--- tags: notes title: 'Logs around experimental/software publishing' --- ![](https://gitlab.com/siusoon/software-publishing/-/raw/master/overview2021_o.jpg) The overivew diagram is updated on 22 Feb 2021 # What's experimental publishing - experimental forms or processes of engaging with publics and to make things public - experimental specifically points to digital culture, and how publishing relates to digital technologies, software, platforms and infrastructure. - What forms of new/artistic/activist practices are enabled via experimental publishing? - rethinking knowledge production academically and in wider cultural context # Working example Aesthetic programming ![](https://i.imgur.com/aQdXzm7.png) ## Background information: - Multiple forms/format of publications (public facing): 1) [Open Source repository](gitlab.com/aesthetic-programming/book) on GitLab 2) [PDF download](http://www.openhumanitiespress.org/books/titles/aesthetic-programming/) - black and white copy, 3) Physical book in print 4) [Interactive web ](http://aesthetic-programming.osp.kitchen/) *Open Source Publishing is our designer and developer. ## Highlights *Not only the subject is about software, but also the production of the book is about software culture & experimental/software publishing.* - **Versioning system:** Writing processes were documented on the Git platform via versionings (all iterations and changes among writers and designers/developers) - **Git functions:** Storage/archives, collaborative and distributed writing (push/pull), forking and copying, hosting and running source code, running various forms of scripts e.g markdown, HTML/JavaScript (e.g https://aesthetic-programming.gitlab.io/book/) - **Computational layout design:** The production of a physical printed book via programmatic customization (not using the UI driven interface artefact such as Adobe InDesign), including markdown, css, html, python, JavaScript, and many other libraries for things like adjusting margines, blockquotes effects, font styles, cover design, generating the footnotes. - **Free access and open source:** The project invites publics for reversionings by forking a copy and adding chapters, references, themes, examples, etc. (more a participatory aspect) Other less git specific: - Work with Open Humanities Press - Print on demand # Research questions ### Core questions as a group 1. How principles of open access might be extended by an engagement with current discussions in free software development. 2. What experimental publishing initiatives from outside traditional research communities might contribute to academic practices. 3. How workflows and divisions of labour within academic publishing might be rethought. 4. How a more overt programmatic and computational focus to existing models of open access, open knowledge and collective and collaborative practices might provide epistemic insights into publishing. ### Interesting questions as a research cluster (Aarhus) 1. What forms of experimental publishing initiatives & computational practices have emerged with and through open source, distributed and collaborative publishing technology? 2. What's the role and specificity of open source and distributed technology in digital publishing, and how that might contribute to the rethinking of workflows and divisions of labour within publishing in digital culture? 3. How the use of Git technology and Open source platforms expands current free and open access models in academia and pedagogy? # WP: Software Publishing - Computational Culture - Digital censorship and Git(hub) - Programmatic focus (including command line, python, parsing, format adaptation such as markdown to html/pdf, etc) - What forms of intervention might emerge... Specific to do: - Getting fundings to work on making the workflow public & organized (from markdown to print) - Apply fundings from AUFF, DFF, Carlsberg (2021) # Future (collaborative) interest *a direction of future (collaborative) interest: what would you like to do* - Collaborate with artists and developers, other researchers to work together (e.g Cristina Cochior, Joana Chicau, OSP, and other researchers who are from Asia, etc ) - A collaborative PhD seminar/course delivery e.g 5 ECTS? - Apply for a bigger EU grant - An international master program on experimental publishing and digital/computational culture # Past Activities - 24 Feb, 2021: Meet up with the research group - 26 Jan, 2021: Meet up with the research group - 7 Jan, 2021: Meet up with the research group - Nov, 2020: Workshop and guest lecture by Aymeric Mansoux :::spoiler Journey to the Center of the Earth Each block will be interleaved with possibility to ask questions and have a small discussion, as opposed to having first a whole presentation and after a Q&A. Small 5-10m min breaks will be offered between each block. * Presentation of the Experimental Publishing master (XPUB) at the Piet Zwart Institute (PZI), Willem de Kooning Academie (WdKA) * Social networking? Infrastructure tour of XPUB and LURK * sandbox culture, template, and post-open source: the difficult relationships with free culture ideologies **Get your terminals dirty** Each of the following blocks will be composed of three parts (roughly), a small video screening, a technical interaction, and a moment to discuss and ask questions if needed. We will take breaks every now and then. * A computer is a server is a computer: let's rent a VPS * Control over the Net: let's buy a domain name * What is time sharing? let's add some users * Users, libraries and terminals everywhere * Pubnix and tilde towns: let's install an HTTP server * Bonus track (IF WE HAVE TIME): Github censorship, DMCA takedowns and * free software, the recent case of youtube-dl: let's install gitea - 24 Aug, 2020: [On-line teaching as publishing](https://darc.au.dk/blog/nyhed/artikel/on-line-teaching-as-publishing/) - Oct, 2019: [Workshop: Making hybrid publications using Git and web technologies](https://events.au.dk/makinghybridpublications) (with Stéphanie Vilayphiou and Gijs de Heij from Open Source Publishing) # Reference links ## Tools for publishing/research - https://web.hypothes.is/about/ - https://hackmd.io/ - https://about.gitlab.com/ ## Others links - [Censorshp of Github](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_GitHub) - [An analysis of censorship in Chinese open source projects](https://citizenlab.ca/2018/08/an-analysis-of-censorship-in-chinese-open-source-projects/) - [GitHub Has Become A Haven For China's Censored Internet Users](https://www.npr.org/2019/04/10/709490855/github-has-become-a-haven-for-chinas-censored-internet-users?t=1610017656421)