Radical media, politics and culture.

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"Computer-Mediated Communication and Group Decision Making: A Meta-Analysis"

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6WP2-4575RSG-9-... di=6978&_orig=browse&_coverDate=01%2F31%2F2002&_sk=999129998&wchp=dGLbVtb-lS zBk&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_userid=10&md5=be97a96f5c2f6b5a4954113a4c4b3 e72&ie=f.pdf

http://www.noisebetweenstations.com/personal/weblogs/tinderbox/thekitch/...

http://levin.blogspot.com/2002_10_01_levin_archive.html#85573287 (found via david weinberger's blog)

Hubert Dreyfus has been writing a lot of the theoretical underpinnings of the subject since the 1970's in AI criticism, from the point of view of phenomenological philosophy.

From the perspective of social software: since human experts don't make decisions like expert systems theoretically (Dreyfus) or practically (the linked book), what kind of software would be helpful for a *group* of experts making a decision, based on expert intuition rather than rational decision methods? This question seems to be rather unexplored.

For example, what happens if two intuitions conflict? One would think that falling back to rational decision methods is the only alternative then. But if you think of e.g. a football team as a group of experts making instantaneous decisions, there is clearly a case for "group intuition" and software for supporting it.

Petri

petri.h.maenpaa@nokia.com

http://www.bitwaste.com/wasted-bits/archives/000344.html

Here is a couple of comments and some other suggestions.

First I would like to take a broader view, specifically by looking at sharing in the offline world, and especially thinking about the way in which the propogation or transmission of knowledge and skill occurs. I think the list we have so far reflects the degree to which our subjective concept of sharing is influenced by our online experience. How about collective baby-sitting arrangements in state housing projects? I give it as an example just so as to kick off a different trajectory for reflection which could help us to see things whose significance we may overlook.

Secondly, beyond grey areas of legality, I think the warez scene which has no pretensions towards legitimacy (!) should be represented and discussed. If an infocalyptic meltdown should occur around the ears of p2p users, they will find themselves in a position analogous to the one which has confronted warez scenes for years. the interesting thing is that warez persists. The other interesting thing is that warez is a truely miuxed economy, relying both upon sharing, non-rothodox trust networks and, on the other hand, money through its interface with the black market economy.

Thirdly, the spec as initially mailed to me sounded rather like a summary of the first part of the book our research group at the ILI are working on.... and I would have some other suggestions if that was the route it was decided to pursue. As is I'm thinking more in terms of S.O.S or DFCAKASSTHPAH (Days of Free Culture and Knowledge and the Subjugation of Science to Human Pleasure and Health!)

No-one is currently using the Wiki. That's fucked up, so my mission to remedy begins here.

Speaking with Natalie about my sense that the hacklabs represented a really important innovation at the level the socialisation of knowledge and technology, whe argued that the US constituted the exception through an absence of this public culture. To substantiate this she described the culktural spaces all over Europe that she had visited. Furthermore she argued that certain galleries and cultural spaces in new york were compelled to fill this vacuum, and that ultimately the Thing provided the same possibilities as the Interactivist Media Lab at ABC No Rio.

The traditional retirement gift was a clock, a symbol of time measured, organised and dedicated to the enterprise. The gold watch implied permanency, diligence and respectability. In contrast, digital watches were first seen as gadgets and are now cheap and disposable.

Aileen

One of the most harmful habits, in contemporary thought is the analysis of the present as being precisely, in history, a present of rupture, of high point, of completion, or of a returning dawn. The solemnity with which everyone who engages in philosophical discourse reflects on his own time strikes me as a flaw I think we should have the modesty to say to ourselves that the time we live in is not the unique or fundamental irruptive point in history where everything is completed and begun again...[O]n the other hand, the time we live in is very interesting; it needs to be analyzed and broken down, and that we would do well to ask ourselves, "What is the nature of our present?"

Foucault

Proposal for Euro Network against Prison and Repression http://italy.indymedia.org/news/2002/12/125953.php

UR@CTION HUB

NOVEMBER 7 2002

Free Distro

a. describe

- building a social community committed to contributing resources to the storage and distribution of materials of an independent and critical nature

- the tools to do this exist already; it is not a matter of a coding problem – although there is an issue with regards to the proprietary nature of some software. At the moment P2P the contents of filesharing systems and their patterns of usage reflect current market values; they also reflect the community’s failure to promote the sharing of alternative material over peer networks.

- Individuals and groups in different countries and movements have been thinking about this problem; GNU Global Vision presented a workshop at the Hackmeeting in Bologna this year; people in New York and Berlin have also participated in this discussion and approaching it from their own perspectives. The purpose of Freedistro.org is to extend co-operation between these different elements by sharing experiences and knowledge and, hopefully, resources.

- what are the tools? Existing P2P clients, specifically Edonkey. Why do we choose Edonkey?

1. Shared files on Edonkey generate a crytographic hash automaticallly. This hash is unique. Important because establishes the authenticity of the file so that when people download it, they can be assured of its veracity (that it is the file they were looking for and not a corrupted verision.)

