From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Feb 6 00:22:51 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Andy Clarke) Date: Wed, 06 Feb 2002 00:22:51 +0000 Subject: [Softwareandculture] COSIGN 2002 cfp Message-ID: Please distribute the following call widely. Apologies in advance for cross-posting and multiple copies. ***************************************************** * * First Call For Papers * --------------------- * * COSIGN 2002 * * The 2nd International Conference on * * COMPUTATIONAL SEMIOTICS FOR GAMES AND NEW MEDIA * * Augsburg (Germany) * * 2nd September - 4th September, 2002 * * http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2002/ * ****************************************************** CONFERENCE SCOPE =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D This cross-disciplinary conference explores the ways in which semiotics (an= d related theories such as structuralism and post-structuralism) can be applied to creating and analysing computer systems. It is intended for anyone with an interest in areas of overlap (or potential overlap) between semiotics and computers. This would include, but is not limited to, the following: computer scientists; HCI and AI practitioners; creators of exper= t systems; digital artists; designers; critics; semioticians; narratologists; etc. Semiotics is the study of signs, symbols and signification, and is therefor= e the study of how meaning is created, encoded and understood. Computational semiotics is understood here to be the application of semiotic theories to computer systems and interactive digital media. Three possible aspects of this are: - The way in which meaning can be created by, encoded in, or understood by, the computer (using systems or techniques based upon semiotics). =20 - The way in which meaning in interactive digital media is understood by the viewer or user (again using systems or techniques based upon semiotics). =20 - The way in which semiotics can be used as the starting point for a system for looking critically at the content of interactive digital media. Media that make use of the unique capabilities of digital systems are of particular interest to this conference. These include: hypermedia; content analysis systems (particularly those that extract higher-level meaning); th= e semantic web (and similar systems); multimedia and the internet; digital art, net art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms, computer games, interactive narratives and other forms of interactive entertainment; virtual reality systems and virtual environments. COSIGN 2002 invites submissions in the following categories: 1. Academic Papers 2. Artworks 3. Posters 4. Technical Demonstrations Details of the submission procedures are given below. Authors of accepted papers will be required to prepare an electronic version for the online conference proceedings (PDF), which will supplement the traditional printed volume. Information about the conference are available at the following web address= : http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2002/ The programme and online proceedings for COSIGN 2001 are available at the following web address: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2001/program.html IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Academic Papers and Artworks Submission date: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 Camera-ready copy by 10th June 2002 Posters and Technical Demonstrations Submission date: 22nd April 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2002 Camera-ready copy by 10th June 2002 SUBMISSION PROCEDURE =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D 1. ACADEMIC PAPERS Papers are invited on any subject that explores areas of overlap (or potential overlap) between semiotics and interactive digital media. Example= s of this include, but are not limited to, the following: - The use of semiotics in artificial intelligence and expert systems. =20 - Software architectures and technologies using, based upon or inspired by semiotic theories, systems or models. =20 - The use of semiotics in the creation of generative narrative systems, interactive digital games, entertainment and artworks. =20 - The use of semiotics in the study and criticism of digital interactive media. =20 - Narratology in games and new media. =20 - Semiotic-orientated HCI. =20 - Semiotics and Hypermedia. Papers should demonstrate an understanding of - and engagement with - the principles of semiotics (understood here as the study of signs) and gain something from this engagement. All papers must be submitted electronically (in either Postscript, Microsof= t Word, RTF or PDF format) to Frank Nack at the following address: Frank.Nack@cwi.nl ------------------------------------------------------ Submission date for Academic Papers: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------ 2. ARTWORKS In addition to academic and theoretical papers, presentations of artworks o= f all forms and in all formats are invited. We are particularly interested in digital art, net art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms. Selection of work for presentation at the conference will be based upon its relevance to the themes of the conference, its interest in demonstrating or exploring the potential of new media, and its challenging of perceptions, theoretical assumptions, or understanding in any areas related to the conference. Selection may also be constrained by practical requirements for equipment, safety, etc. Final decisions will be made by the Artwork Committee. Artworks will be assessed on the basis of documentation of the work presented in the form of an online website. The website should display the following: - A textual description of the proposed artwork and any illustrations - A biography of the artist(s)/author(s) - Contact details Please submit the URL of the website containing your proposal in an email t= o Andy Clarke at the following address: andy@kinonet.com Those wishing to submit additional supporting material, such as videotapes, should contact Andy Clarke to make arrangements for this. No responsibility is taken by the COSIGN organisers for any such material, and all expenses for its return must be met by the artist. ------------------------------------------------------- Submission date for Artworks: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- 3. POSTERS There will be an opportunity for researchers to present new work and ideas that are not yet ready for the full presentation. Short papers will be presented in poster format, and will be included in both the hardcopy and electronic proceedings. All papers must be submitted electronically (2 to 4 pages of A4 size, doubl= e spaced, in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Clive Fencott at the following address: P.C.Fencott@tees.ac.uk ------------------------------------------------------- Submission date: 22nd April 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- 4. TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATIONS Demonstrations of relevant leading-edge work and work in progress are invited. Submissions will be peer-reviewed to ensure quality. Demonstratio= n proposals must be submitted electronically (in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Craig Lindley at the following address: craig.lindley@interactiveinstitute.se Those wishing to submit supporting material, such as videotapes, should contact Craig Lindley to make arrangements for this. ------------------------------------------------------------- Submission date for Technical Demonstrations: 22nd April 2001 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2001 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------- ALTERNATIVE SUBMISSION PROCEDURE =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Authors and artists who have difficulty in making their submission in the appropriate form (as outlined above) should contact: Frank Nack CWI - INS2 Kruislaan 413 P.O. Box 94079, NL-1090 GB Amsterdam Email: Frank.Nack@cwi.nl Phone: +31 20 592 4223 Fax: +31 20 592 4312 ORGANISING COMMITTEE =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Elisabeth Andre - University of Augsburg (Germany) Andy Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Clive Fencott - University of Teeside (UK) Craig Lindley - Interactive Institute (Sweden) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Frank Nack - CWI (Netherlands) PROGRAMME COMMITTEE =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Elisabeth Andre - University of Augsburg (Germany) Wilton Azevedo - Mackenzie Presbyterian University, S=E3o Paulo, (Brazil) Paul Brna - Leeds University (UK) Kevin Brooks - Motorola Human Interface Labs (USA) Andrew Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Clive Fencott - University of Teeside (UK) Mathias Fuchs - Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (Finland) Werner Kriechbaum - IBM (Germany) James Lester - North Carolina University (USA) Craig Lindley - Interactive Institute (Sweden) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Frank Nack - CWI (Netherlands) Mirko Petric -University of Split (Croatia) Paolo Petta - OFAI (Austria) Doug Rosenberg - University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) Ola Stockfelt - University of Goteborg/University of Skovde (Sweden) Robert Wechsler - Palindrome Inter-media Performance Group (Germany) ARTWORK COMMITTEE =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Jorge Luiz Antonio - Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) Andrew Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Silvia Eckermann - Digital Artist (Austria) Fatima Lasay - University of the Philippines (Philippines) Luca Marchetti - Anomos (France) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Timothy Portlock - University of Illinois (USA) Emma Posey - Bloc (UK) David Rokeby - Digital Artist (Canada) Doug Rosenberg - University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) ************************************************ ---------- end of cfp From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Feb 8 21:47:37 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 16:47:37 -0500 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers References: Message-ID: <3C644779.5000806@vt.edu> have there been any papers related to software and culture published of late? -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614 From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Feb 9 20:42:22 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu) Date: Sat, 09 Feb 2002 17:42:22 -0300 (EST) Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers Message-ID: <02020917422206@vortex.ufrgs.br> i have read some stuff about computer games: www.gamestudies.org and www.ludology.org. I hope this helps :-) andrei >have there been any papers related to software and culture published of >late? > >-- >jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy >cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu >526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com >virginia tech -under construction >blacksburg, va 24061 >540-231-7614 > > > >_______________________________________________ >Softwareandculture mailing list >Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu >http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Sat Feb 9 19:55:42 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 14:55:42 -0500 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers In-Reply-To: <02020917422206@vortex.ufrgs.br> Message-ID: Yes, that is Espen Aarseth's he's the editor of the journal Gamestudies.org and Jasper Juul's Sites respectively I think, both have interesting material:) On Saturday, February 9, 2002, at 03:42 PM, andrei@vortex.ufrgs.br wrote: > i have read some stuff about computer games: > www.gamestudies.org and www.ludology.org. > > I hope this helps :-) > andrei > >> have there been any papers related to software and culture published of >> late? >> >> -- >> jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy >> cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu >> 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com >> virginia tech -under construction >> blacksburg, va 24061 >> 540-231-7614 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Softwareandculture mailing list >> Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu >> http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > jeremy hunsinger jhuns@vt.edu on the ibook www.cddc.vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy www.dromocracy.com From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Mon Feb 11 13:52:29 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 08:52:29 -0500 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Final CFP: Internet Research 3.0 Oct. 13-16 2002 Message-ID: <3C67CC9D.8080607@vt.edu> apologies for cross posting: Please distribute: Call for papers Internet Research 3.0: NET / WORK / THEORY International and Interdisciplinary Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) International Institute of INFONOMICS and University of Maastricht Maastricht, the Netherlands October 13-16 2002 Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2002 Deadline for submissions: February 15, 2002. Submissions: http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/confman/ The Internet has become an integral, ubiquitous part of everyday life in many social domains and international contexts. Yet, most of the public attention on cyberspace remains fueled by utopian or dystopian visions, rather than being informed by the growing body of research on the Internet as a complex fact of modern life. Internet Research (IR) 3.0, an international and interdisciplinary conference, will feature a variety of perspectives on Internet research, in order to develop a better theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet. Building on the previous well-attended international conferences, the IR 3.