Sensing, Information and Accountability

Below is a screenshot from the Fabfi status page a couple days ago. The astute reader will notice that the only nodes on the "backbone" are up. If I had also included screenshots from the proceeding 6 hours you would see blocks of nodes blip off the map one by one and then a few (battery powered?) lingerers clinging to life for some hours before joining the rest of the city in a total blackout.
This got me thinking about data collected by the fabfi network as a means to community and government accountability. The fabfi network is growing rapidly. With over 40 active nodes, the user-base is easily now into the hundreds (considering the size of households and the fact that users often share with neighbors), and with the newest connections is spreading geographically across most of the city. Fabfi is a ready potential forum for collaborative community organization. Network stats data useful for keeping the power on and the air clean? (imagining USB air quality sensors). What is the interface that best facilitates dialog and community building between fabfi users?

Have ideas? Send them our way...