga.Digital <https://chattanooga.digital/> greg(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:greg.laudeman@chattanooga.digital> 706-271-5521

1 0

Four sign-on systems to try, and who wants to help pick one
by Turtle Wolfe Sept. 21, 2026

Sept. 21, 2026

Greg asked me to share this with the list. The co-op is choosing one system to handle signing in to everything it runs, instead of a separate account for every tool. Rather than pick from the brochures, the four main options are set up side by side on test servers, so we can pick the one people actually like using: Keycloak: https://keycloak.staging.chattanooga.digital/ <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://keycloak.staging.chattanooga.digital/&…> Authentik: https://authentik.staging.chattanooga.digital/ <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://authentik.staging.chattanooga.digital/…> OpenAM: https://openam.staging.chattanooga.digital/openam/ <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://openam.staging.chattanooga.digital/ope…> Zitadel: https://zitadel.staging.chattanooga.digital/ <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://zitadel.staging.chattanooga.digital/&s…> Nothing there touches the live site, and there's nothing you can break. Greg, Adam, Rob, William and I already have accounts. If you'd like one, reply here and I'll add you. There's no password to keep track of: each system emails you a link to set your own. What we want to know from each one: how easily you find your way around, whether adding a new member looks like something you'd do yourself, and whether anything feels more awkward than it should. There's a checklist to record what you checked, one column per system: https://github.com/Chattanooga-Digital/stack/pull/20 <https://www.google.com/url?q=https://github.com/Chattanooga-Digital/stack/p…> Tick what you personally verified, with your initials and the date. Anything that surprises you, good or bad, goes on that system's page. Who's interested in helping evaluate? Greg named Adam, Rob and William; more hands are welcome. Reply here and say which one you want to start with. Jon

2 1

Chattanooga.Digital All-call agenda Sept 16, 2026
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 16, 2026

Sept. 16, 2026

We will meet online at https://cloud.chattanooga.digital/call/feey5vuy, not in-person. The agenda is simply a review of the coop's preliminary structure and what's happening in each area: 1. Administration 2. Operations 3. Outreach 4. Support Let me know of any specific issues or topics you would like to address. -- Greg Laudeman, Ed.D., Instigator Chattanooga.Digital <https://chattanooga.digital/> greg(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:greg.laudeman@chattanooga.digital> 706-271-5521

1 0

All-call and IAM evaluation meeting
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 16, 2026

Sept. 16, 2026

I've been a bit remiss in organizing these two meetings today. Chattanooga.Digital All-call is today at 6:30 to update everyone on where we are. It will be pretty informal. The calendar file for the series is attached. We are meeting at noon about identity and access management AND software evaluation — two for the price of one! This is an open meeting (like all of our meetings) but I've only invited folks who were expressly interested. Let me know if you are interested in attending. During our weekly devops call yesterday we talked through our operational "cost centers," everything that will generate costs for the coop. In the process it became clear to me that software evaluation and deployment are (should be) an integrated process. Establishing a checklist for validating deployments should be one output of the evaluation process. The way William has set this up is as a portfolio <https://github.com/Chattanooga-Digital/stack/tree/main/docs/portfolio> of apps along with a set of needs <https://github.com/Chattanooga-Digital/stack/tree/main/docs/needs>, specifically including IAM <https://github.com/Chattanooga-Digital/stack/blob/main/docs/needs/iam.md>. Currently this lives on Github but we will eventually establish our own git system that will integrate with documentation (on Nextcloud, most likely). This is a nice, simple structure that also provides structure for the process, so our agenda for the IAM meeting is: 1. Requirements 2. Nice to have 3. Candidates 4. Evaluation checklist I encourage you to check out Start with Identity <https://startwithidentity.com/>, particularly the guides. Lots of great info for all levels! Three articles that are particularly good basic primers are: * What Is Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) <https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-ciam/>? * What Is IDaaS (Identity-as-a-Service)? <https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-idaas/> * What Is Identity Governance and Administration (IGA)? <https://startwithidentity.com/guides/fundamentals/what-is-iga/> Let us know what you think! -- Greg Laudeman, Ed.D., Instigator Chattanooga.Digital <https://chattanooga.digital/> greg(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:greg.laudeman@chattanooga.digital> 706-271-5521

1 0

Meeting about IAM options and evaluation process, Wednesday, September 16, noon
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 9, 2026

Sept. 9, 2026

Based on your (limited) input, the best time to meet about how to evaluate software and options for identity and access management (IAM) is Wednesday, September 16, at noon. Let me know if you want to attend but that will not work for you. We will meet online at https://cloud.chattanooga.digital/call/x3qmvkf6. An calendar file with the link included is attached. Here's a prelim agenda: 1. Background and introductions 2. IAM business rationale and functional requirements * Discussion 3. IAM options overview 4. Software evaluation criteria, process, and tool (maybe a Nextcloud table!) * Discussion * Task force or working group? 5. Action items and next steps That's a lot to cover in 30 minutes, so we may go a little long. The goal is just to get the process started. Let me know of any other topics to cover or questions you may have. If anyone wants to work on any of the above prior to the meeting, that would be great! -- Greg Laudeman, Ed.D., Instigator Chattanooga.Digital <https://chattanooga.digital/> greg(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:greg.laudeman@chattanooga.digital> 706-271-5521

1 0

Cloud.Chattanooga.Digital is our space online!
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 9, 2026

