((in)ter)dependence

((in)ter)dependence

To be inextricably linked, in a way that is impossible to disentangle. Because the term care has it difficult and violent history, interdependence arose as a term in the disability justice community to signal not just that they need to depend on (a social body, network of support, individual people) but that there are "structural conditions that shape gendered, racialized, and globalized care work."[1]

((in)ter)dependency tree

             interdependence
     inter ──┘             └── independence
in ──┘-------------------------┘          └── dependence

     ┌─────────────────────┐
    ─┴─           ─────────┴─────────        
( ( i n ) t e r ) d e p e n d e n c e
 ───────┬───────  ─────────┬─────────
        └──────────────────┘

inter

▚ Prefix: Used to form adjectives meaning "between or among the people, things, or places mentioned" ▞ 

┌ between; among; in the midst
│
├ reciprocal; reciprocally
│
├ located between
│
├ carried on between
│
├ occurring between
│
├ intervening
│
├ shared by, involving, or derived from two or more
│
├ between the limits of : within
│
└ existing between

in

░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
░    ░                                                                                             ░ 
░    ░ <-- you are often not here ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░         ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░ outside
░ in ░ <-- isolated           └───but instead in the space ░ between ░ categories ░ ░ topologies ░ ░
░    ░ <-- apart from             ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░         ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░
░    ░ <-- inside of                                                                               ░
░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░
 
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░
░            ░ ░           ░ ░     ░
the space between categories is erased
░            ░ ░           ░ ░     ░
░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ░░░░░░░

independence

The state of wanting or being able to do things for yourself and make your own decisions, without help or influence from other people.

dependence

when you can't go about it on your own
                                    └┅when you need┅┅┅┅┅┅to lean on┅┅┅┅depend on┅┅┅┅rely on┅┅survive with
  ┏┅others┅┅loved ones┅┅strangers┅┅groups┅┅communities                                                                         
  ┇ 
  ┗┅resources┅┅material┅┅substantial┅┅substances┅┅help┅┅support┅┅mutual aid
     ┏┅immaterial structures┅┅coping mechanisms┅┅
     ┇
     ┗┅abstract systems┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┅┓
                ┇ ┇ ┇ ┇             of education                        
     of justice ┛ ┇ ┇ ┗ of support                          
        of health ┛ ┗ of care

Borderlands and Monsters

Monsters:

A monster occurs when an object refuses to be naturalized (Haraway 1992)

I'm struck by this sentence, because:
A monster could be:

• a plant brought into a region it is not native or indigenous to. And this plant cannot co-exist with the other plants, it either takes up all the resources or grows uncontrollably, or just refuses to grow. When it spreads around and was brought by humans intentionally, it becomes naturalized.

introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species...

• a person who asks a lot of questions when encountering how things are done here, and refuses to just accept the how but asks the why
• an immigrant living in this country for 5 years, who has in slight yet persistent ways, refused assimilation and the next step naturalization. Not learning the language, not participating in the culture, carving out a space for themself where your own culture could exist.

Borderlands:

a borderland occurs when two communities of practice coexist in one person (Anzaldúa 1987)

• When you have to code-switch
• When you use an entirely different language depending on the context you're in
• When you're split between what your day job needing you to use adobe while still trying to use free software in your downtime
• When you live on the hopscotch your way between on the border, between the lands, practices, communities and people who create them.

Care

Care is a loaded term. It's being thrown around a lot these days in the arts and design sphere; everyone is talking about facilitation with care, curation with care, designing with care... The term 'care' has it's own difficult medical history. Especially for folks with disabilities, the associations with care and the medical-industrial system is often grim, riddled with abuse, and uneven power dynamics. The term cannot be simply tossed around (imho) without a sense of a dedication to it. But equally, because of its grim history, disability justice activists have often turned towards using interdependence instead to emphasize a world we can all work towards . One in which relying on each other and building networks of care, is more important than independence.

(Un)availability

We live in a time where constant availability is expected, especially with social media. In Glitch Feminist Manifesto, Legacy uses AFK (away from keyboard) instead of IRL (in real life), because the the digital is as much a part of real life as the physical interactions we have are. But you are not given the option to be away from the keyboard or log off anymore. In working environments, it is stressed that it is your own responsibility to not reply outside of working hours. What has spoken to us is the line [a feminist server...] tries hard not to apologize when she is sometimes not available.

Check-ins

Within the ((in)ter)dependence editorial team, a lot of our conversations quickly turn in on themselves, and serve not only as a moment to exchange ideas related to the Special Issue, but also on how we can make this exchange pleasant and fruitful for us all. This week, when invited to write a Code of Conduct for our editorial team, we discussed check-ins, among other things. It turns out: we feel some anxiety surrounding these moments.

