diff --git a/bibliography.md b/bibliography.md index b00c059..244269b 100644 --- a/bibliography.md +++ b/bibliography.md @@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ - Howell, B. (2016). _the-screenless-office GitLab._ [online] Available at: https://gitlab.com/bhowell/the-screenless-office - Karagianni, M. (2022). _Read The Feminist Manual._ Athens, Greece: Psaroskala Zines. - Karagianni, M. et al (2023). _Feminists Federating._ Toward a Minor Tech - A peer reviewed Newspaper vol 12 +- Kuksenok, K. (2023). _Sharing Programming Knowledge_ [workshop]. Rotterdam: Varia / Available & The Rat - Hanlon, J. (2018). _Stack Overflow Isn’t Very Welcoming. It’s Time for That to Change._ [online] Stack Overflow Blog. Available at: https://stackoverflow.blog/2018/04/26/stack-overflow-isnt-very-welcoming-its-time-for-that-to-change/. - Heaton, R. (2019). _Programming Projects for Advanced Beginners #6: User Logins._ [online] Available at: https://robertheaton.com/2019/08/12/programming-projects-for-advanced-beginners-user-logins/ - Marino, M.C. (2020). _Critical code studies._ Editorial: Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Mit Press. @@ -32,8 +33,6 @@ - XPUB (2022). _Learning How to Walk while Catwalking._ [online] Available at: https://issue.xpub.nl/16/ - XPUB (2022). _the-screenless-office. XPUB GIt._ [online] Available at: https://git.xpub.nl/kamo/the-screenless-office -‌ - ## List of figures 1. Code documentation flows, with a roster and a barn owl. @@ -52,5 +51,10 @@ 14. Examples from p5.js documentation. source: [p5js.org](https://p5js.org/) 15. Menu printed by the Inhuman Resources bureau using the docstrings from the other offices. source: [4-4-2022 Workshop with Brendan Howell at XPUB](https://media.xpub.nl/2022/2022-04-04-brendan.mp4) 16. Soupboat server. Jupyter Notebook of the repeat function. On the left panel the filesystem with the other function files. -17. Documentation generated from the Notebook files for the Repeat function. source: [issue.xpub.nl/16](https://issue.xpub.nl/16/) -18. Documentation generated from the Notebook files for the Repeat function. source: [issue.xpub.nl/16](https://issue.xpub.nl/16/) +17. Documentation generated from the Notebook files for the Repeat function. source: [issue.xpub.nl/16](https://issue.xpub.nl/16/) +18. Documentation generated from the Notebook files for the Repeat function. source: [issue.xpub.nl/16](https://issue.xpub.nl/16/) + +## License + +km0, sumo, tofu, maya et all the other aliases. _Hello Worlding : Code documentation as entry point / backdoor to programming practices_. 14/04/2023 +Copyleft with a difference: This is a collective work, you are invited to copy, distribute, and modify it under the terms of the [CC4r](https://constantvzw.org/wefts/cc4r.en.html). diff --git a/chapters/01_entry_points.md b/chapters/01_entry_points.md index d99ef26..6e8f051 100644 --- a/chapters/01_entry_points.md +++ b/chapters/01_entry_points.md @@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ There have been discussions about tone on the platform for years. At the questio Far from being just an isolated problem, this crudity is deeply embedded in the IT discourse, soaking through technical writings as well. The denigrating expressions of superiority in matters concerning programming which Marino calls _encoded chauvinism_ (2020) constitute the main ingredient in the brew of toxic geek masculinity. _Real programmers_ don't use that code editor. _Real programmers_ don't use that programming language. _Real programmers_ don't care about others feelings. Etc. -Ellen Ullman's accounts of the emotional dumbness of her _real programmer_ colleagues offer a glimpse of a problematic behavior, that was first intercepted and then capitalised on by the IT industry. _"In meetings, they behave like children. They tell each other to shut up. The call each other idiots. They throw balled-up paper. One day, a team member screams at his Korean colleague, 'Speak English!' (A moment of silence follow this outburst, at least.)"_ (Ullman, 2017) +Ellen Ullman's accounts of the emotional dumbness of her _real programmer_ colleagues offer a glimpse of a problematic behavior, that was first intercepted and then capitalised on by the IT industry. _"In meetings, they behave like children. They tell each other to shut up. They call each other idiots. They throw balled-up paper. One day, a team member screams at his Korean colleague, 'Speak English!' (A moment of silence follow this outburst, at least.)"