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges. This year's theme is Net/Work/Theory. Contributors are called to reflect on how to theorize what we know about the Internet and on how to apply what we know theoretically in practice. The conference will be held for the first time in Europe, whose intellectual environments have traditionally been a source of social and cultural theory. IR 3.0 will be hosted by the International Institute of Infonomics in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. As the city in which one of the key treaties of the European Union was signed, Maastricht also symbolizes a changing Europe in a changing international setting. The conference will provide opportunities to network, learn from other researchers, hear from leading players in Internet development, and enjoy the "art of fine living" of Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands. The Association of Internet Researchers invites paper, presentation, and panel proposals from AoIR members and non-members on topics that address social, cultural, political, economic, and aesthetic aspects of the Internet. We welcome interdisciplinary submissions as well as submissions from any discipline. Panel presentations that establish connections across disciplines, institutions, and/or continents are especially encouraged. We also seek presentations that will make creative use of Internet technologies and techniques. Suggested topics: * Theoretical and Methodological approaches to Internet Research * Internet Access, Use and Effects * Psychology and the Internet * Individuals, Groups, and Communities Online * Privacy, Surveillance, and Security on the Internet * Internet Policy, Ethics, Law, and Politics * Teaching, Learning and the Internet * The Internet in Writing and Publishing * Ethnicity, Race, Identity, Gender, and Sexuality Online * The Internet in Cultural Contexts * The Internet in History * Digital Arts and Aesthetics * Gaming on the Internet * E-commerce, E-Business, or Value of Digital Content * New Technologies and New Media * E-Sectors (e-health, e-games, e-entertainment, e-other...) This list is not meant to be exclusive, but to trigger ideas and encourage submissions from a range of disciplines. The organizers will take an active role in generating and joining the various interests in appropriate formats Format of proposals Proposals can be of three types - papers, presentations, and panels. Each person is entitled to submit 1 paper, 1 presentation, and/or 1 panel proposal. Papers Proposals for papers: 150-250 word abstract. Creative presentations / demonstrations Creative presentations (surprise us!) and Internet-related project demonstrations (including digital arts) are encouraged. The format for these proposals is the same as those for regular papers (150-250 word abstract). Panels Panels will generally include three to four papers or presentations. The session organizer should submit a 250-500 word statement describing the session topic, include abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper or presentation, and indicate that each author is willing to participate in the session. Workshop We also invite proposals for pre-conference workshop. These proposals should be submitted as soon as possible (no later than January 15, 2002) so that the workshops can be publicized. Graduate students Graduate students are highly encouraged to submit proposals. They should note their student status with submission for consideration of a special Student Award. If you intend to be a candidate for the Student Award you must also send a final version of your proposal (final paper) by 15th September 2002. Format of submissions Submission will be accepted from 15th December until 15th February 2002. All proposals should be submitted electronically at: http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/confman/ It is preferred that you use HTML to minimally format your paper. Average time allotted for a paper or presentation will be 15 minutes. Average time allotted for a panel will be 1 hour and 30 minutes, including discussion time. If these time constraints are not appropriate for your panel/presentation, please include that in your abstract. Please include any equipment or special considerations that might affect your presentation. Deadlines Proposal submission: 15th December, 2001- February 15, 2002 Author notification: April 1, 2002 Presenter's Registration to the conference: September 15, 2002 Student Award: Final paper due September 15, 2002 Contact information If you have questions about the conference, program, or AoIR, please contact: /Conference Coordinator: / Monica Murero, Infonomics and University of Maastricht, Monica.Murero@infonomics.nl /Program Chair:/ Klaus Bruhn Jensen, University of Copenhagen: kbj@hum.ku.dk /A(o)IR President: /Steve Jones: sjones@uic.edu More Information about IR 3.0 can be found on the Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2002 For more information about the Association of Internet Researchers, including information on joining the Association, visit AoIR' s website at http://aoir.org For more information about the International Institute of Infonomics visit our website at http://www.infonomics.nl -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614 From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Feb 15 08:41:43 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Andy Clarke) Date: Fri, 15 Feb 2002 08:41:43 +0000 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers In-Reply-To: <3C644779.5000806@vt.edu> Message-ID: > have there been any papers related to software and culture published of > late? You may find the proceedings of the COSIGN 2001 conference interesting. They can be downloaded in pdf format by following the links on this page: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2001/program.html Thanks Andy Clarke Co-organiser, COSIGN 2001 and COSIGN 2002 ----------------------------- Andy Clarke 78 West Kensington Court Edith Villas London W14 9AB Phone: 44 (0)20 7602 3382 Mobile: 07947 418177 Email: andy@kinonet.com ----------------------------- From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Feb 20 18:34:15 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Yuwei Lin) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question Message-ID: <3C73EC26.4E559F00@york.ac.uk> Hi there, I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of behaviour? Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software vulnerabilities. Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. yuwei -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Wed Feb 20 19:57:06 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Matt Ratto) Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question In-Reply-To: <3C73EC26.4E559F00@york.ac.uk> Message-ID: Yuwei, I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often prevalent in the computing industry. Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally explicit). I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... best, Matt ----------------------------------- Matt Ratto Department of Communication University of California, San Diego mratto@ucsd.edu ----------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of Yuwei Lin Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question Hi there, I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of behaviour? Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software vulnerabilities. Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. yuwei -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ _______________________________________________ Softwareandculture mailing list Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Feb 21 17:42:30 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Yuwei Lin) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 17:42:30 +0000 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs References: <20020221170102.2AC5E13B96@florismart.cddc.vt.edu> Message-ID: <3C753185.DB2426D3@york.ac.uk> Hi Matt, You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? yuwei softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > From: Yuwei Lin > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Hi there, > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > behaviour? > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > vulnerabilities. > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > yuwei > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > From: "Matt Ratto" > To: > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Yuwei, > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > Users: A Source of Novel > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > prevalent in the computing industry. > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > explicit). > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > best, > > Matt > > ----------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > mratto@ucsd.edu > ----------------------------------- > > -----Original Message----- > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > Yuwei Lin > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Hi there, > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > behaviour? > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > vulnerabilities. > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > yuwei > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > End of Softwareandculture Digest -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Feb 21 18:39:09 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Matthew Ratto) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 10:39:09 -0800 (PST) Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle In-Reply-To: <3C753185.DB2426D3@york.ac.uk> Message-ID: Yuwei, you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close to 'passing' it. The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? best, Matt ---------------------------------- Matt Ratto Department of Communication University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA ----------------------------------- On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > Hi Matt, > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > yuwei > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > From: Yuwei Lin > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > To: > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Yuwei, > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > Users: A Source of Novel > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > explicit). > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ----------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > ----------------------------------- > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > Yuwei Lin > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > --__--__-- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Feb 21 23:07:34 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle References: Message-ID: <3C757DB6.BB68203A@cloud9.net> Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo in the URL? Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then press the "Reset all questions" button. My score card is at the bottom. \brad mccormick Matthew Ratto wrote: > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: Computer Illiterate Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this test. The average purity for this test is 76.5%. From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Thu Feb 21 23:07:34 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle References: Message-ID: <3C757DB6.BB68203A@cloud9.net> Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo in the URL? Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then press the "Reset all questions" button. My score card is at the bottom. \brad mccormick Matthew Ratto wrote: > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: Computer Illiterate Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this test. The average purity for this test is 76.5%. From softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu Fri Feb 22 15:26:12 2002 From: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu (Yuwei Lin) Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2002 15:26:12 +0000 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #35 - 4 msgs References: <20020221230902.8D21E13B97@florismart.cddc.vt.edu> Message-ID: <3C766311.F2FEBF8E@york.ac.uk> Hi Matt, I cannot get accessed to the URL you mentioned. It was said page not found. Do you have a backup file? However, I have read something about hackers from RMS and also the hacker's dictionary. But what they mentioned is an ideal hacker, and that's also where I get clues to classify hacking practices. Are you familiar with this? Certainly I'll try to find out the possible link between 'users' and 'hackers'. yuwei softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs (Yuwei Lin) > 2. - Yuwei's riddle (Matthew Ratto) > 3. Re: - Yuwei's riddle (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) > 4. Re: - Yuwei's riddle (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 17:42:30 +0000 > From: Yuwei Lin > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Hi Matt, > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > yuwei > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > From: Yuwei Lin > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > To: > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Yuwei, > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > Users: A Source of Novel > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > explicit). > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ----------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > ----------------------------------- > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > Yuwei Lin > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 10:39:09 -0800 (PST) > From: Matthew Ratto > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > --__--__-- > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > Organization: > To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > Cc: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: Re: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo > in the URL? > > Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then > press the "Reset all questions" button. > > My score card is at the bottom. > > \brad mccormick > > Matthew Ratto wrote: > > > > Yuwei, > > > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > > to 'passing' it. > > > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ---------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > La Jolla, CA > > ----------------------------------- > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > > > Hi Matt, > > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > > > yuwei > > > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > > To: > > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > > explicit). > > > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > > > best, > > > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > Matt Ratto > > > > Department of Communication > > > > University of California, San Diego > > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. > > You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker > pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker > domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). > According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: > Computer Illiterate > Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a > comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this > test. > The average purity for this test is 76.5%. > > --__--__-- > > Message: 4 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > Organization: > To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > Cc: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: Re: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo > in the URL? > > Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then > press the "Reset all questions" button. > > My score card is at the bottom. > > \brad mccormick > > Matthew Ratto wrote: > > > > Yuwei, > > > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > > to 'passing' it. > > > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ---------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > La Jolla, CA > > ----------------------------------- > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > > > Hi Matt, > > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > > > yuwei > > > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > > To: > > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > > explicit). > > > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > > > best, > > > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > Matt Ratto > > > > Department of Communication > > > > University of California, San Diego > > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. > > You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker > pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker > domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). > According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: > Computer Illiterate > Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a > comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this > test. > The average purity for this test is 76.5%. > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > End of Softwareandculture Digest -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From andy at kinonet.com Wed Feb 6 00:22:51 2002 From: andy at kinonet.com (Andy Clarke) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] COSIGN 2002 cfp Message-ID: Please distribute the following call widely. Apologies in advance for cross-posting and multiple copies. ***************************************************** * * First Call For Papers * --------------------- * * COSIGN 2002 * * The 2nd International Conference on * * COMPUTATIONAL SEMIOTICS FOR GAMES AND NEW MEDIA * * Augsburg (Germany) * * 2nd September - 4th September, 2002 * * http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2002/ * ****************************************************** CONFERENCE SCOPE ==================== This cross-disciplinary conference explores the ways in which semiotics (and related theories such as structuralism and post-structuralism) can be applied to creating and analysing computer systems. It is intended for anyone with an interest in areas of overlap (or potential overlap) between semiotics and computers. This would include, but is not limited to, the following: computer scientists; HCI and AI practitioners; creators of expert systems; digital artists; designers; critics; semioticians; narratologists; etc. Semiotics is the study of signs, symbols and signification, and is therefore the study of how meaning is created, encoded and understood. Computational semiotics is understood here to be the application of semiotic theories to computer systems and interactive digital media. Three possible aspects of this are: - The way in which meaning can be created by, encoded in, or understood by, the computer (using systems or techniques based upon semiotics). - The way in which meaning in interactive digital media is understood by the viewer or user (again using systems or techniques based upon semiotics). - The way in which semiotics can be used as the starting point for a system for looking critically at the content of interactive digital media. Media that make use of the unique capabilities of digital systems are of particular interest to this conference. These include: hypermedia; content analysis systems (particularly those that extract higher-level meaning); the semantic web (and similar systems); multimedia and the internet; digital art, net art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms, computer games, interactive narratives and other forms of interactive entertainment; virtual reality systems and virtual environments. COSIGN 2002 invites submissions in the following categories: 1. Academic Papers 2. Artworks 3. Posters 4. Technical Demonstrations Details of the submission procedures are given below. Authors of accepted papers will be required to prepare an electronic version for the online conference proceedings (PDF), which will supplement the traditional printed volume. Information about the conference are available at the following web address: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2002/ The programme and online proceedings for COSIGN 2001 are available at the following web address: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2001/program.html IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES ============================= Academic Papers and Artworks Submission date: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 Camera-ready copy by 10th June 2002 Posters and Technical Demonstrations Submission date: 22nd April 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2002 Camera-ready copy by 10th June 2002 SUBMISSION PROCEDURE ==================== 1. ACADEMIC PAPERS Papers are invited on any subject that explores areas of overlap (or potential overlap) between semiotics and interactive digital media. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, the following: - The use of semiotics in artificial intelligence and expert systems. - Software architectures and technologies using, based upon or inspired by semiotic theories, systems or models. - The use of semiotics in the creation of generative narrative systems, interactive digital games, entertainment and artworks. - The use of semiotics in the study and criticism of digital interactive media. - Narratology in games and new media. - Semiotic-orientated HCI. - Semiotics and Hypermedia. Papers should demonstrate an understanding of - and engagement with - the principles of semiotics (understood here as the study of signs) and gain something from this engagement. All papers must be submitted electronically (in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Frank Nack at the following address: Frank.Nack@cwi.nl ------------------------------------------------------ Submission date for Academic Papers: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------ 2. ARTWORKS In addition to academic and theoretical papers, presentations of artworks of all forms and in all formats are invited. We are particularly interested in digital art, net art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms. Selection of work for presentation at the conference will be based upon its relevance to the themes of the conference, its interest in demonstrating or exploring the potential of new media, and its challenging of perceptions, theoretical assumptions, or understanding in any areas related to the conference. Selection may also be constrained by practical requirements for equipment, safety, etc. Final decisions will be made by the Artwork Committee. Artworks will be assessed on the basis of documentation of the work presented in the form of an online website. The website should display the following: - A textual description of the proposed artwork and any illustrations - A biography of the artist(s)/author(s) - Contact details Please submit the URL of the website containing your proposal in an email to Andy Clarke at the following address: andy@kinonet.com Those wishing to submit additional supporting material, such as videotapes, should contact Andy Clarke to make arrangements for this. No responsibility is taken by the COSIGN organisers for any such material, and all expenses for its return must be met by the artist. ------------------------------------------------------- Submission date for Artworks: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- 3. POSTERS There will be an opportunity for researchers to present new work and ideas that are not yet ready for the full presentation. Short papers will be presented in poster format, and will be included in both the hardcopy and electronic proceedings. All papers must be submitted electronically (2 to 4 pages of A4 size, double spaced, in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Clive Fencott at the following address: P.C.Fencott@tees.ac.uk ------------------------------------------------------- Submission date: 22nd April 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- 4. TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATIONS Demonstrations of relevant leading-edge work and work in progress are invited. Submissions will be peer-reviewed to ensure quality. Demonstration proposals must be submitted electronically (in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Craig Lindley at the following address: craig.lindley@interactiveinstitute.se