% https://github.com/christop/talk.lgm2015
I think that conversations are the best, biggest thing that Free Software has to offer its user.
Intro: Christoph not here, talk a little bit about the making of the book. There is a lot to it, so decided FAQ. Let's summon him:
Q: Christoph, are you there?
A: Yes.
Q: Why make Conversations?
A: Freestyle answer
Q: Where does this title come from?
Quote from Asheesh Laroia (Shy Debian, open hatch), when we interviewed him in 2010 about the many projects he is involved in that try to bridge to new users.
We asked:
The user- and developer communities around Libre Graphics are relatively small, and all people actually ask for, is dialogue. There seems to be lots of concern about how to connect, and what tools to use for that. But the discussion easily drifts into self-deprecating statements such as: “our website is not up-to-date” or “we should have a better logo” or “if only our documentation would be better”. But all of this seems more about putting off or even avoiding the conversation.
and than he answered :
AL: I think that 'conversations' are the best, biggest thing that F/LOSS has to offer its users, in comparison with proprietary software. But a lot of the behavioral habits we have within F/LOSS and also as people living in North America, is derived from what we see corporations doing. We accept this as our personal strategies because we do not know any alternatives. The more I say about this, the more I sound like a hippie but I think I'll have to take the risk (_laughs_).
mplayer -ss 07:08 -endpos 00:55 asheesh_01.MP3
Q: What's Free Software about Conversations?
A: 1. It's a collection of conversations between developers and
designers involved in the wider ecosystem of Libre Graphics.
2. It's available according to Free Art License/GPL.
3. It is edited collaboratively online as a `Ad hoc` markup
and prepared for print via a F/L/OS pipeline.
Q: What is a F/L/OS pipeline?
A: 1. Edit content on etherpads
2. Get and modify the content with bash scripts
3. Make the pdf with LaTeX
% SETUP FIGURE
% LIST OF SOFTWARE
Q: What do you mean by `Ad hoc` markup?
A: A markup collage based on the desire to edit content in a simple manner,
while at the same time not being limited to this simple manner.
Content is written with a smell of source code, expanding from plain textual
content over markdown formatting to 'command lines' as references to anything you
may do within your bash environment. Taking up the principle of code injection you
may write lines of text that will trigger actions during the transformation process.
% GIVE EXAMPLE OF MDSH SYTAX
% e.g. http://www.lafkon.net/exchange/lgm2015/talk/00109.png
Q: Is this safe?
A: Probably not. But as the transformation is distributed the responsibility is also distributed.
The content is edited online on any standard etherpad, the rendering may be done on any
machine connected to the network. The actual actions are defined on this local machine,
so it's up to the user to decide and take care.
Great power comes with great responsibility ;)
Q: Why would someone like you set up a thing like this?
A: 1. The challenge to actually produce a book with such a setup
2. Have a nice book.
3. To Keep Xavier Klein away from Heavy Metal Festivals.
Q: Who is Xavier Klein?
A: Xavier was intern at LAFKON in 2014 and the actual cause this book started.
To keep him busy meant also to keep him off the streets. In the end Xavier headed
of to Brussels to study at erg when the work on the book had just started.
http://www.lafkon.net/exchange/lgm2015/talk/ob.jpg
Q: I want to use the software for my next book. Where is the manual?
A: What manual? And actually I/we prefer not to call this software.
It's more a proof of concept that became a monster. (https://github.com/lafkon/conversations/blob/master/lib/sh/basic.functions)
A nice monster but a bit difficult to handle. But as the concept worked out in general
we're improving the scripts (https://github.com/christop/mdshutils) for the next project.
Q: What is your favourite dialogue?
A:
DC: The Mac came out in 1984
PH: Illustrator in 1986 I think.
DC: Yeah. And then the Apple LaserWriter, came out in 1985,
and I believe the first edition of Illustrator was in 1988...
PH: No, I think Illustrator 1 was in 1986.
DC: OK, if you read the official Adobe story book, it's fully documented.
Q: And your favorite question?
A: "Do you want to see my pots" http://freeze.sh/_/2015/conversations/ittibiabimm#favq
Q: Can you add an interview with (...) to the next edition?
A: We are not sure there will be a next edition, but who knows.
But in the mean time: etherpash is Free Software and all content
is licensed under the Free Arts license.
So what if you just download the sources, record your interview, transcribe it, run etherpash on it and
send the pdf to the printer?
Q: Can I use interview (...) for my publication?
A: Sure. All content is available under the Free Arts license.
Q: What is the 'Femke Snelting Problem'?
A: Femke Who? The 'Femke Snelting Problem' had a major impact on the visual design
because throughout the process we felt the need to disguise her omnipresence
in the interviews. (The 'Where is Waldo' Solution)
% EXAMPLES = different ways of attributing speakers
Q: What about fonts?
http://freeze.sh/_/2015/conversations/tmoc
A: We used Junicode 7 for the text and the OCR-A 8 for anything else. In the beginning, we thought about having a different font for every speaker, but we realised that it would be good to have something that keeps the whole thing together. The hypothesis was, to have this combination -- a very classical typeface inspired by the 16th century and a typeface optimized for machine reading -- that maybe will produce an interesting clash of two different approaches. While at the same time providing a continuous element throughout the book.
Q: I find it interesting that both fonts in their own way are conversational. They are both used in situations where one system needs to talk to another.
A: That is not a question, right?
And it is also a bit of a 'design-design' issue.
Which is ok in general but it makes me feel 'quasi conceptualized'.
'Just liked them' would also be a good answer.
Q: How much does Conversations weigh?
A: 1. 31M (latest_PRINT.pdf)
2. 508M (conversations-master.zip)
3. 530 grams. According to German and Belgium postal pricing categories, this book is 30 grams too heavy.
If only we would have thought of this before, shipping would be a lot less expensive.
Q: Can I buy Conversations in my favorite bookstore?
A: Ehm. No. Unfortunately not.
Q: You sold out before I could get a copy. Where can I order it?
A: http://freeze.sh/_/2015/conversations
You can also read the interviews online: http://freeze.sh/_/2015/conversations/#read
Or get them in different formats: https://github.com/christop/mdshutils/tree/master/___/conversations
By the way, the first print run was paid for by Constant. The money you paid will go towards postage, so we can send the book to people that we spoke to but that were not able to make it to Toronto for this LGM. If there is anything left over, we will put it into the pledgie that will help us with re-imbursing people that came to LGM. Which by the way, could use a bit more of your love!
Q: Any more questions?