2. This cryptographic hash allows the download to take place from multiple locations, thus increasing the speed at which a download is possible.

3. This process also means that even those who cannot store an entire file on their hard disk, because of space restrictions, can still play a useful role in the distribution scheme in general. Edonkey allows the sharing of partial downloads.

There are open Edonkey clients such as MLDonkey and Emule; there are also clients on the Gnutella protocol such as Gnucleus (a GPL’d client) and ShareReaza.

While some people may have heard of FreeNet, and believe it preferable, the FreeNet protocol is designed to optimise anonymity and not efficiency.

b. What We Will Have To Do

1. Outreach

Persuade people to provide the resources

These are: content, bandwidth and storage. What can we do to persuade people to share their resources?

- speaking to server owners and ‘home’ users - speaking to filmmakers and indepdent distributors

2. Portal

Establish a portal where new releases are logged and made public. Each release carries a description of its content, filesize, total length in minutes, and its unique cryptographic hash. These hashes can be made into weblinks of either the Edonkey or the Magnet type.These weblinks will launch searches within the client automatically provided it is already active.

Each weblink will be checked by the portal administering team to ensure that downloads are feasible and to verify the contents of the file. This task can easily be distributed.

3. Propagation

As part of this portal, a bulletin board will need to be established to coordinate the storage effort. This allows people to discuss who will download which parts of a file, and to where, while it propagates across the network. After some weeks the files can be removed from the orginal storage machines, since they will be replicated at other places. The original files can be dumped and burned onto CD, freeing up hard disk space and preserving backups for future reference.

A secondary task is the division of the original file into segments, so that lower storage client/servers can also participate. These segments can then be spliced together by the downloader.

4. Standardisation

Establish a set of protocols for the encoding of DivX or other compressed formats. Currently media residing on many P2P networks can be of low quality. Independent media distributors should be concerned to distribute their media at as high a quality as possible, but also to be aware of bandwidth issues. The portal will provide information on different coding rates and codecs, noting the implication for processor overheads on client side machines.

Wider Distribution

Organising co-distribution of CDs containing independent material, installers for P2P clients with clear instructions for their use – through magazines, journals and independent distribution networks (infopoints, etc.). This encourages people outside of the usual technological/social networks to participate.

Days of Free Culture and Knowledge (and the Subjugation of Science to Human Pleasure and Health)

Purpose

To give focus to: the diffuse acts of resistance against the terrorism of copyright currently being carried out as part of the everday life of million of ‘consumers’; the stranglehold of pharmaceutical and biotech companies over human health and society’s relationship to scientific development; The domination of our minds by mass media under corporate control (the media-industrial infotainment complex)

and

To socialise knowledge and technical expertise by creating spaces in which to enjoy sharing and enouraging the technically sophisticated to impart their skills to the broader community.

AND

To generate a forum where those involved in hitherto balkanised activity can find a language and broader context in which the similiarities of their struggles can be understood.

What is It?

A week-long carnival of excess fuelled by excessive acts of wanton generosity.

Practically, we need to decide a date.

We need to establish a portal where people can share ideas for actions and reports of acts already committed, crimes already perpetrated. It should also have a FAQ demonstating the egregious effects of the anti-social phenomena of property rights.

To persuade a wide range of groups in diverse areas of interest to participate. Everyone has knowledge and resources to share.

Assemble the necessary resources to assist those who do not yet know how to share in their sharing enterprise.

Activity Examples

- MP3, DVD trading, ripping - Scanning of text – free books - DNA sampling and GPLing - Install Linux on your neighbour’s computer - Free love - Free money - Direct actions against media corporations - Talks and workshops (e.g. progaganda about media ownership) - Knowledge sharing: non-proprietary pharmaceuticals

All activites to be determined by the participants (we would each have our own, for example). The free days of sharing should also recognise the value of small acts as well as those which are spectacular, public and political.

LIST INFO

http://www.jamie.com/mailman/listinfo/freedistro_jamie.com

or send message with ‘subscribe’ in header to freedistro@jamie.com

cadoe@snafu.de subtv@lists.nadir.org espanz@libero.it

0.2 add under portal The release portal will be built so as to allow user comment and peer evaluation of comments, facilitating discussion of content, quality of file and whatever other subject the community wishes.

- look at http://www.shortskinny.com/atomfilms.html

http://www.adobe.com/motion/features/mermell20000522/main.html

- metadata system to render explicit that material is to be recombined.

However dystopian an idea you can conceive of, reality always outdoes you, or at least arrives first ata point that you thought 'blue sky'.

At 02.12.02 18:37, you wrote: Jamie writes >hey felix > >coupla things > >machine wiped out, so could you resend your conf notes and i will draft a >version tommorow. i think we might need to have some sort of a conference >call (hate that term) with alan from autonomedia, but first let's get up a >version we can all deal with.

In the mean time, I have spoken to Armin Medosch and Sebastian Luetgert who are also willing to work on developing this. So we are quite a team :)

>second thing we need to work on your essay for mute / open forums research

Doesn't seem very urgent, or is it?