+ First off, we do appreciate the invitation of the check-in, the moment it creates to share and touch-base, as well as practice moments of care where the personal meets the political; 

+ We see the value of this moment allowing us to update each other and the tutors with our work, signaling what would be useful for us to get out of this class, and what (individual) wants and needs there might be; 

+ Besides, it allows for a moment to have opened our mouths. The first time in a day is often the hardest. 

- But then, even when the intentions are right, these check-ins are a moment to perform. A performance that is often anxiety-inducing. For some, this might stem from a language barrier. For others, this might introduce difficult pressures in not having been able to do as much for the SI over the weekend as they had wanted to, or feel like was expected of them. Or for some, a third reason altoghether; 

- The 'moment to open your mouth' goes both ways: this moment can set a tone. If a pressure has been introduced, this might linger for the rest of the day. 

~ Aside from practical updates, it can be useful to have a moment to give a personal update, as a way of getting that out of your system to allow for a better focus on the SI afterwards. Such a moment serves to express, not necessarily to be heard (particularly, to be heard by a large group of people). 

It is unfortunate that this check-in, valuable and appreciate as it can be, can also become an obstacle. We discussed some alternatives, e.g. one-on-one check-ins, but no alternative yet has managed to tick all the boxes.

Code of Conduct

This is an in-progress Code of Conduct. From the paper we were writing on: [TO ADD PHOTO OF MAP]

Encourage the following:

• Respect differences
• Practice active listening
• Provide support and care (update those that have been absent)
• Be aware of the space you take up.
• Try not to dominate conversations and care about giving everyone space to speak or just be.

Discourage the following:

• Discrimination
• Violence

How to react when the code of conduct is not respected:

1. Do not host interventions of the collective kind
   1. Try to communicate one-on-one where the situation allows for it (non-immediate intervention)
2. De-escalation
3. Diverging
4. Asking others for help

Additional:

• Try not to assume and address people based on appearance, or name. An author is not strictly female because their name ends with a. Attempt to use words that emphasize where your assumption of gender expression comes at play, eg. by using 'male-presenting' instead of male.

Communities of Practise

Appears in Misplaced Concretism and Concrete Situations: Feminism, Method, and Information Technology (Susan Leigh Star, 1994, find it here on the bootleg library), that builds on the concept from Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger, 1992).

A community of practise...
    ... is composed of people and things, 
        themselves in ecological relation...> > > check ecological relations
    ... as a term emphasizes the ways in which people work together and act together to form communities
    ... is a way of talking about a linked web of actions, people, and artifacts

Objects in a community of practise...
    ... come to be only in the context and action and use
    ... exhibit a level of familiarity, 'taken-for-grantedness'
    ... are on a trajectory of naturalization 
                ─┬─────────────┬─────────────
                 │             └ the removal of contingencies of an object's creation and its situated nature 
                 │              [first computer rolls around and we're all Really aware of it but now smartphones are 
                 │               just a part of us, they have become naturalized, a part of our lives 
                 │               and the landscape, it's historical context is no longer that important]
                 └ it is not predetermined an object will ever become naturalized or how long it will remain so

People in a community of practise...
    ... are considered 'newcomer' 
        not through their relation with other people in the community
        but through their relation with the objects in the community
    ... are on a trajectory of membership
        ─────────────────────────────────
        (which ranges from illegitimate peripheral participation
                      to   full membership)
        that consists of a series of encounters with the objects in the community
        and increasingly being in a naturalized relationship with them

Ecological Relations

Those interactions that are analysed by Social ecology, the study of how individuals interact with and respond to the environment around them, and how these interactions affect society and the environment as a whole. So are those systems where ecological relations are highly taken into account those that have a deep interconnected connection between society, their members and the ecosystem that is formed around them?

We look at the text again, page 152. Editorial team member C is taking notes.
A: Could you break this question down?
B: which one?
A: 'So are ... around them?'
B: I googled: where [noisenoisenoise]
C: Sorry I missed it, the explanation
B: Me as well aaah
All: hahaha
B: Where people care a lot about building a good environment. Togetherness. Flexible in relationships.

So could it be that social-ecological systems are those that are more flexible? \can absord better turbolescences. Are they less vulnerable as systems, do they accept their vulnerabilities?

A: So those ecological systems are more flexible than other systems?
B: Yes?
A: The last question I don't fully understand, because it starts with a statement.
B: I found this piece that talked about social problems, vulnerabilities... Ecological means that as well, talking about vulnerabilities and care... I think I should write hours and hours to get a really good explanation.

