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<font size="5">'''Convivial Tools Database'''</font><br>
<br>
This website is a database about people and concepts related to [[Convivial Tools]].

[[Ivan Illich]] coined the term [[Convivial Tools]] in his 1973 book [[Tools for Conviviality]]. Convivial Tools can be defined as tools which allow the user to operate with independent efficiency.

This site is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_is_a_work_in_progress Work in Progress]. It replaces my earlier [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia], which got bogged down in the attempt to be overly formal and comprehensive. Links to pages that have yet to be created appear as [[red links]]. All categories are attached, directly or indirectly, to [[:Category:Root]].

==The Convivial Tool==
The central part of this website seeks to describe the [[Convivial Tool]] as a possible object of design and marketing. See the following categories:
*[[:Category:Convivial Design]]: characteristics of the convivial tool - see [[Convivial Tool Characteristics]]
*[[:Category:Convivial Product]]: production and marketing of the convivial tool - see [[Convivial Product]]

I have imported into these categories relevant pages from my abandonned [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia].

==Thematic Topics==
This part of the website tries to situate Convivial Tools within the broader framework of alternative technology. See the page [[Thematic Topics]] for a summary. The main thematic topics are listed below in approximate chronological order:
*[[:Category:Historical Roots]] of the ideas behind Convivial Tools - see [[Historical Roots Narrative]]
*[[:Category:Post-War Cybernetics]] - see [[Post-War Cybernetics]] and [[Cybernetics]]
*[[:Category:Whole Earth]] - see [[Whole Earth]]
*[[:Category:Appropriate Technology]] - see [[Appropriate Technology]]
*[[:Category:Ivan Illich]] - see [[Ivan Illich]]
*[[:Category:Hacker Generation]] and the invention of the personal computer
*[[:Category:FOSS]] - see [[Free and Open Source Software]]
*[[:Category:Web]]: the web as a convivial system
*[[:Category:Open Source]] as a movement (including [[:Category:Open Design]])

The scope of these thematic topics turned out to be too wide. Some of the pages have been transferred or copied into my [http://interdb.org Internet Database] and [http://iuserguide.com Internet User Guide]. (Note also that a category on "wikis" has been deleted since this subject is covered on my [http://toolswiki.ouvaton.org Wiki History Database].) I'm still trying to figure out what to do with all this material.

==Theory and Practice==
I'm adding two supplementary sections to the site, as follows:
*[[:Category:Convivial Theory]]: elements for a work-in-progress about the theory of convivial tools - see [[Convivial Theory Outline]]
*[[:Category:Convivial Projects]]: a grab-bag of planned or possible projects related to convivial tools - [[Convivial Projects Outline]]

I'll be adding material here in the coming weeks (some of which I'll import from my other websites).

==Is this Website a Wiki?==
This website operates under [[MediaWiki]] software and thus has the potential to be a [[Wiki]]. However, the site is currently configured so that only registered users can edit pages - and there is only one registered user.

==See Also==
*The precursor of this website, the unfinished and abandoned [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia].
*[[About this Site]]
*[[Site Map]]
*[[Road Maps]]
*[[:Category:Scaffolding]]