_ (Ullman, 2017) Programming means dealing with picky stubborn machines that won't overlook a single typo. It requires a high tolerance for failure. It is frustrating. But to project that frustration onto other users, as in the typical response to a request for help of `Read The Fucking Manual`, is a form of _negative solidarity_: others should suffer as I have when trying to understand how code works. diff --git a/chapters/02_backdoors.md b/chapters/02_backdoors.md index 94851a0..c9bbf46 100644 --- a/chapters/02_backdoors.md +++ b/chapters/02_backdoors.md @@ -149,16 +149,3 @@ SI16 has been a space for undoing the grand scheme and let a plural, vernacular ![The picture of a parrots and description of the function.](../img/SI16_2.jpg "Figure 18. Documentation of the Repeat function.") The title of the project was a declaration of intents: when approaching the technical be confident, be ambitious, and be ready to fail a lot. With these notebooks we were able to keep different voices visible in the documentation, to question a rigid and centralised structure, creating space to document and code from multiple perspective. - - - - - - - - - - - - - diff --git a/chapters/03_outro.md b/chapters/03_outro.md index 898b7a5..9454e95 100644 --- a/chapters/03_outro.md +++ b/chapters/03_outro.md @@ -1,16 +1,9 @@ ## 3. Outro -- documentation as a rich set of practices +Documenting code is a rich and diverse practice, with a variety of forms and formats suited to specific occasions and needs. These different publishing surfaces are still affected by several problems, such as a general unappealing and unwelcoming tone, dense and gendered language, and a massive amount of energy, resources and time required for maintenance. These critical aspects highlight how problematic the supposed "nature" of code documentation is. A nature that instead of creating entry points, essentially gatekeeps access to programming knowledge. -- coming with many different formats +There is another way in, however. Because of its proximity to the code and its ongoing relationships with programmers, code documentation can be a backdoor into communities gathered around coding, opening up more entry points from within. Code documentation can be used to orient software in the world, operating at different scales and in several ways, working with both technical and social frameworks. It can retrace genealogies to activate exhausted technical terms. It can influence technical implementations by representing the needs of marginalised minorities. It can be a moment of collective learning, challenging traditional reproduction of knowledge, and creating safe spaces for anyone to participate to code. -- meeting developers in different moments of their lives +I started this research for of two reasons: the first is that I love programming. Learning how to code is like learning another language: not just a new bag of words and a different grammar, but a whole new way of thinking, a lens through which to look at the world. Coding means to express ideas with the reduced vocabulary of a programming language. As in poetry, these constraints stimulate creativity, and encourage a diligent yet playful approach. Working with different programming languages and on different systems transforms thinking in multivarious ways, and that is extremely exciting. -- two ways to think about it: - -- entry point to broadens participation - - - - -- a backdoor to inject context and values into making of software +The second reason is that I want to share this excitement with others, especially with my friends. To be able to think and make sense together of what's happening around us, and come up with alternatives or responses or tools that suit us better. Because of the steep learning curve of programming and the other barriers mentioned in the thesis, this has often not been possible. But now we know that there are other ways in, and that it is possible to open up even more. diff --git a/cover.md b/cover.md index 93d463d..7f39f3e 100644 --- a/cover.md +++ b/cover.md @@ -1,10 +1,10 @@ Francesco Luzzana -Hello Worlding +# Hello Worlding _Code documentation as entry point / backdoor to programming practices._ Thesis submitted to the Department of Experimental Publishing, Piet Zwart Institute, Willem de Kooning Academy, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the final examination for the degree of: Master of Arts in Fine Art & Design: Experimental Publishing. Adviser Marloes de Valk Second Reader: Lidia Pereira -Word count: atm 7581 but writing conclusions and intro +Word count: 7953 diff --git a/notes.md b/notes.md index 0e4d782..448ac03 100644 --- a/notes.md +++ b/notes.md @@ -7,15 +7,13 @@ [x] and maybe connect it to aesthetic programming [x] outro code companion wrap up [ ] outro -[ ] context soupboat in appendix? -[ ] readme in appendix? -[ ] hello worlding: code documentation as an entry point / backdoor to programming practices +[ ] context soupboat in appendix / situated docs? +[ ] readme in appendix / situated docs +[x] hello worlding: code documentation as an entry point / backdoor to programming practices [ ] cover & word count [x] grammar -[ ] abbraviation check [ ] toc -[ ] vue image is too big consider adjusting ## first chap structure