In the text ecological relations emerge as the author describes her point of view of what information is, in the context of feminist method, and connected to the communities of practices.

So ecological relations within the communities of practice, communities where people work in cooperation to form groups

Digging into the meaning of the term "ecologically" we see how it can mean taking everything, every aspect of an outcome into account.

A: I really like the last sentence, 'how it can mean taking everything, every aspect of an outcome into account'. Maybe we can put it on top or somehow highlight it...

Editorial approach

1. We will preserve the spatial approach to writing that we have started with (but not every text needs to fully embrace this). We started writing spatially to make sense of every part of a given keyword and its origin.
2. We will not strive for objectivity or a lack of contradiction.
3. We will attempt to preserve multiple voices—who is coming from which point of view. The conversational element in our writing is already heavily present.
   1. Stay anonymous, while keeping some kind of visual cue (eg. colour, text alignment) to distinguish voices.
4. Non-text formatting is allowed. This includes images, memes, audio, and video (on a conditional basis) as long as you do the translation work to another medium afterwards.
5. Everything could be an entry or quilt patch. Nested patches are allowed.
1. Every patch needs to follow a yet to be decided upon structure.

Adding Keywords

(from the first editorial team meeting 2024-01-24, first patch creation)

Protocol for writing the keywords:

It seems like the protocol can differ per keyword. To start, we have chosen the keyword ((in)ter)dependence (our name). We will go about this quilt patch as follows:

   0 We have the idea to use 'recursive definitions'
   1 On paper, discuss how we want to dissect this word and how these subwords relate to each other
   2 Each with a different color, place a mark next to the subword you would like to contribute to
   3 Create a wiki page: https://pzwiki.wdka.nl/mediadesign/((in)ter)dependence
   4 Populate the wiki page with sections for each of the subwords, and a section for the tree
   5 Start wikifying for each of one of your selected subwords

How does ((in)ter)dependence think of a feminist server

• A feminist server is a server that is equally a learning ground, in which the people who are a part of it are dedicated to each other and to learning with and from each other.

• A feminist server is one that also makes use of its idle time to dream, so not to have a life geared towards productivity and efficiency, but one where there is enough time to take a breather and actually imagine and dream of what an alternative could be.

• A feminist server as a shared digital place for information and communication with trusted people to gathering, supporting each other.

On the Neutrality of Data

Or a virtue of language: a letter to editorial group ((in)ter)dependence

I feel a bit responsible for our confusing stance on the neutrality of data. In fact, I have confused myself quite a bit. So let me attempt to put to paper some of our discourse.

I think it's in line with the feminist approach to consider data inherently not-neutral. The first part of the feminist server manifesto refers to the situated nature of technology. Any statement is made through its context, as is any choice of representation, as is any choice or reflex of interpretation. I can accept this way of thinking. In fact, I believe this is my way of thinking, too, at this very moment.

However, that is with a caveat. 'The neutrality of data' implies a universal quantification, a statement regarding all data. And in this universal sense, I feel the confidence in this stance crumble.

Personally I'm inclined to accept an idea of 'data' as a much broader concept, as something that's not necessarily the product of technology, not necessarily the product of human labour, not necessarily anything related to any worldy intent. I can accept data to be anything that hold information through representation. I gave the example of a grain in the wood of the bench we were sitting on: this grain tells us about the history of the wood, about the manufacturing of this bench, about the people sitting on it. That information is carried through these data, and that information can arguably seen as not-neutral. But this not-neutrality is obtained through interacting with the data. The grain itself just 'came to be'. Yes, it is situated. But is it partial?

In the past, I have considered the example of Platonic ideals as neutralities. This is a difficult case to make. In language and philosophy, these 'perfect originals' cannot be captured faithfully in any wordly occurance, and therefore seem (to me) to be inherently susceptible to interpretation. And therefore, not neutral in any wordly occurance. That said, a more mathematically inclined voice inside of me still believes these ideal Forms exist in some functional sense. In set theory, for example, there is a notion of an empty set. This is an ideal in the sense that there is no faithful representation possible. Yet we accept its existence in a conceptual sense (in ZF through the axiom of separation (combined with extensionality to see it is unique, a Form)). I can accept the empty set as data, a representational form. And I can accept it as neutral, I think.

But does that even matter at this point?

I tread on the verge of pedanticality. I'm not saying this to nitpick on the discourse around neutrality and feminist methods. I am not saying this just to conjure up new problems. I'm not saying this to drench our discourse in difficult language, to consequently simultaneously mask and highlight a futility at the core of it.

And this is what it is: a 'problem' of language.

