this post was submitted on 17 Oct 2024
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A lot of the things we do on a daily or weekly basis have ways of doing them that can either be private or communal, some of these which we do not think to consider as having that characteristic.

For example, bathing in the Roman Empire used to be communal, but then Rome fell and citizens in the splinter countries began taking baths privately.

Receiving mail is another example. There are countries which don't have mailboxes and everyone gets their mail at the post office in the PO boxes. It was the United States which pioneered the idea of the modern mail system, which is why we associate it as a private act.

There are activities as well which don't have any history as jumping between one or the other that might benefit from it, for example I think towns might benefit if internet was free and freely accessible but only at the local library.

What's a non-communal aspect of life you think should be communal?

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[–] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 46 points 2 weeks ago (7 children)

Cooking. Let's all just cook one big meal each week and split it among 6 other people, and receive 6 meals in return.

[–] Bougie_Birdie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

You know, that's not a bad idea. I only have to make one meal, but I get more variety in my food each day.

I bet it's easy to get going to, you only need a few friends / family / neighbours to get started

[–] Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 2 weeks ago

Step 1. Get Friends.

That seems to be the hardest part. :(

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[–] SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone 31 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)
[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

This is an ideal space for Steve Jobs to put both his feet into

[–] lanhua@lemm.ee 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

what if we held hands.. in the communal toilets <3

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[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 26 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Transportation and gardening.

[–] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 2 weeks ago

Communal gardens are a thing in many cities. My experience with them however has been skin to a HOA full of Karens

[–] frauddogg@hexbear.net 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Look, if I could get three or four more sets of hands to put down the maximum amount of cannabis plants in my backyard, know they'd participate in the cleaning post-harvest, and all I'd have to give up was a couple Oz's per set of hands? God, I'd be growing more than two or three plants a season, wouldn't I?

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[–] scoobford@lemmy.zip 21 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)

A couple of ideas:

  • Home Ownership. I know condos exist, but it seems to me that we need a solution for home ownership that is accessible and ecologically viable. Traditional houses (and even duplex's/townhomes) are massively inefficient from a climate perspective, not to mention the space requirements and cost.

  • Child rearing. In college, I learned that children were typically raised by multiple neighbors, in order to lessen the strain on parents. I think it is unrealistic and unhealthy to expect people to nearly kill themselves attempting to raise a child for the first couple of years.

  • Recreation space. I realize this is mostly an American thing, but lawns are a colossal waste of space. To be of any use at all, they have to be at least half an acre, and realistically, there's no reason every single family needs their own outdoor recreation space. Plus, a tiny minority of people even use them these days.

[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

I know condos exist,

What's your objection to condos in this case?

I live in an apartment co-op which in many ways is excellent. Highly efficient in both energy, economy and effort required from me. I'm not sure that I'll ever want to live in a house, this is probably the ideal state for me.

[–] scoobford@lemmy.zip 4 points 2 weeks ago

It may not be the case everywhere, but here condos are kind of a shit deal. They cost as much as a small house, they're very difficult to sell, and the board can force you to renovate your unit out of your own pocket.

The last one doesn't sound bad, but a big reason to buy a home is to fix your living expenses for retirement, and being told to tear out your flooring because Shelly upstairs likes muave and all units must now have muave floors can be a real problem.

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[–] Lux18@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago

Child rearing.

Daycare.

Recreation space.

Parks.

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[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmy.ml 20 points 2 weeks ago

Property of the means of production

[–] mathemachristian@hexbear.net 20 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Child-rearing! Child-rearing! Child-rearing! I hate the nuclear family model!!

[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 weeks ago

I don't want to be a full time parent, but I'd happily teach an inquisitve kid the few things I know for a few hours a week

[–] HobbitFoot@thelemmy.club 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I've been seeing that shift a lot recently. For instance, a lot of friends will work out a deal where their kids spend the day with their grandparents once or twice a week to save on day care costs.

[–] mathemachristian@hexbear.net 4 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Nono I mean a full-on third, fourth etc. parent. Someone who takes care of the child basically from birth, who is as trusted as "mom" or "dad". Maybe even a second person responsible for breastfeeding the child.

[–] frauddogg@hexbear.net 7 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

I dunno about that one, chief... I don't trust people to not be weirdos or to be properly housebroken anymore. Certainly not westerners-- I'd have to do a full-on, US Government style background check on a mf before I was comfortable putting my child in another person's hands.

[–] mathemachristian@hexbear.net 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

Haha welcome to modern kindergarden/daycare and the commodification of child rearing.

The only choice if you want your child to start socializing is which place. We visited the kindergarden based on recommendation, met the principal and toured the building. That's how we made our decision.

My wife met the teachers on the day he started, initially she went with him inside for a couple days but later left him there for a few minutes, then hours and then just brought him there and left.

He did not enjoy that! "Yes my child I know mom and dad were your lifeline in this world that you wouldn't survive otherwise for your entire life but now this stranger we met a week ago is responsible for that, she seems fun no?"

And these people will be responsible for a huge part of his education. They don't know about veganism, best compromise was vegetarian (yes fish counts as meat!) and hopefully they aren't to into cutesy copaganda.

