The Bonfire project made a splash earlier this month by announcing the launch of the Open Science Network, an initiative to build a federated and open academic commons. Their blog post opens with a stirring call-to-action:

The platform itself is another one of Bonfire’s Flavors, with features specific to collaboration, publication, and public discussion. The Open Science flavor is currently a prototype, but it’s carefully being built with feedback from members of scientific research cooperatives.

The ultimate goal is to build something that suits the day-to-day needs of that specific community, while building novel features to make their lives earlier.

Features of Open Science

The Open Science Network site describes a handful of features that sets their effort apart from Bonfire Classic or even Mastodon. I could talk about the features and show off some slick screenshots, but I want to also talk about how these things can work together for a heightened user experience.

ORCID Integration

I think this is the first indication that the Bonfire devs really know their audience. ORCID is a single sign-on offering used by researchers and academics alike, and Open Science instantly allows people to use it.

ORCID is interesting, because it’s not just a login system, but an identity system that ties into a person’s published works. What this means is that it’s possible for Open Science to pull in published papers and research, sort them by publication, and share them to others in a digital space.

From there, it’s possible to discover other published works from people you follow, or pieces of research shared by people on the timeline. The Bonfire Project indicates that this could be a way for researchers to easily establish their professional work, while also having easy access to other sources of study.

Open Science also allows people to avoid a cluttered timeline filled with engagement bait, instead offering tools for people to subscribe to publications, research groups, and topics relevant to them. With this model, the whole space can open up for teams conducting research, to talk shop and share ideas.

Collaborative Peer Review

Another big aspect of research is the ability to exchange notes and ideas between peers in a community.

One area where this really shines in Open Science involves how research can be shared between peers. Researchers can either upload or import their work, which can be read through a built-in PDF reader. People can easily parse through the contents, and the document itself becomes a conversation thread for feedback and suggestions.

The Future Looks Bright

The release of Open Science by the Bonfire project is significant for several reasons. First and foremost, it is the first effort of its kind to attempt leveraging ActivityPub for academic use. It’s also a clear showcase of Bonfire’s modular architecture, composing a series of modules into a coherent distribution.

Most of all, it’s a validation of one of the project’s key pilot programs, where a system is built for a specific group of people, and tailored to their feedback. The idea that researchers and academics could directly benefit from this system, while also pushing Fediverse technology forward, is frankly awesome.