I am saying this to challenge this concept, 'neutrality', to challenge our understanding of it. But more so I am saying it because I feel confused, and anxious, and frequently succumb under the pressure of this looming futility. I am saying this, because expressing this is, to me, valuable. I am saying this because we've encountered barriers of language again and again and again, and this is yet another example. But to me, this example illustrates that through language's shortcomings, we can find new, meaningful insights. And that is beautiful and reassuring. And that is something I hope to share with you with this writing.

We near the end of the trimester, and find ourselves in a web of (linguistic) confusion, spun not only by the topics at hand, but also by us through our careful and thoughtful nature of conversing. Now that we've done our intellectual homework, now that 'the data' is there, I feel encouraged to focus on this 'us'. The data itself is interesting, sure. But it's how we interact with it that holds even more value.

> Each of us come with their own deeply subjective and biased point of view. Each POV has been influenced by countless things; different cultural background, families, and the hosting and cooking practices we were raised with. Instead of pretending that objectivity is anything but acknowledging our biases, we decided to make them, and our subjectivity, explicit.)

Play

It is always interesting to observe how play is interpreted in humans in a practical sense while in animals as an instinctual response.

We can talk about the little miniature kitchens, baby dolls to take care of, coloured plastic carpenter sets, these toys reflect a child's exploration of their future roles within society, mimicking adult behaviours. To train oneself to be the grown-ups, to behave like the grown-ups, it is normal for that to happen, to reject that and to try to distort the game itself as just manipulation goes to failing to analyse the very heart of what it actually means to play, to what might be its real utility, which always turns out to be only social. Play is always social, and when a person plays alone it always goes to recreate situations of artificial sociality. A child who plays with a doll imagine it as alive, a man who inserts a coin into the slot machine relishes the idea that by becoming rich he will inevitably improve his life, and except in rare cases it is always about improving one's life in the eyes of others and to improve one's relationship with others. It all sounds trivial to say, in the end as social creatures we are inclined to be like that, loneliness leads the game to become a distraction overcoming that conception of didacticism. To waste time, not to think.

> Here there is a friction between viewing play as social, and viewing play as a phenomenon that just exists for itself. The writer of this patch sees the parallel play as another social game, and argues that each game has a role and a societal purpose.

>> 'He found his four-year-old son sitting at the front of a row of chairs, playing "trains". As he hugged him the boy said: "Don't kiss the engine, Daddy, or the carriages won't think it's real."' In Huizinga's Homo Ludens, the second characteristic of play is that play is not 'ordinary' or 'real life'. The adult gambling their way to fortune is curious, as the implications of this 'play' are hoped to be carried over to 'real life'. Arguably, this example also doesn't satisfy Huizinga's first characteristic: all play is a volunatry activity. In a world ever increasing in complex and interwoven social dynamics, we can wonder if we need to reconsider our idea of play: not just as a voluntary act, but as a necessity to cope with and traverse these dynamics. And, maybe, something we need a ((in)voluntary) break from from time to time.

Reflecting on my own understanding of playing with dolls, at 23 years old, I don't think I will play with them anymore (I would never admit it anyway). My play is pastime, with friends, to exercise sociability to the point of colliding with unsociability, or waste of time, and there I try not to fall into the trap as it is definitely part of a system that constantly reminds you how time is of the essence, it's all about money, money is important, I don't need I guess to say more, we're all in the same stifling situation. Then you try to play and make the game useful, coscently, while at an early age you are not aware of how much your playing affects your personality. I want to improve my knowledge of Dutch, to become a better person, understand people better, I play duolingo. I want to learn programming, I play mime. I create games by myself to force myself to wash dishes, get up in the morning. To block intrusive thoughts I create a thousand different games.

> This speaks to me as well, I often try to gamify my life through a rigid routine, this routine appears to me as levels to come to, battle and overcome. It's stupidly boyish, yet these are the early web games that motivated me into spending time with friends.

>> The gamification of life, in my mind, goes hand in hand with the ongoing trend of the illusory optimization of life. The idea that wellbeing can be min-maxed, that time can be used to 'a full potential', that there is an orderly notion of routines and activities that are ranked in a society's (sub)consious mind. I fall victim to this way of thinking, too. I don't know better and don't know how to live without it.

It is good to see how creativity itself is a coping mechanism. Could it be? Creativity seems intrinsic, we simply cannot escape it. In a world brimming with stimuli and hyperconnectivity, the sense of overwhelm amplifies. There is no end to it, it is an abyss, loneliness expands in such a world, loneliness leads to confusion, boredom. Play is the most straightforward instinctual way to evade the awareness of that abyss.

