User:Riviera/Draft project proposal

What do you want to make?

I want to maintain a server which will provide digital infrastructure for members of the Klankschool. The server will host at least four key pieces of infrastructure including:

• a collaborative, browser-based live coding environment
• A public-facing calendar
• A music sharing platform
• A system which allows others to serve their websites publicly.

The web services will run in Linux containers and should contribute to community activities. The server will be part of the XPUB HUB and the homepage will be hosted at ks.xpub.nl. Services will run on subdomains (such as, funk.ks.xpub.nl). The project focuses on the topic of server maintenance in collaborative and community contexts. In this regard, drawing upon feminist and trans*feminist practices, research and methodologies are crucial.

How do you plan to make it?

I plan to work in consultation with members of the Klankschool community interested in co-maintaining the server to ensure that:

1. needs are met
2. there is shared knowledge about how the server is setup

Technologically, Free/Libre and Open Source Software, such as Nginx, PostgreSQL, Incus and flavours of Linux will be essential for providing the services. I have set up some of this backend/groundwork already. I will not scramble to setup all the services at once all by myself as that would be impossible, counter-productive and miserable. Instead, a comfortable pace and collaborative modes of production will be sought.

What is your timetable

Oct

• ☒ Meet with the klankschool server maintainers
• ☒ Install Stephen on the Trashbin
• ☐ Add the sever to the hub (ks.xpub.nl)
• ☐ Configure tinc on the server
• ☐ Review Pad Index of SI #23 for resources
• ☐ Stop Convenience Containers
• ☐ Configure Acme-Client for NGINX

Nov

• ☐ Meet with the klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ Setup a service

Dec

• ☐ Meet with the klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ Setup a service

Jan

• ☐ Meet with the klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ Setup a service

Feb

• ☐ Meet with the klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ Setup a service

Mar

• ☐ Meet with klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ NLCL x Klankschool ICLC 2025 Satellite Event?

Apr

• ☐ Meet with klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ NLCL x Klankschool ICLC 2025 Satellite Event?

May

• ☐ Meet with the klankschool server maintainers
• ☐ Obtain Static IP Address for Backup Server
• ☐ Install Arch Linux on Backup Server
• ☐ Configure Backup Server (Borg? RSync?)
• ☐ Automate updates on Host OS' and in containers

Jun

• ☐ Setup Mail
• ☐ Setup LDAP
• ☐ Use Mail Addresses as LDAP Accounts
• ☐ Create Mail accounts for Klankschoolers
• ☐ Configure Postorius / GNU Mailman

Why do you want to make it?

1. To publicise and support sonic practices
2. To develop inter- and infra-community relationships as a way of gaining insight into what free software does in social contexts.
3. To build knowledge around server maintenance through collaborative practice
4. To advance my understanding of what server maintenance consists of in a community-oriented production environment whilst supporting cultural expression.

Who can help you and how?

Standardusername

To organise and publicise a satellite event for ICLC 2025?

Klankschool Members

The klankschool server administrator group

collaboration

Cristina Cochior & Alice Strete

For critical perspectives on, for example, feminist servers

gnd

For XVM Codeberg pages info?

servus.at (Davide)

For insight into maintaining servers in production environments

Systerserver (for example, Mara Karagianni)

For insights into implementing feminist sys-admin practices

Femke Snelting

To talk about (Trans*)Feminist servers

Lurk

To discuss running email, mailing lists and talking about the fediverse

Lídia

To talk about the Fediverse

Klingt.org (deib13)

To talk about hosting a sound server

Simon Repp

To discuss maintenance practices, servers and software.

Matthias Hurtl

To discuss what and how services may support a local community in the long run.

Relation to previous practice

I am running Nextcloud on my home server and thus have some experience of maintaining digital infrastructure. I also setup a Funkwhale on the same server and an Openproject instance using LXC/LXD. Moreover, I am a live coder and gave performances on several occasions during the past year. To that end, I am concerned with supporting the live coding community by making space for practitioners. Finally, I am an everyday user of the GNU/Linux operating system. I make extensive use of the GNU Emacs text editor and the command line. The latter of these will feature throughout the execution of the project. The content of Special Issue 23 in particular has also inspired my research trajectory.

Relation to a larger context

Live Coding

I am keen to run a collaborative live coding platform on a subdomain of the website. This will make space for networked performances which reiterate and re-imagine the social dimensions of free software. I hope that hosting such an environment will serve to strengthen community relations between the Klankschool and Live Coders in NL or elsewhere. I am keen to implement infrastructure to cultivate this relationship. I hope the infrastructure may contribute to a satellite event for the upcoming International Conference on Live Coding in collaboration with NL Coding Live.

Feminist Servers and Counter Cloud Action

Feminist servers, such as Systerserver and Anarchaserver, are operated by feminist collectives who prefer feminist modes of collaboration. Such servers often provide services for like minded groups or projects. Contextually and conceptually, feminist servers are distinct from the server I intend to maintain. Still, I am keen to draw upon feminist methods, practice and research in maintaining the server.

Glossary

Klankschool: a community of people and a space in South Rotterdam which has connections with local and neighbouring communities. Members of the Klankschool work with, learn from and teach each other about sound.

Live Coding: a performance practice in which, with code, music or graphics are generated in real time before an audience. (Ledesma, 2015, p.112-117).

HUB: a network of connected XPUB servers, figured out five years ago by Aymeric Mansoux (Varia in Strete et al., 2022, p.9).

References

Ledesma, E. (2015) ‘The Poetics and Politics of Computer Code in Latin America: Codework, Code Art, and Live Coding’, Revista de Estudios Hispánicos, Washington University in St. Louis, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 91–120 [Online]. DOI: 10.1353/rvs.2015.0016.

Murtaugh, M. (2021) Torn at the seams: vernacular approaches to teaching with computational tools. Everyday Technology Press, Rotterdam. [Online] Available at: https://vltk.vvvvvvaria.org/w/Category:Torn_at_the_seams:_vernacular_approaches_to_teaching_with_computational_tools (Accessed: 26 September 2024).

Strete, A., Cochior C and Mugrefya e (Eds.) (2022) A Traversal Network Of Feminist Servers. Fractalia, Bucharest.