I Think That Conversations Are the Best, Biggest Thing That Software Has to Offer its User (2015)

“I think that conversations are the best, biggest thing that free software has to offer its user.

An extensive collection of conversations between developers and designers involved in the wider ecosystem of Libre Graphics. Speaking to each other about tools for typography, lay-out and image processing they render a portrait of a community gradually understanding the interdependencies between Free Software and design. Conversations is edited by Femke Snelting in collaboration with Christoph Haag.”

In conversation with: Agnes Bewer, Alexandre Leray, An Mertens, Andreas Vox, Asheesh Laroia, Carla Boserman, Christina Clar, Chris Lilley, Christoph Haag, Claire Williams, Cornelia Sollfrank, Dave Crossland, Dmytry Kleiner, Denis Jacquery, Dmytri Kleiner, Eleanor Greenhalgh, Eric Schrijver, Evan Roth, Femke Snelting, Franziska Kleiner, George Williams, Gijs de Heij, Harrisson, Ivan Monroy Lopez, John Haltiwanger, John Colenbrander, Juliane De Moerlooze, Julien Deswaef, Larisa Blazic, Ludivine Loiseau, Manuel Schmalstieg, Matthew Fuller, Michael Murtaugh, Michael Terry, Michele Walther, Miguel Arana Catania, momo3010, Nicolas Malevé, Pedro Amado, Peter Westenberg, Pierre Huyghebaert, Pierre Marchand, Sarah Magnan, Stéphanie Vilayphiou, Tom Lechner, Urantsetseg Ulziikhuu, Xavier Klein.

Concept, development and design by Christoph Haag, Xavier Klein, and Femke Snelting
Edited by Thomas Buxó, Loraine Furter, Maryl Genc, Pierre Huyghebaert, and Martino Morandi
Publisher Constant, Brussels, January 2015
Free Art License 1.3
ISBN 9789081145930
351 pages

Book website

PDF, PDF (30 MB, updated on 2018-6-20)
Git

Dariusz Jemielniak: Common Knowledge? An Ethnography of Wikipedia (2013/2014) [Polish, English]

“With an emphasis on peer–produced content and collaboration, Wikipedia exemplifies a departure from traditional management and organizational models. This iconic “project” has been variously characterized as a hive mind and an information revolution, attracting millions of new users even as it has been denigrated as anarchic and plagued by misinformation. Has Wikipedia’s structure and inner workings promoted its astonishing growth and enduring public relevance?

In Common Knowledge?, Dariusz Jemielniak draws on his academic expertise and years of active participation within the Wikipedia community to take readers inside the site, illuminating how it functions and deconstructing its distinctive organization. Against a backdrop of misconceptions about its governance, authenticity, and accessibility, Jemielniak delivers the first ethnography of Wikipedia, revealing that it is not entirely at the mercy of the public: instead, it balances open access and power with a unique bureaucracy that takes a page from traditional organizational forms. Along the way, Jemielniak incorporates fascinating cases that highlight the tug of war among the participants as they forge ahead in this pioneering environment.”

Polish edition
Publisher Poltext, Warsaw, 2013
ISBN 9788375612851
376 pages

English edition
Publisher Stanford University Press, 2014
ISBN 0804789444, 9780804789448
312 pages

Review (Piotr Konieczny, The Signpost, 2014)
Review (Forbes, George Anders, 2014)

Publisher (PL)
Publisher (EN)

Życie wirtualnych dzikich: netnografia Wikipedii (Polish, trans. Wojciech Pedzich, 2013)
Common Knowledge? An Ethnography of Wikipedia (English, 2014)

Libre Graphics magazine 2(2): Gendering F/LOSS (2014)

The current issue of Libre Graphics engages with discussions around representation and gendered work in Free/Libre Open Source Software and Free Culture.

Why Gendering F/LOSS? In the world of F/LOSS, and in the larger world of technology, debate rages over the under-representation of women and the frat house attitude occasionally adopted by developers. The conventional family lives of female tech executives are held up as positive examples of progress in the battle for gender equity. Conversely, pop-cultural representations of male developers are evolving, from socially awkward, pocket-protectored nerds to cosmopolitan geek chic. Both images mask the diversity of styles and gender presentations found in the world of F/LOSS and the larger tech ecology. Those images also mask important discussions about bigger issues: is it okay to construct such a strict dichotomy between “man” and “woman” as concepts; how much is our work still divided along traditional gender lines; is it actually enough to get more women involved in F/LOSS generally, or do we need to push for specific kinds of involvement; do we stop at women, or do we push for a more inclusive understanding of representation?

This issue looks at some of the thornier aspects of gender in F/LOSS art and design. In discussing gendered work, the push for greater and greater inclusion in our communities, and representations of gender in our artistic practices, among others, we hope to add and amplify voices in the discussion.

Edited by Ana Isabel Carvalho, ginger coons and Ricardo Lafuente
Publisher ginger coons, January 2014
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license
ISSN 1925-1416
56 pages

Publisher

PDF (31 MB, low-res version for screen)
PDF (360 MB, high-res version for print)