Difference between revisions of "Main Page"
From Convivial Tools Database
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| + | <font size="5">'''Convivial Tools Database'''</font> | ||
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| + | <font size="3">See the '''[[Main Categories]]'''</font> or go to '''[[:Category:Root]]'''. See also '''[[User:MichaelSlattery/Blog|Michael Slattery's Blog]]'''. | ||
| − | + | This website is a database about people, projects, concepts and websites related to [[Convivial Tools]]. For information about the site itself, see [[About this Site]]. For suggestions about pages to browse see [[Road Maps]]. See also the companion websites [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia] and [http://ctwiki.ouvaton.org Convivial Projects Wiki]. | |
| − | == | + | ==Ivan Illich and Tools for Conviviality. [[:Category:Convivial Tools]]== |
| + | [[Ivan Illich]] coined the term [[Convivial Tools]] in his book [[Tools for Conviviality]], first published in 1973. [[Convivial Tools]] can be defined as tools which allow the user to operate with independent efficiency. At the same time, [[Convivial Tools]] are often developed and maintained by a community of users, such as for example an on-line community. | ||
| − | + | Illich is better known for an earlier book, entitled [[Deschooling Society]], which proposed the development of "learning webs" for informal learning outside of academic institutions. In this earlier book Illich advocated the development of a computer network which strongly ressembles the Internet, at a time before the Internet existed. Illich's later book [[Tools for Conviviality]] exercised a discrete influence in certain circles, but never received major public attention. However, it influenced [[Lee Felsenstein]], a member of the [[Hacker Generation]] who contributed to the development of the personal computer. Felsenstein adopted Illich's vision of tools that would be developed and maintained by a community of users. This vision of community tool development has also been embodied in more recent movements, such as the [[Free and Open Source Software]] (FOSS), [[Wiki]] and [[Open Design]] movements, which are manifestations of the idea of [[Convivial Tools]], without necessarily being familiar with the concept. | |
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| − | + | ==[[:Category:Historical Roots]]== | |
| + | When [[Ivan Illich]] wrote [[Tools for Conviviality]] in 1973, he was following on a long tradition of criticism of industrial technology and of proposal of alternatives. The [[Historical Roots]] of the idea of [[Convivial Tools]] extend at least as far back as the eighteenth century French Enlightenment and the philosophy of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]]. More recent precursors include twentieth-century figures such as [[Lewis Mumford]] and [[Jacques Ellul]]. The [[Whole Earth]] and [[Appropriate Technology]] movements, mentioned below, appeared a few years ''before'' Illich wrote [[Tools for Conviviality]], and probably exercised significance influence on his thinking. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Post-War Cybernetics]]== | ||
| + | In the years just before, during and after the second world war, emerging tendencies in scientific thought coalesced into a new field which [[Norbert Wiener]] called [[Cybernetics]]. This discipline formed at the crossroads of computer science, electrical engineering, biology and social science. [[Post-War Cybernetics]] exercised a major influence on the development of theories about society, information, the environment and the use of computers, and spawned derivative terms such as [[Cyberspace]] and [[Cybernaut]]. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Whole Earth]]== | ||
| + | The [[Whole Earth]] movement began with the publication of the [[Whole Earth Catalog]] (WEC) by [[Stewart Brand]] in 1968. The [[Whole Earth Catalog]] served as the focal center of an informal community of users and contributors to that publication, which appeared regularly until 1972, and periodically thereafter. [[Stewart Brand]] and the [[Whole Earth]] community spawned a number of influential spin-offs, such as the [[Coevolution Quarterly]], the Internet community called the [[WELL]] and the magazine [[Wired]]. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Appropriate Technology]]== | ||
| + | The theme now called [[Appropriate Technology]] was first introduced as [[Intermediate Technology]] in the mid-nineteen-sixties by [[E.F. Schumacher]], who is best-known for his book [[Small is Beautiful]]. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Hacker Generation]]== | ||
| + | The [[Hacker Generation]] refers to the individuals and communities that created the hardware and software of the personal computer in the late nineteen-seventies and early nineteen-eighties. It includes people such as [[Steve Wozniak]] and [[Steve Jobs]], who created the [[Apple Computer]], and [[Lee Felsenstein]], an electronic engineer who along with Wozniak and Jobs was a founding member of the [[Homebrew Computer Club]]. | ||
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| + | ==[[Free and Open Source Software]] [[:Category:FOSS]]== | ||
| + | [[Free and Open Source Software]] (FOSS) is a comprehensive term encompassing both the [[Free Software]] and [[Open Source Software]] movements. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Wikis]]== | ||
| + | A [[wiki]] is a website whose pages can be edited by any visitor. The first wiki, called [[WikiWikiWeb]], was created by [[Ward Cunningham]] in 1995. Wikis were brought to the attention of the general public by the success of [[Wikipedia]], an online collaborative encyclopedia created in 2001. This website presents numerous pages with information about [[:Category:Wiki People|people]], [[:Category:Wiki Websites|websites]], [[:Category:Wiki Engines|software]] and [[:Category:Wiki Concepts|concepts]] in the realm of wikis. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Open Design]]== | ||
| + | [[Open Design]] is the application of the principles of [[Free and Open Source Software]] (FOSS) to the design of physical objects such as machines and computer hardware. Open Design is a general term covering a number of specific [[Open Source]] movements, such as the [[Open Source Hardware]] movement for Open Design of microcomputer chips, and the [[Open Source Tool Design]] movement which concerns primarily the Open Design of machines. | ||
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| + | ==[[:Category:Convivial Product]]== | ||
| + | The [[Convivial Product]] is a [[Convivial Tool]] offered for public use. The [[Convivial Product]] is a vision what the [[Convivial Tool]] can and should be. | ||
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| + | ==Other Categories== | ||
| + | *'''[[:Category:Online Information]]''' -- listings of review sites, how-to sites, and other useful websites | ||
| + | *'''[[:Category:Open Source]]''' -- [[Open Source]] movements and licenses | ||
| + | *'''[[:Category:Cyberspace]]''' -- culture and inhabitants of [[Cyberspace]] | ||
| + | *'''[[:Category:MediaWiki]]''' -- use of the [[MediaWiki]] software engine | ||
| + | *'''[[:Category:This Site]]''' -- pages and sub-categories about this website | ||
| + | *'''[[:Category:RainDog's Opinions]]''' -- miscellaneous rants | ||
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| + | ==Is this Website a [[Wiki]]?== | ||
| + | <font size="3">'''[[:Category:Wikis]]'''</font> | ||
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| + | This website operates under [[MediaWiki]] software and thus has the potential to be a [[Wiki]]. However, the site was initially configured to require users to create an account before they can edit articles. In addition, when the wiki began to be spammed (see [[Spam Attack]]), the configuration was changed so that only [[WikiSysop]] can create new accounts. The site thus currently operates as the personal database of [[User:MichaelSlattery|Michael Slattery]]. The companion site the [http://ctwiki.ouvaton.org Convivial Projects Wiki] is still a [[Wiki]], although as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_A._Wiley David Wiley] says: "A wiki without contributors is nothing but a blog on steroids." | ||
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| + | ==Blog== | ||
| + | See also [[User:MichaelSlattery/Blog|Michael Slattery's Blog]]. | ||
