[HacktionLab] ogg camp -

Zoe Young zoe at esemplastic.net
Tue Jun 21 09:33:57 UTC 2011


Thanks for the responses people, maybe one day I'll get over this uneasy 
feeling and make it along to join you...

I guess part of my problem is I'm already convinced about what OS 
techies are trying to do, and I do try terribly hard to understand why 
they do it the way they do it and to use the tools where I can.. but I 
fail again and again.  I never seem to be able to make open source tools 
work the way that I need them to if I'm not to spend my days trying ever 
harder to understand where techies' heads and ideas and ambitions are 
at, and what on earth this or that new tool or setting or module might 
be for, and instead get on with my own work instead.

I fail and fail to understand why core tools have to be separately 
packaged up and presented without a simple work process guided by big 
shiny buttons and language suited to idiots like me to do 
straightforward tasks like media uploading, video encoding, feed item 
moderation etc, ... and though I understand that there are more coders 
than user interface people in political tech movements, I don't 
understand why more of the effort that goes into creating more new tools 
or writing manuals for unclear tools or persuading non techy activists 
to use linux etc doesn't go into recruiting UI people and persuading 
THEM of the value they could add by creating usability in OS tools ... 
and then making the existing tools really usable. fast, fun, easy, 
integrated. like facebook, youtube, twitter. only nice...

maybe my problem is that I don't particularly want to be 'explained to' 
as I am fully convinced of the preference for open source etc. I don't 
even want particularly to be 'included in techies' processes' so much as 
to know that design of the most important of those processes are 
starting from the needs and desires of ordinary activists, particularly 
those with a lot less techy knowledge and interest than me..

Anyway, sounds like you are doing great stuff and I wish you all very, 
very well in it.. and hope to feel there is some direction I can 
reconnect with usefully sooner than later..

Cheers all

xxZ

  On 20/06/2011 20:55, Adelayde Skidmore wrote:
>   On 20/06/2011 20:12, Ben Green wrote:
>> Quoting Zoe Young<zoe at esemplastic.net>:
>>
>>> agree.. still haven't made it to barn camp because I have tired of
>>> encountering this bias.. the only way, imho, for righteous techs to
>>> get activists more tech savvy is to take the 'political' step of
>>> seeing how the world looks from a non techy activist mindset.. and
>>> then to take the several difficult steps required to cater to the
>>> needs of people who do not feel or think the same way as techs
>>> do...not easy o9r particularly fun all the time but necessary, really
>>> really necessary,  recruiting help where needed, compromising where
>>> possible, and making it EASY and FUN for busy people with different
>>> skill sets and expertise from techies to use the better tech tools.
>>> imho, the thinking should be in terms of opening up - similar to that
>>> needed when considering how to ensure disabled access, LGBT
>>> awareness, catering for vegans etc etc etc.
>>> Cheers all
>>> Zoe
>>
>> I think you've missed the point of Barncamp completely. The whole
>> point is to provide an open and free framework for techies to include
>> people in their processes, to provide pratical, inclusive, pragmatic
>> ways of using tech in activism. It's about techies doing what
>> non-techies want us to do - refrane from jargon, explain themselves
>> patiently and generally understand the tech/non-tech interface.
>> Barncamps is absolutely about doing everything you said above.
>>
>> We should distinguish completely from what our other hacktionlab
>> gatherings do, which are talking shops for techies to talk tech in,
>> doing the things we want to do.
>>
>> I'm sorry if you didn't come to Barncamp because you thought it was
>> going to be more of the later.
> +1
>
> Zoe: I'm sorry too, as Ben says that's exactly how we've been trying to
> pitch it and what we've been working towards.  We need more people like
> you to come to make it even more like what you describe, it's a question
> of being the change you want (BarnCamp) to be I think.
>> Cheers,
>> ==
>>  From Ben Green
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> HacktionLab mailing list
>> HacktionLab at lists.aktivix.org
>> https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/hacktionlab
>>
>
> _______________________________________________
> HacktionLab mailing list
> HacktionLab at lists.aktivix.org
> https://lists.aktivix.org/mailman/listinfo/hacktionlab
>


-- 
tel + 44 (0) 7931 316 970




More information about the HacktionLab mailing list