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[–] principalkohoutek@hexbear.net 20 points 2 weeks ago

Cooking because it's a pain in the ass to prepare food in small batches (for 1-3 people). Plus clean up It's basically as much work to make food for 2 people as it is for 8.

[–] Wahots@pawb.social 18 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

In the US, nudity. People get really weird and obsessive of bodies when nudity isn't exercised at places like beaches, changing areas, etc.

It's not healthy to only see bodies as sexual because they are always covered up in public and then 100% sexual either in the bedroom or in porn. There has to be a gradient. Everything in moderation.

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Community canneries still exist, but they used to be way more popular. In rural communities where people grow a lot of their own food, people can their own food, but pressure canners take a lot of time for a single batch to come up to pressure, cook, and cool.

Community canneries have much bigger pressure canners where you could feasibly can everything in one batch. It's also really enables people sharing surpluses, trading, etc.

Many hobbies are better shared, too. If you have 20 people sharing a super high quality "item", they will have a better experience than if each of those people had to buy their own crappy versions.

Basically, a whole lot of things can be "libraried".

[–] random@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

simple tools like guns, hammers, screwdrivers etc. I still think you should be able to own them in case you need them more often or don't have the time to get them due to an immidiate repairing. But I've read some lemmy post where some guys public library offered tools and I think that's a great idea

Also look for makerspaces, they provide all kinds of tools but it's expected that you work on projects there and not at home. Not sure if you can borrow stuff.

[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

We had that where I grew up, but mostly heavier machine tools like stuff to cut firewood, trailers to haul stuff etc. Cost just $10 a year and you could borrow it as much as you needed. Banger of an idea to be honest.

[–] evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yeah, no one wants to buy a log splitter and store it for 360 days a year, but those few days you can use it, it's really useful.

[–] GissaMittJobb@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yeah, it really is a perfect item for communal ownership.

[–] minibyte@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)
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[–] wicked@programming.dev 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

The US started using mailboxes 14 years after the UK

In 1849, the Royal Mail first encouraged people to install letterboxes to facilitate the delivery of mail. Before then, letterboxes of a similar design had been installed in the doors and walls of post offices for people to drop off outgoing mail.

In 1863, with the creation of Free City Delivery, the US Post Office Department began delivering mail to home addresses.

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[–] ProfessorOwl_PhD@hexbear.net 10 points 2 weeks ago

It was the United States which pioneered the idea of the modern mail system

The UK had a general post office that deliverd to individuals over 100 years before the USA was founded. The US postal system is based on the UK one that delivered their mail before the US's founding. Why on earth would you think the US pioneered it?

[–] Nightsoul@lemmy.world 10 points 2 weeks ago

Public bathhouses need to make a comeback. I go to the spa few times a year and soaking in a giant hot tub is divine.

Wish there was one within walking distance cause I would go like 3 times a week then.

I feel like it's a waste of water to take a bath in my house because the water doesn't stay warm and it goes away after I'm done. Plus the tub doesn't allow me to stretch out.

What's annoying is that some cities in America have spas or bathhouses, but are "men only" and really mean a place for gay men to hook up

[–] davel@lemmy.ml 10 points 2 weeks ago

Private property, specifically your toothbrush, comrade.

There’s always someone who doesn’t know so I’m contractually obligated to say that by property we mean the means of production and not any other personal belongings.

[–] BCsven@lemmy.ca 9 points 2 weeks ago

In Canada the mail delivery has shifted to communal mailboxes in new communities as a cost savings measure. Problem is asshole theives who smash them open and steal everyones mail at once.

We have free wifi at our library, as well as a lot of other things like meeting spaces you can book.

More communal transport seems to be needed. After work from home, and occasional bus to work, the time I had to drive to the office to swap equipment and sit in rushhour traffic for an hour was painful. Like there is no way every single person needs unique travel to work

[–] Commiunism@lemmy.wtf 8 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I'd say mail boxes, at least in the area where I live. Around 10 years ago, our neighborhood was mandated to have our own separate boxes for mail/newspaper next to our house, but before then you'd have one group box for the whole neighborhood, with separate sections for each house. It's much more efficient for delivering that way since you just go to one box rather than door to door, though it can be a bit annoying having to walk to the box every day to get your daily newspaper.

[–] frauddogg@hexbear.net 5 points 2 weeks ago

Having lived in a few places like that with group boxes, it contributes to a mild sense of community as well assuming you regularly see the same people. My mother used to go get her mail at the same time as a couple neighbors we had specifically because she'd met them picking up mail the first time.

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[–] Jimmycrackcrack@lemmy.ml 7 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Maybe it's being a product of my environment but there are so few things that are currently private that I would want to have to do publicly. I don't generally really want to contend with other people or shared facilities more than I have to. I definitely don't want communal bathing. I can stomach public transport, which is already a thing, but then I tend to spurn it where I live more often than not because of the lack of viability and convenience. I guess I would say I wish that where I was specifically that transport was more communal than it is now. I don't see how it really could be though because of the nature of where I live and the lack of density and the bad urban planning that led to everything being very spread out, but it'd be nice.

[–] fubarx@lemmy.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] tetris11@lemmy.ml 3 points 2 weeks ago

Yes! Making communal pixel art in speedos, why is this not a thing?

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[–] ClassifiedPancake@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

I’ve had clothes stolen in shared laundry rooms. Not a fan.

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