Those wishing to submit supporting material, such as videotapes, should contact Craig Lindley to make arrangements for this. ------------------------------------------------------------- Submission date for Technical Demonstrations: 22nd April 2001 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2001 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------- ALTERNATIVE SUBMISSION PROCEDURE ================================ Authors and artists who have difficulty in making their submission in the appropriate form (as outlined above) should contact: Frank Nack CWI - INS2 Kruislaan 413 P.O. Box 94079, NL-1090 GB Amsterdam Email: Frank.Nack@cwi.nl Phone: +31 20 592 4223 Fax: +31 20 592 4312 ORGANISING COMMITTEE ==================== Elisabeth Andre - University of Augsburg (Germany) Andy Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Clive Fencott - University of Teeside (UK) Craig Lindley - Interactive Institute (Sweden) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Frank Nack - CWI (Netherlands) PROGRAMME COMMITTEE =================== Elisabeth Andre - University of Augsburg (Germany) Wilton Azevedo - Mackenzie Presbyterian University, S?o Paulo, (Brazil) Paul Brna - Leeds University (UK) Kevin Brooks - Motorola Human Interface Labs (USA) Andrew Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Clive Fencott - University of Teeside (UK) Mathias Fuchs - Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (Finland) Werner Kriechbaum - IBM (Germany) James Lester - North Carolina University (USA) Craig Lindley - Interactive Institute (Sweden) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Frank Nack - CWI (Netherlands) Mirko Petric -University of Split (Croatia) Paolo Petta - OFAI (Austria) Doug Rosenberg - University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) Ola Stockfelt - University of Goteborg/University of Skovde (Sweden) Robert Wechsler - Palindrome Inter-media Performance Group (Germany) ARTWORK COMMITTEE ================= Jorge Luiz Antonio - Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) Andrew Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Silvia Eckermann - Digital Artist (Austria) Fatima Lasay - University of the Philippines (Philippines) Luca Marchetti - Anomos (France) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Timothy Portlock - University of Illinois (USA) Emma Posey - Bloc (UK) David Rokeby - Digital Artist (Canada) Doug Rosenberg - University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) ************************************************ ---------- end of cfp From jhuns at vt.edu Fri Feb 8 16:47:37 2002 From: jhuns at vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers References: Message-ID: <3C644779.5000806@vt.edu> have there been any papers related to software and culture published of late? -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614 From andrei at vortex.ufrgs.br Sat Feb 9 17:42:22 2002 From: andrei at vortex.ufrgs.br (andrei@vortex.ufrgs.br) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers Message-ID: <02020917422206@vortex.ufrgs.br> i have read some stuff about computer games: www.gamestudies.org and www.ludology.org. I hope this helps :-) andrei >have there been any papers related to software and culture published of >late? > >-- >jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy >cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu >526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com >virginia tech -under construction >blacksburg, va 24061 >540-231-7614 > > > >_______________________________________________ >Softwareandculture mailing list >Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu >http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture From jhuns at vt.edu Sat Feb 9 14:55:42 2002 From: jhuns at vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers In-Reply-To: <02020917422206@vortex.ufrgs.br> Message-ID: Yes, that is Espen Aarseth's he's the editor of the journal Gamestudies.org and Jasper Juul's Sites respectively I think, both have interesting material:) On Saturday, February 9, 2002, at 03:42 PM, andrei@vortex.ufrgs.br wrote: > i have read some stuff about computer games: > www.gamestudies.org and www.ludology.org. > > I hope this helps :-) > andrei > >> have there been any papers related to software and culture published of >> late? >> >> -- >> jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy >> cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu >> 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com >> virginia tech -under construction >> blacksburg, va 24061 >> 540-231-7614 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Softwareandculture mailing list >> Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu >> http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > jeremy hunsinger jhuns@vt.edu on the ibook www.cddc.vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy www.dromocracy.com From jhuns at vt.edu Mon Feb 11 08:52:29 2002 From: jhuns at vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Final CFP: Internet Research 3.0 Oct. 13-16 2002 Message-ID: <3C67CC9D.8080607@vt.edu> apologies for cross posting: Please distribute: Call for papers Internet Research 3.0: NET / WORK / THEORY International and Interdisciplinary Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) International Institute of INFONOMICS and University of Maastricht Maastricht, the Netherlands October 13-16 2002 Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2002 Deadline for submissions: February 15, 2002. Submissions: http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/confman/ The Internet has become an integral, ubiquitous part of everyday life in many social domains and international contexts. Yet, most of the public attention on cyberspace remains fueled by utopian or dystopian visions, rather than being informed by the growing body of research on the Internet as a complex fact of modern life. Internet Research (IR) 3.0, an international and interdisciplinary conference, will feature a variety of perspectives on Internet research, in order to develop a better theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet. Building on the previous well-attended international conferences, the IR 3.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges. This year's theme is Net/Work/Theory. Contributors are called to reflect on how to theorize what we know about the Internet and on how to apply what we know theoretically in practice. The conference will be held for the first time in Europe, whose intellectual environments have traditionally been a source of social and cultural theory. IR 3.0 will be hosted by the International Institute of Infonomics in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. As the city in which one of the key treaties of the European Union was signed, Maastricht also symbolizes a changing Europe in a changing international setting. The conference will provide opportunities to network, learn from other researchers, hear from leading players in Internet development, and enjoy the "art of fine living" of Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands. The Association of Internet Researchers invites paper, presentation, and panel proposals from AoIR members and non-members on topics that address social, cultural, political, economic, and aesthetic aspects of the Internet. We welcome interdisciplinary submissions as well as submissions from any discipline. Panel presentations that establish connections across disciplines, institutions, and/or continents are especially encouraged. We also seek presentations that will make creative use of Internet technologies and techniques. Suggested topics: * Theoretical and Methodological approaches to Internet Research * Internet Access, Use and Effects * Psychology and the Internet * Individuals, Groups, and Communities Online * Privacy, Surveillance, and Security on the Internet * Internet Policy, Ethics, Law, and Politics * Teaching, Learning and the Internet * The Internet in Writing and Publishing * Ethnicity, Race, Identity, Gender, and Sexuality Online * The Internet in Cultural Contexts * The Internet in History * Digital Arts and Aesthetics * Gaming on the Internet * E-commerce, E-Business, or Value of Digital Content * New Technologies and New Media * E-Sectors (e-health, e-games, e-entertainment, e-other...) This list is not meant to be exclusive, but to trigger ideas and encourage submissions from a range of disciplines. The organizers will take an active role in generating and joining the various interests in appropriate formats Format of proposals Proposals can be of three types - papers, presentations, and panels. Each person is entitled to submit 1 paper, 1 presentation, and/or 1 panel proposal. Papers Proposals for papers: 150-250 word abstract. Creative presentations / demonstrations Creative presentations (surprise us!) and Internet-related project demonstrations (including digital arts) are encouraged. The format for these proposals is the same as those for regular papers (150-250 word abstract). Panels Panels will generally include three to four papers or presentations. The session organizer should submit a 250-500 word statement describing the session topic, include abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper or presentation, and indicate that each author is willing to participate in the session. Workshop We also invite proposals for pre-conference workshop. These proposals should be submitted as soon as possible (no later than January 15, 2002) so that the workshops can be publicized. Graduate students Graduate students are highly encouraged to submit proposals. They should note their student status with submission for consideration of a special Student Award. If you intend to be a candidate for the Student Award you must also send a final version of your proposal (final paper) by 15th September 2002. Format of submissions Submission will be accepted from 15th December until 15th February 2002. All proposals should be submitted electronically at: http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/confman/ It is preferred that you use HTML to minimally format your paper. Average time allotted for a paper or presentation will be 15 minutes. Average time allotted for a panel will be 1 hour and 30 minutes, including discussion time. If these time constraints are not appropriate for your panel/presentation, please include that in your abstract. Please include any equipment or special considerations that might affect your presentation. Deadlines Proposal submission: 15th December, 2001- February 15, 2002 Author notification: April 1, 2002 Presenter's Registration to the conference: September 15, 2002 Student Award: Final paper due September 15, 2002 Contact information If you have questions about the conference, program, or AoIR, please contact: /Conference Coordinator: / Monica Murero, Infonomics and University of Maastricht, Monica.Murero@infonomics.nl /Program Chair:/ Klaus Bruhn Jensen, University of Copenhagen: kbj@hum.ku.dk /A(o)IR President: /Steve Jones: sjones@uic.edu More Information about IR 3.0 can be found on the Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2002 For more information about the Association of Internet Researchers, including information on joining the Association, visit AoIR' s website at http://aoir.org For more information about the International Institute of Infonomics visit our website at http://www.infonomics.nl -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614 From andy at kinonet.com Fri Feb 15 08:41:43 2002 From: andy at kinonet.com (Andy Clarke) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers In-Reply-To: <3C644779.5000806@vt.edu> Message-ID: > have there been any papers related to software and culture published of > late? You may find the proceedings of the COSIGN 2001 conference interesting. They can be downloaded in pdf format by following the links on this page: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2001/program.html Thanks Andy Clarke Co-organiser, COSIGN 2001 and COSIGN 2002 ----------------------------- Andy Clarke 78 West Kensington Court Edith Villas London W14 9AB Phone: 44 (0)20 7602 3382 Mobile: 07947 418177 Email: andy@kinonet.com ----------------------------- From yl107 at york.ac.uk Wed Feb 20 18:34:15 2002 From: yl107 at york.ac.uk (Yuwei Lin) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question Message-ID: <3C73EC26.4E559F00@york.ac.uk> Hi there, I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of behaviour? Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software vulnerabilities. Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. yuwei -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From mratto at ucsd.edu Wed Feb 20 11:57:06 2002 From: mratto at ucsd.edu (Matt Ratto) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question In-Reply-To: <3C73EC26.4E559F00@york.ac.uk> Message-ID: Yuwei, I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often prevalent in the computing industry. Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally explicit). I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... best, Matt ----------------------------------- Matt Ratto Department of Communication University of California, San Diego mratto@ucsd.edu ----------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of Yuwei Lin Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question Hi there, I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of behaviour? Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software vulnerabilities. Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. yuwei -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ _______________________________________________ Softwareandculture mailing list Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture From yl107 at york.ac.uk Thu Feb 21 17:42:30 2002 From: yl107 at york.ac.uk (Yuwei Lin) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs References: <20020221170102.2AC5E13B96@florismart.cddc.vt.edu> Message-ID: <3C753185.DB2426D3@york.ac.uk> Hi Matt, You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? yuwei softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > From: Yuwei Lin > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Hi there, > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > behaviour? > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > vulnerabilities. > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > yuwei > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > From: "Matt Ratto" > To: > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Yuwei, > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > Users: A Source of Novel > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > prevalent in the computing industry. > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > explicit). > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > best, > > Matt > > ----------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > mratto@ucsd.edu > ----------------------------------- > > -----Original Message----- > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > Yuwei Lin > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Hi there, > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > behaviour? > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > vulnerabilities. > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > yuwei > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > End of Softwareandculture Digest -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From mratto at weber.ucsd.edu Thu Feb 21 10:39:09 2002 From: mratto at weber.ucsd.edu (Matthew Ratto) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle In-Reply-To: <3C753185.DB2426D3@york.ac.uk> Message-ID: Yuwei, you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close to 'passing' it. The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? best, Matt ---------------------------------- Matt Ratto Department of Communication University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA ----------------------------------- On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > Hi Matt, > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > yuwei > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > From: Yuwei Lin > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > To: > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Yuwei, > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > Users: A Source of Novel > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > explicit). > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ----------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > ----------------------------------- > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > Yuwei Lin > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > --__--__-- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > From bradmcc at cloud9.net Thu Feb 21 18:07:34 2002 From: bradmcc at cloud9.net (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle References: Message-ID: <3C757DB6.BB68203A@cloud9.net> Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo in the URL? Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then press the "Reset all questions" button. My score card is at the bottom. \brad mccormick Matthew Ratto wrote: > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: Computer Illiterate Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this test. The average purity for this test is 76.5%. From bradmcc at cloud9.net Thu Feb 21 18:07:34 2002 From: bradmcc at cloud9.net (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle References: Message-ID: <3C757DB6.BB68203A@cloud9.net> Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo in the URL? Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then press the "Reset all questions" button. My score card is at the bottom. \brad mccormick Matthew Ratto wrote: > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: Computer Illiterate Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this test. The average purity for this test is 76.5%. From yl107 at york.ac.uk Fri Feb 22 15:26:12 2002 From: yl107 at york.ac.uk (Yuwei Lin) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:17 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #35 - 4 msgs References: <20020221230902.8D21E13B97@florismart.cddc.vt.edu> Message-ID: <3C766311.F2FEBF8E@york.ac.uk> Hi Matt, I cannot get accessed to the URL you mentioned. It was said page not found. Do you have a backup file? However, I have read something about hackers from RMS and also the hacker's dictionary. But what they mentioned is an ideal hacker, and that's also where I get clues to classify hacking practices. Are you familiar with this? Certainly I'll try to find out the possible link between 'users' and 'hackers'. yuwei softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs (Yuwei Lin) > 2. - Yuwei's riddle (Matthew Ratto) > 3. Re: - Yuwei's riddle (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) > 4. Re: - Yuwei's riddle (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 17:42:30 +0000 > From: Yuwei Lin > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Hi Matt, > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > yuwei > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > From: Yuwei Lin > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > To: > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Yuwei, > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > Users: A Source of Novel > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > explicit). > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ----------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > ----------------------------------- > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > Yuwei Lin > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 10:39:09 -0800 (PST) > From: Matthew Ratto > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > --__--__-- > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > Organization: > To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > Cc: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: Re: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo > in the URL? > > Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then > press the "Reset all questions" button. > > My score card is at the bottom. > > \brad mccormick > > Matthew Ratto wrote: > > > > Yuwei, > > > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > > to 'passing' it. > > > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ---------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > La Jolla, CA > > ----------------------------------- > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > > > Hi Matt, > > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > > > yuwei > > > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > > To: > > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > > explicit). > > > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > > > best, > > > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > Matt Ratto > > > > Department of Communication > > > > University of California, San Diego > > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. > > You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker > pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker > domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). > According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: > Computer Illiterate > Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a > comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this > test. > The average purity for this test is 76.5%. > > --__--__-- > > Message: 4 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > Organization: > To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > Cc: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: Re: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo > in the URL? > > Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then > press the "Reset all questions" button. > > My score card is at the bottom. > > \brad mccormick > > Matthew Ratto wrote: > > > > Yuwei, > > > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > > to 'passing' it. > > > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ---------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > La Jolla, CA > > ----------------------------------- > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > > > Hi Matt, > > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > > > yuwei > > > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > > To: > > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > > explicit). > > > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > > > best, > > > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > Matt Ratto > > > > Department of Communication > > > > University of California, San Diego > > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. > > You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker > pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker > domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). > According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: > Computer Illiterate > Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a > comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this > test. > The average purity for this test is 76.5%. > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > End of Softwareandculture Digest -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From andy at kinonet.com Wed Feb 6 00:22:51 2002 From: andy at kinonet.com (Andy Clarke) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] COSIGN 2002 cfp Message-ID: Please distribute the following call widely. Apologies in advance for cross-posting and multiple copies. ***************************************************** * * First Call For Papers * --------------------- * * COSIGN 2002 * * The 2nd International Conference on * * COMPUTATIONAL SEMIOTICS FOR GAMES AND NEW MEDIA * * Augsburg (Germany) * * 2nd September - 4th September, 2002 * * http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2002/ * ****************************************************** CONFERENCE SCOPE ==================== This cross-disciplinary conference explores the ways in which semiotics (and related theories such as structuralism and post-structuralism) can be applied to creating and analysing computer systems. It is intended for anyone with an interest in areas of overlap (or potential overlap) between semiotics and computers. This would include, but is not limited to, the following: computer scientists; HCI and AI practitioners; creators of expert systems; digital artists; designers; critics; semioticians; narratologists; etc. Semiotics is the study of signs, symbols and signification, and is therefore the study of how meaning is created, encoded and understood. Computational semiotics is understood here to be the application of semiotic theories to computer systems and interactive digital media. Three possible aspects of this are: - The way in which meaning can be created by, encoded in, or understood by, the computer (using systems or techniques based upon semiotics). - The way in which meaning in interactive digital media is understood by the viewer or user (again using systems or techniques based upon semiotics). - The way in which semiotics can be used as the starting point for a system for looking critically at the content of interactive digital media. Media that make use of the unique capabilities of digital systems are of particular interest to this conference. These include: hypermedia; content analysis systems (particularly those that extract higher-level meaning); the semantic web (and similar systems); multimedia and the internet; digital art, net