>shall we do a fone call sometime tommorow? drop me a number and i'll call >you from work.

Call me at home here in Vienna 0043-1-607 6314 late afternoon would be best.

>hope you're swell

yups.

>btw i bought a thinkpad. rox.

> machine wiped out

:)

Felix

Here's a next version, what would be needed quickly (ie by tomorrow, before I leave for Amsterdam, would some more peojects, texts etc. so that Konrad gets a better sense of what's out there and that it's interesting to bring them together. So please add your ideas for projects that might fit in.

Version 0.2

Conceptual background: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In times of economic crisis (slump of tech industry) and political backlash (new laws limiting freedoms online) it is particularly important to not only to critique the present but also to remind ourselves that something different is still possible and that new forms of producing culture are still being developped.

Under pressure from the content industry, the rights of owners of digital content are being expanded through both legal and technical means. These efforts threaten to chance the Internet profoundly. They aim at modifying its technological infrastructure to ensure greater control as well as changing the culture of the Internet by replacing notions of 'sharing' with notions of 'piracy'. Intense lobbying efforts are underway to ensure the victory of the industry's control vision as well as to fight against it.

However, focussing on this levels -- as important as they are -- comes at a price. Not only does it render the vast majority of people mere spectators, but it also forces the critiques into a continuous game of catching-up with the industry which sets the pace and dictates the terms of discussion.

It is necessary to shift the focus. Unencumbered by industry's control paranoia, new forms of cultural production are being experimented that take the openness of the Internet (easy copying and distribution of content) as key, positive features rather than as something to be fought. We believe that in this practice, the key to a progressive Internet culture can be found, and that validating this practice on its own right is as important, perhaps even more so, than engaging in the extremely up-hill battles to change the legal regime.

If the practice of how to deal with content on-line shifts, then the legal framework has adapt or it becomes irrelevant.

It is through their ability to experiment with new practices that arts and non-commerical producers areparticularly important.

Aim of the event: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The conference brings together practitioners and theoreticians focussing on projects/practices that are structured around free and open access/sharing of content on-line.

The goal is to exchange ideas and experiences, see what works and what doesn't across many different context, ranging from fully commercial to not-for-profit to experimental/artists projects. From fully institutionally supported ones to projects that operate at a grey area of legality. The focus is on practice and the reflection on it.

Structure of the event: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The event is a two day event, mixing discussions (panel/audience) with hands-on workshops.

Preliminary list of themes/projects: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

General Ideas: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Open content? (htt[://www.opencontent.org) Open Source Intelligence projects

DE-Projects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Open Video Archive (http://ova.zkm.de/) Collaborative Wirting (Florian Cramer) Textz.com

CH-Projects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Copyleft (Plug-in Basel) MicroMusic.net

UK-Projects ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Pico-peering among cultural producers (Simon Worthington, Meta/YouAreHere) http://picopeer.net/wiki/index.php/PicoPeeringAgreement

Wireless community networking (Jamie King)

University of Unix and Art http://uua.twenteenthcentury.com/

Consume.net

BURN (installation and web-interface for file sharing and cd burning, by Shu Lea Cheang and Arming Medosch)

Producer: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Konrad Becker, Public Netbase Vienna ...........

Concept and organization: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Felix Stalder, Armin Medosch, Sebastian Luetgert, Jamie King

Date of Event: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Late April, early May 2003

Time table (optimistic): -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mid December: Frist version of concept to Konrad Becker Early January: Decision whether or not to procude this event by Public Netbase, basic outline of bugdet/fundraising Late January: List of invited people finalized, invitations go out Feburary: Frist public announcements March: Program is being finalized April: advertisement

See Ernest Fehr and Klaus M. Schmidt, Theories of Fairness and Reciprocity, Evidence and Economic Applications, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Working Paper No. 75 (February 2001);

Bruno S. Frey and Stephan Meier, Pro-Social Behavior, Reciprocity, or Both? Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, Working Paper No. 107 (February 2002);

Ernest Fehr and Armin Falk, Psychological Foundations of Incentives, Schumpeter Lecture, Annual Conference of the European Economic Association 2001. Examples, in addition to those cited in footnote 63 supra, are

George A. Akerlof, Labor Contracts as Partial Gift Exchange, 97 Q. J. of Econ. 543 (1982);

Rachel E. Kranton, Reciprocal Exchange: A Self-Sustaining System, 86 Am. Ec. Rev., 830 (1996);

Janet T. Landa, The Enigma of the Kula Ring in Trust, ethnicity, and identity: beyond the new institutional economics of ethnic trading networks, contract law, and gift-exchange 141-172 (1994);

Ernst Fehr, Erich Kirchler, Andreas Weichbold, & Simon Gachter, When Social Norms Overpower Competition: Gift Exchange in Experimental Labor Markets, 16 J. Labor Econ. 324 (1998). My point is narrower, that is, that the baseline response of most economists and lawyers trained to look at questions through an economic prism is disbelief, and my purpose in the analytic segment of this article is to respond to that widely held disbelief. mostly can be found at: http://www.iew.unizh.ch/wp/

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