# How a Collaborative Zettelkasten Might Work: A Modest Proposal for a New Kind of Collective Creativity

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## Metadata
- Author: [[hidden (bobdoto)]]
- Full Title: How a Collaborative Zettelkasten Might Work: A Modest Proposal for a New Kind of Collective Creativity
- Category: #articles
- URL: https://writing.bobdoto.computer/how-a-collaborative-zettelkasten-might-work-a-modest-proposal/
- Archive: https://web-archive.alecodes.page/bookmarks?bf=1&search=&title=How%20a%20Collaborative%20Zettelkasten%20Might%20Work%3A%20A%20Modest%20Proposal%20for%20a%20New%20Kind%20of%20Collective%20Creativity
> [!tldr]
> This article gives a preliminary framework for people wanting to experiment with a collaborative zettelkasten. Keep in mind, these are mere suggestions, since I've not yet experimented with this type of slip box. As to whether the suggestions are valid, this will be determined by anyone who attempts to put them into practice. Note: While this article was written in the context of a Luhmann-style zettelkasten, people using similar, adjacent models, should feel free to work with what's presented in ways that fit their system.
What's a Collaborative Zettelkasten?A collaborative zettelkasten is maintained by multiple people, one in which all the participants add main notes, establish connections between ideas, and freely pull from the network of notes for their own projects / projects worked on as a collective. The contents of the zettelkasten may or may not be aligned with a single, agreed upon subject. Participants may or may not have a common output, goal, or project in mind when they start. The only requirements...

## Highlights
A collaborative zettelkasten is maintained by multiple people, one in which all the participants add main notes, establish connections between ideas, and freely pull from the network of notes for their own projects / projects worked on as a collective. The contents of the zettelkasten may or may not be aligned with a single, agreed upon subject. Participants may or may not have a common output, goal, or project in mind when they start. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j5xzksta891sj1jfpexpb9vs))

"[Luhmann's] main concern was not to develop an idea to maximum sophistication; rather, he operated on the assumption that a decision on the usefulness of a note could only be made in relating it to the other notes."[2](https://writing.bobdoto.computer/how-a-collaborative-zettelkasten-might-work-a-modest-proposal/#fn-2) [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j5xzxhwd0d5cgcvstt6y57z4))

As Luhmann states in his own notes, let the zettelkasten function as a "septic tank."[3](https://writing.bobdoto.computer/how-a-collaborative-zettelkasten-might-work-a-modest-proposal/#fn-3) Allow the relationships between ideas to determine their value. [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01j5xzz8xhq5r1tde4vkhr0fhp))

