User:Joca/Learnings t1

From XPUB & Lens-Based wiki

What have I learned?

ASK

Attitude

  • The importance of archiving outside of an institutional context. Grass roots archiving to build an archive to start a debate, use as a weapon
  • why, what, who, why, where and how much in the context of publishing
  • Defining methods and ethics for interviewing
  • Ways to organize wiki archives
  • being more critical towards my software tools.

Skills

  • basics of Shell
  • basics of working with a raspberry pi
  • Steps involved in planning and producing a book
  • Working with MediaWiki
  • Working with a risograph

Knowledge

  • history of free software / open source culture
  • history of open licences. First steps in strategic use of licenses in publishing
  • History of Rotterdam concerning squatting culture, urban planning, connection to Dutch history on this point


Doing the interviews, thinking about the concept of the publication and working with the group went well. Of course some things went wrong as well. I lost a recording of an interview due to a technical failure, and I had no backup. But I think that I solved it in the best way possible for that moment by transcribing the interview from memory right after discovering the issue. This was right after the interview, so everything was still fresh. Next to that contact with the interviewee, to check that statements are right. Implement these things. And checking how to avoid this issue in the future.

The group process worked in most cases. For the next time it might help to set some things up in advance: communication channel, file storage and method to keep everybody updated. Now we did a lot on the go, which has value in the sense of learning and applying. But at some peak moments of workload (editing, finishing up before printing) it didn't fully work. Files and information were lost, I missed some things etc.