art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms, computer games, interactive narratives and other forms of interactive entertainment; virtual reality systems and virtual environments. COSIGN 2002 invites submissions in the following categories: 1. Academic Papers 2. Artworks 3. Posters 4. Technical Demonstrations Details of the submission procedures are given below. Authors of accepted papers will be required to prepare an electronic version for the online conference proceedings (PDF), which will supplement the traditional printed volume. Information about the conference are available at the following web address: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2002/ The programme and online proceedings for COSIGN 2001 are available at the following web address: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2001/program.html IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES ============================= Academic Papers and Artworks Submission date: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 Camera-ready copy by 10th June 2002 Posters and Technical Demonstrations Submission date: 22nd April 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2002 Camera-ready copy by 10th June 2002 SUBMISSION PROCEDURE ==================== 1. ACADEMIC PAPERS Papers are invited on any subject that explores areas of overlap (or potential overlap) between semiotics and interactive digital media. Examples of this include, but are not limited to, the following: - The use of semiotics in artificial intelligence and expert systems. - Software architectures and technologies using, based upon or inspired by semiotic theories, systems or models. - The use of semiotics in the creation of generative narrative systems, interactive digital games, entertainment and artworks. - The use of semiotics in the study and criticism of digital interactive media. - Narratology in games and new media. - Semiotic-orientated HCI. - Semiotics and Hypermedia. Papers should demonstrate an understanding of - and engagement with - the principles of semiotics (understood here as the study of signs) and gain something from this engagement. All papers must be submitted electronically (in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Frank Nack at the following address: Frank.Nack@cwi.nl ------------------------------------------------------ Submission date for Academic Papers: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------ 2. ARTWORKS In addition to academic and theoretical papers, presentations of artworks of all forms and in all formats are invited. We are particularly interested in digital art, net art and other technology-based or technology-oriented art forms. Selection of work for presentation at the conference will be based upon its relevance to the themes of the conference, its interest in demonstrating or exploring the potential of new media, and its challenging of perceptions, theoretical assumptions, or understanding in any areas related to the conference. Selection may also be constrained by practical requirements for equipment, safety, etc. Final decisions will be made by the Artwork Committee. Artworks will be assessed on the basis of documentation of the work presented in the form of an online website. The website should display the following: - A textual description of the proposed artwork and any illustrations - A biography of the artist(s)/author(s) - Contact details Please submit the URL of the website containing your proposal in an email to Andy Clarke at the following address: andy@kinonet.com Those wishing to submit additional supporting material, such as videotapes, should contact Andy Clarke to make arrangements for this. No responsibility is taken by the COSIGN organisers for any such material, and all expenses for its return must be met by the artist. ------------------------------------------------------- Submission date for Artworks: 27th March 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 6th May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- 3. POSTERS There will be an opportunity for researchers to present new work and ideas that are not yet ready for the full presentation. Short papers will be presented in poster format, and will be included in both the hardcopy and electronic proceedings. All papers must be submitted electronically (2 to 4 pages of A4 size, double spaced, in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Clive Fencott at the following address: P.C.Fencott@tees.ac.uk ------------------------------------------------------- Submission date: 22nd April 2002 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2002 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------- 4. TECHNICAL DEMONSTRATIONS Demonstrations of relevant leading-edge work and work in progress are invited. Submissions will be peer-reviewed to ensure quality. Demonstration proposals must be submitted electronically (in either Postscript, Microsoft Word, RTF or PDF format) to Craig Lindley at the following address: craig.lindley@interactiveinstitute.se Those wishing to submit supporting material, such as videotapes, should contact Craig Lindley to make arrangements for this. ------------------------------------------------------------- Submission date for Technical Demonstrations: 22nd April 2001 Acceptance will be notified on or around 21st May 2001 PDF copy for the proceedings by 10th June 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------- ALTERNATIVE SUBMISSION PROCEDURE ================================ Authors and artists who have difficulty in making their submission in the appropriate form (as outlined above) should contact: Frank Nack CWI - INS2 Kruislaan 413 P.O. Box 94079, NL-1090 GB Amsterdam Email: Frank.Nack@cwi.nl Phone: +31 20 592 4223 Fax: +31 20 592 4312 ORGANISING COMMITTEE ==================== Elisabeth Andre - University of Augsburg (Germany) Andy Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Clive Fencott - University of Teeside (UK) Craig Lindley - Interactive Institute (Sweden) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Frank Nack - CWI (Netherlands) PROGRAMME COMMITTEE =================== Elisabeth Andre - University of Augsburg (Germany) Wilton Azevedo - Mackenzie Presbyterian University, S?o Paulo, (Brazil) Paul Brna - Leeds University (UK) Kevin Brooks - Motorola Human Interface Labs (USA) Andrew Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Clive Fencott - University of Teeside (UK) Mathias Fuchs - Sibelius Academy, Helsinki (Finland) Werner Kriechbaum - IBM (Germany) James Lester - North Carolina University (USA) Craig Lindley - Interactive Institute (Sweden) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Frank Nack - CWI (Netherlands) Mirko Petric -University of Split (Croatia) Paolo Petta - OFAI (Austria) Doug Rosenberg - University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) Ola Stockfelt - University of Goteborg/University of Skovde (Sweden) Robert Wechsler - Palindrome Inter-media Performance Group (Germany) ARTWORK COMMITTEE ================= Jorge Luiz Antonio - Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo (Brazil) Andrew Clarke - Kinonet (UK) Silvia Eckermann - Digital Artist (Austria) Fatima Lasay - University of the Philippines (Philippines) Luca Marchetti - Anomos (France) Grethe Mitchell - University of East London and Kinonet (UK) Timothy Portlock - University of Illinois (USA) Emma Posey - Bloc (UK) David Rokeby - Digital Artist (Canada) Doug Rosenberg - University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) ************************************************ ---------- end of cfp From jhuns at vt.edu Fri Feb 8 16:47:37 2002 From: jhuns at vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers References: Message-ID: <3C644779.5000806@vt.edu> have there been any papers related to software and culture published of late? -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614 From andrei at vortex.ufrgs.br Sat Feb 9 17:42:22 2002 From: andrei at vortex.ufrgs.br (andrei@vortex.ufrgs.br) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers Message-ID: <02020917422206@vortex.ufrgs.br> i have read some stuff about computer games: www.gamestudies.org and www.ludology.org. I hope this helps :-) andrei >have there been any papers related to software and culture published of >late? > >-- >jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy >cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu >526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com >virginia tech -under construction >blacksburg, va 24061 >540-231-7614 > > > >_______________________________________________ >Softwareandculture mailing list >Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu >http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture From jhuns at vt.edu Sat Feb 9 14:55:42 2002 From: jhuns at vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers In-Reply-To: <02020917422206@vortex.ufrgs.br> Message-ID: Yes, that is Espen Aarseth's he's the editor of the journal Gamestudies.org and Jasper Juul's Sites respectively I think, both have interesting material:) On Saturday, February 9, 2002, at 03:42 PM, andrei@vortex.ufrgs.br wrote: > i have read some stuff about computer games: > www.gamestudies.org and www.ludology.org. > > I hope this helps :-) > andrei > >> have there been any papers related to software and culture published of >> late? >> >> -- >> jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy >> cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu >> 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com >> virginia tech -under construction >> blacksburg, va 24061 >> 540-231-7614 >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Softwareandculture mailing list >> Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu >> http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > jeremy hunsinger jhuns@vt.edu on the ibook www.cddc.vt.edu www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy www.dromocracy.com From jhuns at vt.edu Mon Feb 11 08:52:29 2002 From: jhuns at vt.edu (jeremy hunsinger) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Final CFP: Internet Research 3.0 Oct. 13-16 2002 Message-ID: <3C67CC9D.8080607@vt.edu> apologies for cross posting: Please distribute: Call for papers Internet Research 3.0: NET / WORK / THEORY International and Interdisciplinary Conference of the Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) International Institute of INFONOMICS and University of Maastricht Maastricht, the Netherlands October 13-16 2002 Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2002 Deadline for submissions: February 15, 2002. Submissions: http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/confman/ The Internet has become an integral, ubiquitous part of everyday life in many social domains and international contexts. Yet, most of the public attention on cyberspace remains fueled by utopian or dystopian visions, rather than being informed by the growing body of research on the Internet as a complex fact of modern life. Internet Research (IR) 3.0, an international and interdisciplinary conference, will feature a variety of perspectives on Internet research, in order to develop a better theoretical and pragmatic understanding of the Internet. Building on the previous well-attended international conferences, the IR 3.0 will bring together prominent scholars, researchers, and practitioners from many disciplines, fields and countries for a program of presentations, panel discussions, and informal exchanges. This year's theme is Net/Work/Theory. Contributors are called to reflect on how to theorize what we know about the Internet and on how to apply what we know theoretically in practice. The conference will be held for the first time in Europe, whose intellectual environments have traditionally been a source of social and cultural theory. IR 3.0 will be hosted by the International Institute of Infonomics in the beautiful city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. As the city in which one of the key treaties of the European Union was signed, Maastricht also symbolizes a changing Europe in a changing international setting. The conference will provide opportunities to network, learn from other researchers, hear from leading players in Internet development, and enjoy the "art of fine living" of Maastricht, in the south of the Netherlands. The Association of Internet Researchers invites paper, presentation, and panel proposals from AoIR members and non-members on topics that address social, cultural, political, economic, and aesthetic aspects of the Internet. We welcome interdisciplinary submissions as well as submissions from any discipline. Panel presentations that establish connections across disciplines, institutions, and/or continents are especially encouraged. We also seek presentations that will make creative use of Internet technologies and techniques. Suggested