RG Herd Aid is a free, open-source infrastructure pilot for groups that need to communicate, share alerts, organize needs, dispatch resources by zone, and activate locally without turning people into public profiles.
People can use anonymous accounts. Access stays gated through trusted community invites. Groups bring in people they know. Accountability stays local.
Movements and mutual aid networks need tools that move information quickly, protect coordination from trolls, reduce unnecessary identity exposure, and keep local groups in control.
RG Herd Aid is built around that need: public information where it belongs, trusted spaces for coordination, and open tools that can be inspected and improved.
A practical stack for alerts, communication, dispatch, access, resources, and activation.
Local links, program information, civic access guidance, and updates people can use without joining anything.
Anonymous accounts with access managed through trusted community invites instead of public identity harvesting.
Open-source ARGUS workflows for needs, resources, skills, locations, follow-up, and operator review.
Alerts, ride coordination, supply requests, turnout needs, visibility actions, and local follow-through.
Vetted local stewards can bring their own members into the system and keep access tied to real accountability.
Matrix-based communication, published ARGUS code, open protocols, and systems that can be inspected or self-hosted.
Some coordination can happen in conversation. Other situations need structure: needs, resources, zones, skills, follow-up, and review. That is where ARGUS fits.
The goal is to make local action repeatable without turning every activation into a chaotic thread, spreadsheet scramble, or social-media dependency.
Existing organizations, informal networks, mutual aid groups, and community projects can use RG Herd tools without being absorbed by RG Herd.
Groups keep their own leadership, priorities, relationships, public identity, and decision-making while using shared or self-hosted tools for communication, alerts, dispatch, resource tracking, websites, and coordination.
The next step is not waiting months for perfectly scheduled action. The pilot is built for repeated local readiness: alerts, communication, support requests, ride coordination, civic access, visibility actions, and follow-through.
Central Iowa is the starting point. The long-term goal is a national activation network built from decentralized, group-level operated tools.
Local servers, websites, ARGUS instances, alerting systems, resource directories, and community spaces can eventually interconnect through federation and trusted coordination agreements.
RG Herd uses open protocols and published components where possible, including Matrix-based communication and the public ARGUS project. Open code makes it possible for people to inspect, understand, improve, self-host, adapt, and connect local systems.
Not black boxes. Not hidden algorithms. Not corporate dependency.
RG Herd Aid begins with Central Iowa, trusted participation, and practical tools. The goal is many local groups with their own structure, connected strongly enough to move together when it matters.
