Quilt INC anita

Hello this is my (Anita) Quilt INC page for methods and the reader.

Picnic at the data center

Universal computability

A transition into a world which created a divide between communitites which are either supported and developed by computing, or are not, in which the idea of the 'Sidewalk lab' urban ricontruction program is based.

Algorithmic solidarity

According to the text, is the answer to a hypothetical question existing in a world where all profits are collectively shared deciding where to administer funds. This includes using networks as a way of trying new methods of solidarity, global outsourcing is 'turned inside-out' making geographical distance less relevant if relevant at all.

Outsourcing

Looking for labour and infrastructure elsewhere, creating structures of monumental size to store data, that create their own micro-climate in other countries. Having an 'army of programmers' being viewed as a 'good' to sell, being exploited for their skills that are used by companies or organizations to make more and more profits. What is produced is does not belong to the producer but instead to the employer.

Distributed sovereignty

A possible result of an economic model based in economic algorithms created from neutral networks, allowing for a distributed power and resources.

Feminist Server Manifesto

Situated technology

A technology that explores the interconnections between social and technological practices, considering context and human interaction.

Maintenance

Taking care of. Specifically, reciprocal caretaking of a community where the technology has a place. As the community takes care of the technology, it takes care of the it, billing and growing onto its surroundings. The maintenance might not be straightforward, as the technology is open to showing its inner workings.

Seamlessness

Hiding the inner workings of a technology, not exposing its processes and computations. A feminist technology strives to do the opposite and open itself up for observation of its operations. It does not mean that it is inaccessible to newcomers, but that it shows what is happening while it is happening, informing the community about its inner workings.

Autonomy

The ability to decide for itself, the possibility of establishing its own dependence to the different components it might need to function in a certain way. It does not ‘serve’ the community it is situated in and examines the conditions.

Exposing insecurities

Showing all inner workings, even the ones it is unsure about. This can mean taking a rest as it exposes vulnerability.

Transparency

A feminist server is skeptical about transparency as it could be a signal for hidden or invisible infrastructure. It instead shows its seams, infrastructure and inner workings.

Availability

A feminist server, doesn't always have be ready for use, and does not apologize for it. It analyses the relations between clients and serves, challenges them and experiments with what it means to be a server and serve.

Marginality, nauraliation and membership

Marginality can have multiple different meanings. In the text, Star refers to it not as sitting on a margin being limited in significance, far from the centre of a group, but as a person belonging to more than one community, having more than one identity they can recognize. According to Webster dictionary, the term can apply to an individual who assimilates habits from multiple cultures in an incomplete way; an interpretation could be holding a sense of belonging to communities that feel different from each other, who perhaps share commonalities but remain very distinct.

In the text, the term is closely related to naturalization and naturalization of objects in diverse groups and communities of practice. This meaning not finding an object strange or ambiguous any more, taking it for granted and already knowing its use inside of a specific community of practice, not challenging its purpose or inquiring around its function.