Difference between revisions of "Main Page"

This website is a database about people, projects, concepts and websites related to [[Convivial Tools]]. It is a work in progress, and some sections are more complete than others.

For information about the site itself, see [[About this Site]] and [[Road Maps]]. For a site map, see the list of [[Main Categories]], or go to [[:Category:Root]]. See also the companion websites the<br> [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia] and the [http://toolswiki.ouvaton.org Wikis Database].

==[[:Category:Convivial Tools]] as defined by Ivan Illich==

[[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, for example by an on-line community.

Illich first became known for his earlier book [[Deschooling Society]], a critique of institutionalized education. In this book Illich proposed the development of "learning webs" for informal learning outside of academic institutions, and 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]] influenced both philosophers such as [[Andre Gorz]] and inventors such as [[Lee Felsenstein]], a member of the [[Hacker Generation]] who contributed to the development of the personal computer. Felsenstein notably 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.

==[[:Category:Historical Roots]] of Convivial Tools==

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 significant influence on his thinking.

==[[: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. The concepts of [[Cybernetics]] were taken up by the [[Whole Earth]] movement, and in the context of the Internet the word has spawned derivative terms such as [[Cyberspace]] and [[Cybernaut]].

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]].

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]].

==[[: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 member of the [[Homebrew Computer Club]].

 

==[[:Category:FOSS]] - Free and Open Source Software==

[[Free and Open Source Software]] (FOSS) is a comprehensive term encompassing both the [[Free Software]] and [[Open Source Software]] movements.

 

The emergence of the [[World Wide Web]] in the early nineteen-nineties lead to the development of a new culture shared by the denizens of [[Cyberspace]].

 

The new licences developed by the [[Free and Open Source Software]] movement inspired interest in the use of [[Open Source]] licenses in all fields of creative activity.

 

[[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.

 

==[[:Category:Convivial Product]] Design and Marketing==

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.

 

[[Convivial Websites]] are those which demonstrate the characteristics of the [[Convivial Product]], including notably [[Review Sites]], [[How-to Websites]], and other useful websites. Other types of Convivial Websites include [[wiki]] website and [[Social Software]] sites.

 

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. For detailed information about wikis see also the [http://toolswiki.ouvaton.org Wikis Database].

 

This website operates under [[MediaWiki]] software and thus has the potential to be a [[Wiki]]. However, the site is configured to require users to create an account before they can edit articles. In addition, to avoid continual hassles with spammers, the site is configured so that only WikiSysop can create new accounts. The site thus currently operates as the single-handed creation of one person. However, the companion website the [http://ctwiki.ouvaton.org Convivial Projects Wiki] is a true [[Wiki]], although for the moment it seems to have only a single user....