------------------------------------------------------------------------ _ ____ _ __ ___ _ __ ___ ___ ___ __ _| |__ ___ / __ \ ___ __| |/ _| / __| '_ ` _ \ / __/ __/ _` | '_ \ / _ \ / / _` | / __|/ _` | |_ | (__| | | | | | (_| (_| (_| | |_) | __/ | | (_| | \__ \ (_| | _| \___|_| |_| |_|\___\___\__,_|_.__/ \___| \ \__,_| |___/\__,_|_| \____/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ <wall of text> I am interested in the history and future of public access Unix and GNU/Linux systems ("pubnixes", for short); places like SDF.org, Grex.org, or tilde.town. It has been a hobby of mine to dig up information on old systems and to learn about and support current ones. Some information I've collected is in a git repo here: https://github.com/cwmccabe/pubnixhist This is a collaborative project, and you are welcome to contribute. Part of my interest in pubnixes is linked to a concern about the social and environmental sustainability of modern societies. Increasing power of short-sighted corporate institutions over all aspects of life is making popular movements for sustainability much more difficult. And corporate control over news and other media means that it is increasingly difficult for many to even maintain awareness of the problems. This happens as investigative journalism about corporate wrong-doings is surpressed, attention is deflected away from topics about the need for corportate regulation, and a culture of futility is cultivated in order to shape us all into "good consumers". To combat this and maintain public control of government, informal, non-commercial venues for social interaction and organization are very important. And hands-on familiarity with the technologies of communication are important. These are potential forms of resistance. I recently set up a "micro-pubnix" as a place for collaboration, digital skill building, and for socializing with others interested in this same topic: https://rawtext.club This system is running on a tiny Arch Linux VPS, and just about all member interactions are on the command line. If you're interested in any of topics above or below, just ask and I'll set you up with a free account. </wall of text> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Some recommended readings/viewings: SDF - The Ethical Social Network The Corporation - by Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media - by Herman and Chomsky Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business - by Neil Postman HyperNormalization - by Adam Curtis Mother Jones - an independent (no corporate owners) investigative news organization with a mission of delivering hard-hitting reporting that inspires change and combats "alternative facts" ProPublica - Journalism in the Public Interest Truthout - a nonprofit news organization dedicated to providing independent reporting and commentary on a diverse range of social justice issues. Free Software Foundation Electronic Frontier Foundation Anti-social Media Manifesto, by Grex user ~papa (gopher link) Slow Journalism Source Watch and PRWatch Low-tech Magazine - by Kris de Decker ------------------------------------------------------------------------ User Tracking: This page contains no hidden user tracking. However, I'm always interested to know who stopped by. Please consider sending me an optional email saying "hit". [username]@sdf.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------| news | sdf status