View source for User:Simon/Etherpad timed writing/editing experiment

== Description of task ==
In November 2018, I experimented with a timed writing task using Etherpad, a collaborative realtime browser-based text editor. Etherpad automatically assigns authorship colours to users, and I wanted to explore how a text that I was writing, reading and editing over a specific time period could be visualised.

== Method ==
The method was to begin writing a text about what I was doing (writing, reading and editing). I began by establishing writing periods of 3 minutes, and a rest period of 2 minutes. After 6 iterations, this shifted to 5 minutes for both respectively. I kept writing and opening up new private tabs in my browser to give each iteration new authorship colours. These are lost when exported, so I recreated the text and authorship colours to make visualisations.<br>

[[File:18 11 21 Pad difs 01.jpg|400|frameless|The entire text, recreated with authorship colours]]

== Isolated outcomes ==

Each iteration is isolated in the following visualisations:

<gallery>
18 11 21 Pad difs 910.jpg| 21:10-21:15
18 11 21 Pad difs 915.jpg| 21:15-21:20
18 11 21 Pad difs 920.jpg| 21:20-21:25
18 11 21 Pad difs 925.jpg| 21:25-21:30
18 11 21 Pad difs 930.jpg| 21:30-21:35
18 11 21 Pad difs 940.jpg| 21:35-21:40
18 11 21 Pad difs 950.jpg| 21:40-21:50
18 11 21 Pad difs 1000.jpg| 21:50-22:00
18 11 21 Pad difs colours.jpg| 22:00-22:10
</gallery>

The authorship colours with text removed:

[[File:18 11 21 Pad difs colours_all.jpg|400px|frameless|Authorship colours with text removed]]

The experiment showed me that editing is a way of writing, kind of like making growing a tree while making furniture from it. Whatever is written is there to be pruned and shaped into pieces that are joined together to form a supportive text structure. The software of Etherpad makes this visible with its authorship colours, all the more so when it is used as it has been designed; collaboratively.