zlacker

>>waffle+(OP)
This is a laudable idea.

Unfortunately, the key challenge with the problem isn't architecting a DVCS-like service for legal documents (for an MVP, you could easily get by simply designing a novel frontend to git), it's an adoption problem. The current system is flawed, yes, but merely offering a superior product for less money isn't enough to make a dent in the bureaucratic nightmare of modern-day Washington.

I'm reminded of an article I saw here on HN a few months back: http://www.informationdiet.com/blog/read/dear-internet-its-n...

>>lazerw+A3
Adoption isn't the problem. We don't need Congress to use such a system initially; we need bills, the US Code, etc. mirrored on Github. When it's there, people will get it. The information is out there, it just needs to be processed into a usable form so that it works with Git. And it'd take millions of dollars, and have no conventional ROI, so no one's going to do it.

>>gordia+P4
Adoption is the problem. The US Code already is on GitHub — https://github.com/divegeek/uscode — but it's only a mirror. There's also the Sunlight Foundation's OpenCongress http://www.opencongress.org/ which provides a nice way to track a bill and its participants. But without the authors actually using something like git in their process of writing the laws, this doesn't really help people participate directly.