topics: * Theoretical and Methodological approaches to Internet Research * Internet Access, Use and Effects * Psychology and the Internet * Individuals, Groups, and Communities Online * Privacy, Surveillance, and Security on the Internet * Internet Policy, Ethics, Law, and Politics * Teaching, Learning and the Internet * The Internet in Writing and Publishing * Ethnicity, Race, Identity, Gender, and Sexuality Online * The Internet in Cultural Contexts * The Internet in History * Digital Arts and Aesthetics * Gaming on the Internet * E-commerce, E-Business, or Value of Digital Content * New Technologies and New Media * E-Sectors (e-health, e-games, e-entertainment, e-other...) This list is not meant to be exclusive, but to trigger ideas and encourage submissions from a range of disciplines. The organizers will take an active role in generating and joining the various interests in appropriate formats Format of proposals Proposals can be of three types - papers, presentations, and panels. Each person is entitled to submit 1 paper, 1 presentation, and/or 1 panel proposal. Papers Proposals for papers: 150-250 word abstract. Creative presentations / demonstrations Creative presentations (surprise us!) and Internet-related project demonstrations (including digital arts) are encouraged. The format for these proposals is the same as those for regular papers (150-250 word abstract). Panels Panels will generally include three to four papers or presentations. The session organizer should submit a 250-500 word statement describing the session topic, include abstracts of up to 250 words for each paper or presentation, and indicate that each author is willing to participate in the session. Workshop We also invite proposals for pre-conference workshop. These proposals should be submitted as soon as possible (no later than January 15, 2002) so that the workshops can be publicized. Graduate students Graduate students are highly encouraged to submit proposals. They should note their student status with submission for consideration of a special Student Award. If you intend to be a candidate for the Student Award you must also send a final version of your proposal (final paper) by 15th September 2002. Format of submissions Submission will be accepted from 15th December until 15th February 2002. All proposals should be submitted electronically at: http://www2.cddc.vt.edu/confman/ It is preferred that you use HTML to minimally format your paper. Average time allotted for a paper or presentation will be 15 minutes. Average time allotted for a panel will be 1 hour and 30 minutes, including discussion time. If these time constraints are not appropriate for your panel/presentation, please include that in your abstract. Please include any equipment or special considerations that might affect your presentation. Deadlines Proposal submission: 15th December, 2001- February 15, 2002 Author notification: April 1, 2002 Presenter's Registration to the conference: September 15, 2002 Student Award: Final paper due September 15, 2002 Contact information If you have questions about the conference, program, or AoIR, please contact: /Conference Coordinator: / Monica Murero, Infonomics and University of Maastricht, Monica.Murero@infonomics.nl /Program Chair:/ Klaus Bruhn Jensen, University of Copenhagen: kbj@hum.ku.dk /A(o)IR President: /Steve Jones: sjones@uic.edu More Information about IR 3.0 can be found on the Conference Website: http://www.aoir.org/2002 For more information about the Association of Internet Researchers, including information on joining the Association, visit AoIR' s website at http://aoir.org For more information about the International Institute of Infonomics visit our website at http://www.infonomics.nl -- jeremy hunsinger http://www.cddc.vt.edu/jeremy cddc/political science http://www.cddc.vt.edu 526 major williams hall 0130 http://www.dromocracy.com virginia tech -under construction blacksburg, va 24061 540-231-7614 From andy at kinonet.com Fri Feb 15 08:41:43 2002 From: andy at kinonet.com (Andy Clarke) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] papers In-Reply-To: <3C644779.5000806@vt.edu> Message-ID: > have there been any papers related to software and culture published of > late? You may find the proceedings of the COSIGN 2001 conference interesting. They can be downloaded in pdf format by following the links on this page: http://www.kinonet.com/conferences/cosign2001/program.html Thanks Andy Clarke Co-organiser, COSIGN 2001 and COSIGN 2002 ----------------------------- Andy Clarke 78 West Kensington Court Edith Villas London W14 9AB Phone: 44 (0)20 7602 3382 Mobile: 07947 418177 Email: andy@kinonet.com ----------------------------- From yl107 at york.ac.uk Wed Feb 20 18:34:15 2002 From: yl107 at york.ac.uk (Yuwei Lin) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question Message-ID: <3C73EC26.4E559F00@york.ac.uk> Hi there, I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of behaviour? Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software vulnerabilities. Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. yuwei -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From mratto at ucsd.edu Wed Feb 20 11:57:06 2002 From: mratto at ucsd.edu (Matt Ratto) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question In-Reply-To: <3C73EC26.4E559F00@york.ac.uk> Message-ID: Yuwei, I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead Users: A Source of Novel Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often prevalent in the computing industry. Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally explicit). I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... best, Matt ----------------------------------- Matt Ratto Department of Communication University of California, San Diego mratto@ucsd.edu ----------------------------------- -----Original Message----- From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of Yuwei Lin Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question Hi there, I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of behaviour? Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software vulnerabilities. Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. yuwei -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ _______________________________________________ Softwareandculture mailing list Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture From yl107 at york.ac.uk Thu Feb 21 17:42:30 2002 From: yl107 at york.ac.uk (Yuwei Lin) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs References: <20020221170102.2AC5E13B96@florismart.cddc.vt.edu> Message-ID: <3C753185.DB2426D3@york.ac.uk> Hi Matt, You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? yuwei softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > From: Yuwei Lin > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Hi there, > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > behaviour? > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > vulnerabilities. > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > yuwei > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > From: "Matt Ratto" > To: > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Yuwei, > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > Users: A Source of Novel > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > prevalent in the computing industry. > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > explicit). > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > best, > > Matt > > ----------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > mratto@ucsd.edu > ----------------------------------- > > -----Original Message----- > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > Yuwei Lin > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Hi there, > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > behaviour? > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > vulnerabilities. > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > yuwei > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > End of Softwareandculture Digest -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ From mratto at weber.ucsd.edu Thu Feb 21 10:39:09 2002 From: mratto at weber.ucsd.edu (Matthew Ratto) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle In-Reply-To: <3C753185.DB2426D3@york.ac.uk> Message-ID: Yuwei, you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close to 'passing' it. The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? best, Matt ---------------------------------- Matt Ratto Department of Communication University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA ----------------------------------- On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > Hi Matt, > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > yuwei > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > From: Yuwei Lin > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > --__--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > To: > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Yuwei, > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > Users: A Source of Novel > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > explicit). > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ----------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > ----------------------------------- > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > Yuwei Lin > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > --__--__-- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > From bradmcc at cloud9.net Thu Feb 21 18:07:34 2002 From: bradmcc at cloud9.net (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle References: Message-ID: <3C757DB6.BB68203A@cloud9.net> Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo in the URL? Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then press the "Reset all questions" button. My score card is at the bottom. \brad mccormick Matthew Ratto wrote: > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: Computer Illiterate Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this test. The average purity for this test is 76.5%. From bradmcc at cloud9.net Thu Feb 21 18:07:34 2002 From: bradmcc at cloud9.net (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle References: Message-ID: <3C757DB6.BB68203A@cloud9.net> Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo in the URL? Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then press the "Reset all questions" button. My score card is at the bottom. \brad mccormick Matthew Ratto wrote: > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > --__--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture -- Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: Computer Illiterate Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this test. The average purity for this test is 76.5%. From yl107 at york.ac.uk Fri Feb 22 15:26:12 2002 From: yl107 at york.ac.uk (Yuwei Lin) Date: Tue Jan 4 13:49:47 2005 Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #35 - 4 msgs References: <20020221230902.8D21E13B97@florismart.cddc.vt.edu> Message-ID: <3C766311.F2FEBF8E@york.ac.uk> Hi Matt, I cannot get accessed to the URL you mentioned. It was said page not found. Do you have a backup file? However, I have read something about hackers from RMS and also the hacker's dictionary. But what they mentioned is an ideal hacker, and that's also where I get clues to classify hacking practices. Are you familiar with this? Certainly I'll try to find out the possible link between 'users' and 'hackers'. yuwei softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > You can reach the person managing the list at > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs (Yuwei Lin) > 2. - Yuwei's riddle (Matthew Ratto) > 3. Re: - Yuwei's riddle (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) > 4. Re: - Yuwei's riddle (Brad McCormick, Ed.D.) > > --__--__-- > > Message: 1 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 17:42:30 +0000 > From: Yuwei Lin > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] Re: Softwareandculture digest, Vol 1 #34 - 2 msgs > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Hi Matt, > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > yuwei > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > Message: 1 > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > From: Yuwei Lin > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > Message: 2 > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > To: > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Yuwei, > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > Users: A Source of Novel > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > explicit). > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ----------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > ----------------------------------- > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > Yuwei