Sept. 9, 2026

As a pilot member of Chattanooga.Digital you have access to our new Nextcloud instance: Cloud.Chattanooga.Digital <https://cloud.chattanooga.digital>! It gives us a way to collaborate, communicate, store and share files, and more online, along with your private space. You should have received an invitation to set a password in the last few days. If not, check your junk mail folder. If it's there, please mark it as "not junk." If not, let us know and we will resend it. There are numerous applications that can be accessed via Nextcloud. Our instance has ones that are oriented to running Chattanooga.Digital that you can use them for your own purposes: * *Files* *and Photos* – your personal spaces to store and share files and photo. Files have version tracking and recycle bin. Photos and videos can be assembled in albums and shared. * *Talk –* meet online or text chat with others in the browser... or use the Talk app on your computer or phone! We will use this for coop meetings. * *Office* – create and collaborate on diagrams, documents, spreadsheets, and slides directly in the browser. There's also a whiteboard! * *Calendar and a**ppointments* – personal and shared calendars and an app for others to schedule time with you. * *Contacts* – a directory for the coop with member profiles; you control what others see. * *Mail* – use Nextcloud to read your email (email account not included). * *Deck* – basic issue/task tracking with Gantt or kanban views. We're using this to coordinate work on the coop. * *Collectives* – shared pages for notes and documentation that outlive a chat thread, basically a wiki. * *Forms, Polls, and Tables* – tools for gathering and managing structured data. All of this is open source software that we own, running on servers that we control. Your apps and data are YOURS! It is just one of the apps Chattanooga.Digital will provide to members. No giant tech companies involved! We are still figuring out how to manage and use Nextcloud, including what apps to provide to everyone. At this stage we are getting our systems set up, looking for folks who want to be community builders and tech facilitators, and planning to establish the coop as a separate corporation early next year. Any help or input you might provide will be greatly appreciated! Specifically, as mentioned in other emails... and I'll send a separate one... we are establishing a software evaluation process and evaluating identity and access management (IAM) software in the process. IAM will give members single sign-on to Nextcloud and multiple other apps and provide a digital identity to log into other services without giving your data to tech companies. As we move past the pilot phase, the plan is to establish shared Nextcloud instances for individual members (personal use) and organizational members (business/work use) and provide private Nextcloud instances for an additional fee. Your accounts will be migrated to the new instances if you want to keep using Nextcloud. Let us know what you think! -- Greg Laudeman, Ed.D., Instigator Chattanooga.Digital <https://chattanooga.digital/> greg(a)chattanooga.digital <mailto:greg.laudeman@chattanooga.digital> 706-271-5521

1 0

FOSS Evaluation and IAM/IdP
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 3, 2026

Sept. 3, 2026

Who would be willing help evaluate software for members and/or use for internal purposes? We also need some standard practices, procedures, and tools for this purpose. There are lots of informative resources for using FOSS as components in other projects, which is not exactly right for Chattanooga.Digital since we primarily deploy off-the-shelf FOSS (although one aspect of this is how to evaluate custom or special purpose apps for members, which would be a fee-based service). The "grand-daddy" seems to be https://dwheeler.com/oss_fs_eval.html from 2011. The author includes lots of good resources although a few seem to be outdated. The Concise Guide for Evaluating Open Source Software <https://best.openssf.org/Concise-Guide-for-Evaluating-Open-Source-Software.…> by the Open Source Security Foundation is really good. Another one I like is https://leaddev.com/software-quality/12-things-consider-when-assessing-open… because it seems practical and thorough. Let's combine key elements from these to create a review protocol and scoresheet. At the same time, we need to look at identify and access management (IAM) software. I suggest we use this to hammer out the process, etc. The key missing element with the frameworks is "why." What is the purpose for and requirements of the software? A related element is the user, specifically the "sponsor" that requires the software. For IAM, the sponsor is us, the cooperative, including all members. The basic purpose, as the term implies, is to manage members' access to resources, including and via a digital identity. Our digital identities are a collection of attributes, credentials, data, and devices that represent us. As mentioned in a prior email, the fundamental purpose of Chattanooga.Digital is to give members complete control and full ownership of our digital assets, including our digital identities. More practically, we need: * Authentication via passkeys, passwords, and other factors for single sign-on to as many of our apps/systems as possible. * Authorization for access to apps, data, files, etc., with permissions in various roles. * Automation of user account management as needs for authentication and authorization change. * Governance and monitoring of access, including all of the above, for accounting, compliance, planning, and security purposes. * Via standard methods and protocols: OAuth, OIDC, SAML, etc. Beyond that, we need to position Chattanooga.Digital as a digital identity provider (IdP) for members to access other systems and own data about that access. The main things about this is (a) complementing/replacing centralized digital IDs (b) with a trusted source and (c) supporting decentralized self-sovereign IDs. See https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/access-management/what-is-an-identity-p…, https://www.corbado.com/blog/digital-identity-guide, and https://www.imperva.com/learn/data-security/identity-providers-idps/ for background on this. Please chime in with your thoughts about evaluation approach, methods, process, etc., and how to apply all of that to IAM. Thanks! -- GL

3 7

Greg Laudeman has updated a proposed meeting
by Greg Laudeman Sept. 3, 2026

Sept. 3, 2026

Dear advisors(a)list.chattanooga.digital, a proposed meeting has been updated Respond: https://cloud.chattanooga.digital/apps/calendar/proposal/1243152f20028df485… * Discuss approach to OSS evaluation focusing on IAM services; establish a plan (Description:) * Talk conversation (Location:) * 30 minutes (Duration:) * September 14, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM September 14, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM September 15, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM September 15, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM September 16, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM September 16, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM September 17, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM September 17, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM September 18, 2026 from 12:00 PM to 12:30 PM September 18, 2026 from 5:00 PM to 5:30 PM (America/New_York) (Dates:) -- Nextcloud - a safe home for all your data This is an automatically sent email, please do not reply.

1 0