> 'No one is bored, everything is boring' is what Mark Fischer voiced in his writing . This also connects to the '(Un)availability' patch, the pressure of being 'connected'.

I watched a classic MrBeast's video where he locked himself in a room for a week without any stimulation from the outside world and resolved, after losing track of time, to count the grains of rice on his plate, and then at some point he stopped. There is no more utility in the game the moment there is no more stimulation to deal with. Right now I'm reading this book, I'm reading it because I like to read, I love to analyse things, talking about it with a fellow editorial team member makes the game more interesting, I'm putting myself out there trying then to describe what I've figured out, asking for their opinion, meanwhile another layer of the game is added, we're creating this messaging platform with wiki pages, I'm reading to not think, to block out the realisation maybe that this doesn't make sense anyway, all the result of a combined obsession between my and my fellow editorial team member's personality. Would I be reading this book without this game? No, I would be playing other games. You never play alone even when you claim to be.

> If it has been said that  'method is a way to survive experience'  can the same not be said of games? Games could merely be a method to survive stimuli and facilitate sociality. Although I do not know whether I would agree that all games are inherently social.

>> Same for me. Ultimately, this essay seems bleak and cynical to me, and it leaves me saddened. I am not ready to give up on the merit of play.

Sorry fellow editorial member for making you saddened (づᴗ _ᴗ)づ

Terminal Games

Kanishka Goonewardena's entry for space in Keywords for Radicals makes a case for the spatiality of politics, the social and politcal power that a space has, and the undeniable, inevitable connection between them.

A terminal interface is the portal to many a communal technology, in particular many servers. It is a space much like any physical space, and thus, holds a power just like any such physical space. As a result, there are implicit social dynamics at play. For example: not everyone might be as familiar, comfortable and confident with the way one typically interacts with the space of a terminal interface.

The zine The Map is the Territory is a webgame that served as our introduction into thinking about making a terminal a more accessible, inviting and inclusive space. This led us to explore games as a medium more.

Electrifying

Screenshot of Electrifying gameplay

A terminal game created as an escape room, in which you have to find a way out of a server room in which you, and sleeping server (chopchop), are located in. You navigate only using the terminal command 'cat', which is normally used to print out the content of a file. In this game, files are comprised of ASCII art that builds each wall of the room you're trying to escape out of. Instead of typing cat, you use the alias for 'look' for it (typing look left, look right, look up...). With each each look you are given breadcrumbs, clues of what you can do to not only free yourself, but wake up a sleeping server from it's 'undesirable' slumber.

At the end the player is stuck with a question about whether they should take the server with them, which would require them to cut its life force (unplug it) or leave it to remain in the claustrophobic server room.

Digital Quilting

A terminal game, you weave a digital quilt with ASCII art characters and emojis. You can use fabric and scissors, fabric creates the patterns and that become a quilt, while scissors cut it in half. The digital quilting game was a first step in thinking how all of this different information, elements of texts that have had an influence on us, can start to unravel a narrative together. The idea is that when you finish a quilt in the terminal, you could print it out and get a physical outcome, a patchwork of quotes, decorations and cut outs.

Seamless and Seamful

We read the text "Beautiful Seams": Strategic Revelations and Concealments, that talks about the seeming dichotomy between seamful and seamless.

Roughly, seamless design emphasizes
    clarity, 
    simplicity,
    ease of use, 
    and consistency to facilitate technological interaction.

In contrast, seamful design emphasizes 
    configurability, 
    user appropriation, 
    and revelation of complexity, 
                      ambiguity, 
                      or inconsistency

To us, the properties of seamless and seamful are not mutually exclusive. For example, thinking about seams in software: if everything was open source, everything would be 'perfectly configurable'. However, without a certain ease-of-use, this configurability wouldn't be accessible to many. So for there to be this seamful configurability, there has to be a certain ease of use, a certain level of seamlessness.

Similarly, we are experiencing this tension between seamless and seamful in our editorial group, in our reading and communicating.

Language is a complex thing.
We need to cooperate with eachother as individuals,
    in a seamful way,
        by keeping an eye out for configurability through access needs,
        finding appropration of communication together,
        cherishing revelations of complexity, ambiguity or inconsistency
    but require a certain seamless,
        for example in clarity of access needs and communication.

The text proposed to make seams “into explicit resources for interaction" (Chalmers), meaning that users are able to interact with information that is usually hidden away. The example of showing that the wi-fi connection is bad is a fruitful one, because when the strength of the signal is displayed, people had agency and suggestion in terms of how to get better connectivity. They could move with their electronic device to find better signal, instead of remaining both passive and without enough information on why something is not working 'properly'.

How might we find seamful agency in our editorial approach?