Lin > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Hi there, > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > behaviour? > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > vulnerabilities. > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > yuwei > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > -- > Yuwei Lin > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > Department of Sociology > University of York > York YO10 5DD > UK > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > --__--__-- > > Message: 2 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 10:39:09 -0800 (PST) > From: Matthew Ratto > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Yuwei, > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > to 'passing' it. > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > best, > > Matt > > ---------------------------------- > Matt Ratto > Department of Communication > University of California, San Diego > La Jolla, CA > ----------------------------------- > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > Hi Matt, > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > yuwei > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > To: > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > explicit). > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > best, > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > Matt Ratto > > > Department of Communication > > > University of California, San Diego > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > behaviour? > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > vulnerabilities. > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > yuwei > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > -- > > Yuwei Lin > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > Department of Sociology > > University of York > > York YO10 5DD > > UK > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > --__--__-- > > Message: 3 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > Organization: > To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > Cc: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: Re: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo > in the URL? > > Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then > press the "Reset all questions" button. > > My score card is at the bottom. > > \brad mccormick > > Matthew Ratto wrote: > > > > Yuwei, > > > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > > to 'passing' it. > > > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ---------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > La Jolla, CA > > ----------------------------------- > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > > > Hi Matt, > > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > > > yuwei > > > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > > To: > > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > > explicit). > > > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > > > best, > > > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > Matt Ratto > > > > Department of Communication > > > > University of California, San Diego > > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. > > You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker > pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker > domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). > According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: > Computer Illiterate > Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a > comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this > test. > The average purity for this test is 76.5%. > > --__--__-- > > Message: 4 > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 18:07:34 -0500 > From: "Brad McCormick, Ed.D." > Organization: > To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > Cc: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > Subject: Re: [Softwareandculture] - Yuwei's riddle > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > Do I get any credit for figuring out the typo > in the URL? > > Also, I dare anyone to answer all the questions and then > press the "Reset all questions" button. > > My score card is at the bottom. > > \brad mccormick > > Matthew Ratto wrote: > > > > Yuwei, > > > > you might try sending the same questions to several different kinds of > > users - some might find the practices you describe very esoteric. > > > > I think you're right in seeing concepts such as 'hacker' and 'users' as very > > indeterminate. You might check out some different definitions of what goes > > into being a 'hacker'. For example, there is the 'hacker purity test' that > > I think is up at http://www.armory.com/tests.hacker.html - I don't think a > > whole lot of people who consider themselves hackers would come even close > > to 'passing' it. > > > > The real question is what does this 'phenomenon' indicate? > > > > best, > > > > Matt > > > > ---------------------------------- > > Matt Ratto > > Department of Communication > > University of California, San Diego > > La Jolla, CA > > ----------------------------------- > > > > On Thu, 21 Feb 2002, Yuwei Lin wrote: > > > > > Hi Matt, > > > You are right-- these practices are inspired by hacking activities. Your > > > comments are very helpful. I start to rethink of the concepts of 'hackers' and > > > 'users'. My original idea to set up these practices is to avoid a hard, firmed > > > meaning of 'hackers'. Then I send it out as a riddle to see if this assumption > > > is right. And most of the feedback towards this riddle is about 'users'. Isn't > > > this a very interesting phenomenon? How do you say? > > > > > > yuwei > > > > > > softwareandculture-request@florismart.cddc.vt.edu wrote: > > > > > > > Send Softwareandculture mailing list submissions to > > > > softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > > > > softwareandculture-request@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > You can reach the person managing the list at > > > > softwareandculture-admin@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > > > > than "Re: Contents of Softwareandculture digest..." > > > > > > > > Today's Topics: > > > > > > > > 1. riddle/question (Yuwei Lin) > > > > 2. RE: riddle/question (Matt Ratto) > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 1 > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 18:34:15 +0000 > > > > From: Yuwei Lin > > > > Organization: Sociology Department, University of York, UK > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > Message: 2 > > > > From: "Matt Ratto" > > > > To: > > > > Subject: RE: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2002 11:57:06 -0800 > > > > Reply-To: softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > > > > > Yuwei, > > > > > > > > I like your focus on practices and constellations. Just off the top of my > > > > head, they sound somewhat like what Von Hippel calls 'lead users' ("Lead > > > > Users: A Source of Novel > > > > Product Concepts," Management Science 32, no. 7 (July):791-805) or what > > > > Nardi calls 'end user programming' in "A Small Matter of Programming: > > > > Perspectives on End User Computing" (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 1993) Both > > > > descriptors see the people and the practices involved as somewhat different > > > > from those of the 'real'(this is ironic) experts - programmers who are > > > > writing the proprietary software that is getting used. Equally, these > > > > 'expert users' are a lot more than the typical notion of 'luser' often > > > > prevalent in the computing industry. > > > > > > > > Obviously, they also sound very much like what many might call 'hackers'. > > > > > > > > I would add that the practices you describe below sound somewhat like some > > > > of the users of open source programs that I study. Although they do not > > > > necessarily contribute to the code (meaning C code) building of the > > > > communities involved, they might help out by writing scripts to automate > > > > installation processes, collect disparate software into packages, or > > > > otherwise add value. I describe them as collectors, assemblers, packagers, > > > > managers - linkers of other contributors work. A very important and little > > > > studied group within open source. Some of the Linux distributions (such as > > > > Mandrake) in a sense started out this way. > > > > > > > > Finally, I think looking at people developing novel hardware which uses > > > > proprietary software is a cool idea. I got really interested for a time with > > > > activist groups that create hardware for broadcasting their messages. Great > > > > examples include Little Brother and GraffitiWriter, two projects sponsored > > > > by http://www.appliedautonomy.com. I'm not sure what software they use or > > > > how they were cobbled together, but I hope to return to the project in order > > > > to look at and compare deliberate and explicit processes of social > > > > engineering through technology.(Note the deliberate and explicit - I think > > > > Microsoft is doing the same thing with .NET, it is just not intentionally > > > > explicit). > > > > > > > > I'd like to hear more about your project. In particular I'd like to see some > > > > examples of the practices you mention. Sounds really interesting... > > > > > > > > best, > > > > > > > > Matt > > > > > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > Matt Ratto > > > > Department of Communication > > > > University of California, San Diego > > > > mratto@ucsd.edu > > > > ----------------------------------- > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > > > From: softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > [mailto:softwareandculture-admin@florismart.cddc.vt.edu]On Behalf Of > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 10:34 AM > > > > To: softwareandculture@florismart.cddc.vt.edu > > > > Subject: [Softwareandculture] riddle/question > > > > > > > > Hi there, > > > > > > > > I am trying to develop a classification of practices related to how > > > > people engage with mainstream commercial software. I've come up with the > > > > following list of bullet points. I'll be glad of any comments you might > > > > have, especially if anyone can see whether these practices might be > > > > regarded as a constellation that points to a particular type of > > > > behaviour? > > > > > > > > Practice 1: Writing creative scripts and sharing them. > > > > Practice 2: Writing challenging scripts to explore software > > > > vulnerabilities. > > > > Practice 3: Keen to do decryption, code-breaking. > > > > Practice 4: Developing novel hardware and sharing the proprietary. > > > > Practice 5: Interest in tackling software problems and sort them out. > > > > > > > > yuwei > > > > -- > > > > Yuwei Lin > > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > > Department of Sociology > > > > University of York > > > > York YO10 5DD > > > > UK > > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > -- __--__-- > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > > End of Softwareandculture Digest > > > > > > -- > > > Yuwei Lin > > > Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) > > > Department of Sociology > > > University of York > > > York YO10 5DD > > > UK > > > Tel. +44-01904-434742 > > > Fax. +44-01904-433043 > > > http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ > > > http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/ > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Softwareandculture mailing list > > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > -- > Let your light so shine before men, > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16) > > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21) > > Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / bradmcc@cloud9.net > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/ > > Here is the result of your Hacker Purity Test. > > You answered "yes" to 85 of 510 questions, making you 83.3% hacker > pure (16.7% hacker corrupt); that is, you are 83.3% pure in the hacker > domain (you have 16.7% hacker in you). > According to the scoring guide, your hacker experience level is: > Computer Illiterate > Your Weirdness Factor (AKA Uniqueness Factor) is 26%, based on a > comparison of your test results with 12528 other submissions for this > test. > The average purity for this test is 76.5%. > > --__--__-- > > _______________________________________________ > Softwareandculture mailing list > Softwareandculture@listserv.cddc.vt.edu > http://listserv.cddc.vt.edu/mailman/listinfo/softwareandculture > > End of Softwareandculture Digest -- Yuwei Lin Science and Technology Studies Unit (SATSU) Department of Sociology University of York York YO10 5DD UK Tel. +44-01904-434742 Fax. +44-01904-433043 http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~yl107/ http://www.york.ac.uk/org/satsu/