advocating widespread dissatisfaction with computing. researcher @inkandswitch.com + libcomp.org ½ @folkjs.org ¼ @tentpole.bsky.social
advocating widespread dissatisfaction with computing. researcher @inkandswitch.com + libcomp.org ½ @folkjs.org ¼ @tentpole.bsky.social
Hypermedia: A Reintroduction
Hypermedia is a universal technology today, almost as common as electricity.
We Need To Rewild The Internet
The internet has become an extractive and fragile monoculture. But we can revitalize it using lessons learned by ecologists.
esoteric.codes
Languages, platforms, and systems that break from the norms of computing
The politics of purely client-side apps - Paul's Leaflets
There's a surprisingly nuanced discussion in development about the political economy of clients and servers in the Atmosphere
Design From the Margins
In an age of virtual connectivity and increased reliance on the internet for daily functions, including by marginalized groups, can companies and technologists reframe their features or standards to support the most marginalized users’ needs? Can the modes of resilience within digital spaces from some of the most marginalized groups be listened to, learned from, and centered when creating technology? Design from the Margins (DFM), a design process that centers the most impacted and marginalized users from ideation to production, pushes the notion that not only is this something that can and must be done, but also that it is highly beneficial for all users and companies. For this to happen, consumer interest conversations need to be framed outside the “biggest use case” scenarios and United States and European Union-centrisms and refocused on the cases often left in the margins: the decentered cases. This report outlines how the DFM method can be used to build our most well-known and relied-upon technologies for decentered cases (often deemed “edge cases” which is atypical or less common use case for a product) from the beginning of the design process, rather than retrofitting them post-deployment to cater to communities with what are perceived to be extra needs.
Curb cut effect
The curb cut effect is the phenomenon of disability-friendly features being used and appreciated by a larger group than the people they were designed for. The phenomenon is named for curb cuts – miniature ramps comprising parts of sidewalk – which were first made for wheelchair access in particular places, but were also welcomed by people pushing strollers, carts or luggage. Curb cuts are now ubiquitous and no longer widely recognized as a disability-accessibility feature. Another example is hearing people using television closed captioning.
Disability Driven Development
Disability Driven Development (DDD) is a practice that reimagines computing from a disabled perspective, challenging its seemingly seamless and stable hegemonic operations. It asks who is left out of creating (and joyfully using) digital technology, and how this can be changed. It is a practice by and for those who did not get to shape computing to meet their needs. It is a work related to crip technoscience, a practice of critique, alteration, and reinvention of our material-discursive world1. It is also heavily inspired by "fourth wave" womanist thinkers like EbonyJanice Moore, drawing on the notion of "a revolution that does not cost us our whole spirit, soul, and bodies."2 DDD was coined by Amelia Laumann to describe her work on SpoonStack 3.
File over app
If you want to create digital artifacts that last, they must be files you can control, in formats that are easy to retrieve and read. Use tools that give you...
Computer Files Are Going Extinct
Technology services are changing our internet habits
Ejectable Apps
An important requirement to ensure you can fully access your data in cloud apps forever is making the backend sync server available for local self-hosting. That's what EJECTABLE apps are about.
File Over App: A Philosophy for Digital Longevity
My take on the 'file over app' philosophy and why it’s essential for keeping my data resilient and built to last.
Nothing new under the sun: everything is a file
The Unix revolution was built on a key principle: everything is a file. Now, with the rise of AI Agents, LLMs have access to half a century of file-based arcana. The result? Everything is becoming a file again.
Semble — A social knowledge network for research
Follow your peers' research trails. Surface and discover new connections. Built on ATProto so you own your data.
Linked Data is a Political Agenda
AI Commons - One Project
What if we could redefine AI? What if we could shift its development from a capitalist model to a more disruptive, inclusive, and decentralized one?
