A lot has been written about “The Tragedy of the Commons.” About how our shared resources can be squandered and depleted if we all take full advantage of them. And while Nantucket does not have a literal “Common” like so many other New England towns do, in many ways, the entire island is a Common. The oceans. The beaches. Open spaces. Our streets and historic buildings. They belong to all of us as a community. Year-round and seasonal people alike.

Understanding that, YACK is about ownership. About taking ownership of our community. Ownership of the issues and problems we all face. YACK is about being our brother’s keeper. About caring about one another.

YACK is also about honesty. It’s about being honest with ourselves and honest with our community. It’s about having an open discussion. It’s about sharing the way we feel, what we think and our vision for where the community should be going. YACK is not about putdowns or gotchas or one-ups. YACK is about coming to consensus and sharing disparate points of view. Our goal, our driving force, our passion, will be about helping the community understand itself better. About providing a place where people can come together and understand each other. That’s the goal of this website and what makes us tick. If you’re in, we are, too. With both feet.