2026-02-26T17:59:59.683319https://fossacademic.tech/feed.xmlFOSS AcademicFirst, one goal is to explore life as a “FOSS Academic” – someone who uses Free and Open Source technologies to do academic work. I’m hoping that my discussions of FOSS technologies in an academic setting help others – students, professors, university administrators – understand the benefits and values of FOSS in the academy. I’m not a developer, but I am a professor who’s been using FOSS to do his job for over a decade. I call this goal of exploring FOSS tools in the academy Goal 1. Second, this blog has Goal 2: writing a book about a FOSS topic. After some consideration, I decided to write a book about Mastodon and the fediverse, titled Move Slowly and Build Bridges, which came out from Oxford University Press in 2025. Sometimes, the two topics will collide in a single post. My intent here is to be more open about my own research process and writing. Zotero 8 Early Review2026-02-26-T00:00:00-04:002026-02-26-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2026/02/26/zotero-8-review.htmlZotero 8 is out. It includes a new Add Citation system and tab-based notes that might -- might -- make me stop using Zettlr.

]]>RWG New Nextcloud with Possible Digital Sovereignty2026-02-01-T00:00:00-04:002026-02-01-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2026/02/01/new-nc.htmlIf implementing a redesign of this blog wasn't enough, and if redoing its static generation code wasn't enough, in the past few days I've migrated from my original Nextcloud server to a brand new one.

]]>RWG Fresh New Look, Same Great Taste2026-01-26-T00:00:00-04:002026-01-26-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2026/01/26/new-look.htmlToronto, like a major part of Turtle Island, got a fresh coat of snow. In between shoveling our sidewalk and admiring it all, I've been doing some behind-the-scenes modification to my Python-based static blog generator. Hopefully it's obvious why -- the site now has a new look! Like a fresh coat of winter snow, the site looks and feels a bit different.

]]>RWG Oops! All Microslop: Or, Trying to Write With Microsoft2026-01-06-T00:00:00-04:002026-01-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2026/01/06/oops-all-microslop.htmlIn my last post I looked back at 2025, considering how FOSS continues to be central to how I do my work as a university professor. I probably had hoped 2026 would be better overall, but new horrors from Trump undermined that. But I'm going to ignore all that to focus on a different horror: Microsoft, particularly at York University. Even more particularly, the horror of trying to use Microsoft to do a basic task of academic life: writing.

]]>RWG The FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream 2025 Review2025-12-21-T00:00:00-04:002025-12-21-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/12/21/year-in-review.htmlHappy solstice! The shortest day of the year is a fine day to think back on another time 'round the sun. What's gone on with me and the FOSS Academic dream this past year?

]]>RWG You Can't Contain Me, You Can Only Hope to Stop Me2025-11-09-T00:00:00-04:002025-11-09-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/11/09/contained.htmlInstalling a new flavor of Linux used to be fun.

]]>RWG A Guide for #AOIR2025 and Social Media2025-09-01-T00:00:00-04:002025-09-01-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/09/01/aoir-socials-guide.htmlThe annual conference of the Association of Internet Researchers is fast approaching! Scheduled for mid-October in Brazil, hundreds of Internet scholars (like me!) will convene to do what we do: share cat pictures.

]]>RWG Reimplemented and It Feels So Good2025-08-25-T00:00:00-04:002025-08-25-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/08/25/reimplemented.htmlIt may not look different (yet -- more on this below!) but this blog is now powered by Python instead of Jekyll.

]]>RWG What Does This Z Key Do?: Thoughts on Zotero versus Zettlr2025-08-19-T00:00:00-04:002025-08-19-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/08/19/zotero-zettlr.html the Geordi LaForge no/yes meme, where he says 'no' to Z for Zoom, and 'yes' to Z for Zotero
Geordi gets it right

Ever since I came across Gnome Do, a quick launcher application for Linux that brings up whatever files or applications I want if I simply start typing, I've used such launchers on every computer I've owned. Currently, since I use KDE, that means I use KRunner, which works similarly.

]]>RWG The Plight of the Reviewer: Lessons from AI Generation and Software2025-08-06-T00:00:00-04:002025-08-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/08/06/reviewing-ai.htmlOn the latest Late Night Linux podcast, the gang discussed a recent blog post by Daniel Stenberg about the plight of reviewers -- specifically, open source bug bounty program reviewers, who are facing a rising tide of AI slop. I think this has implications for my profession, particularly the task of conducting academic peer reviews.

]]>RWG Sharing my book, one random bit at a time2025-06-30-T00:00:00-04:002025-06-30-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/06/30/book-bot.htmlNo one will accuse me of being a Python expert, but I have increasingly been using it to take care of tasks. For example, if I build a website, I now often use Markdown or CSV files to store the data for the site, process it with Python, and then push it to whatever server its hosted on. This time, however, I made something that certainly was a challenge for me: a bot to post random bits of my new book to the fediverse.

]]>RWG Move Slowly and Build Bridges Cover Reveal2025-06-02-T00:00:00-04:002025-06-02-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/06/02/move-slowly-cover.htmlThe cover for Move Slowly and Build Bridge: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media has been revealed!

]]>RWG I Ain't Gonna Work on ChatGPT's Farm No More2025-05-08-T00:00:00-04:002025-05-08-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/05/08/ai-review.htmlI think I'm going to get a reputation -- if I don't have it already -- of being one of those people. Those people who really don't like generative AI.

]]>RWG Copyediting: The Bane of the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream2025-04-06-T00:00:00-04:002025-04-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/04/06/copyediting.html two pages of a book forming a kind of tunnel. The words are illegible
Photo by Noito Love

I'm starting this post with a specific passage from my upcoming book. It's important for context.

]]>RWG FOSS Academic Workflow, 2025 Edition2025-03-15-T00:00:00-04:002025-03-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/03/15/workflow2025.htmlIt's been a while since I blogged about how I do all my academic work using free and open source software -- otherwise known as the "FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream." In fact, the last time I wrote about this was 2020!

]]>RWG Standards War?2025-03-05-T00:00:00-04:002025-03-05-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/03/05/standardsWar.htmlWhile I was not surprised by the announcement, it was still sad to read the news that IFTAS is shutting down several of its services for lack of funding. It is hard for me not to see this as another aspect of a potential "standards war" between ActivityPub and ATProto.

]]>RWG The ASM Bibliography is Going Home2025-02-22-T00:00:00-04:002025-02-22-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/02/22/bib-is-moving.htmlThis is a minor update: the ASM Bibliography is returning to its original home on the social media alternatives project page.

]]>RWG You Can Post Your Way Out of Fascism if You Own the Means of Posting2025-02-15-T00:00:00-04:002025-02-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/02/15/organizing-fascism.htmlI've been mulling over Janus Rose's recent 404 Media article, "You Can't Post Your Way Out of Fascism.". In many ways, she's not wrong. But once again people are ignoring an entirely other way of doing social media that can, in fact, fight fascism.

]]>RWG Introducing: the Network of Alternative Social Media Researchers2025-02-01-T00:00:00-04:002025-02-01-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/02/01/asmNet.htmlFor years, researching alternative social media has been a bit lonely. But not anymore!

]]>RWG Making Alternative Social Media in a Corporate Social Media World2025-01-18-T00:00:00-04:002025-01-18-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/01/18/makingAlts.htmlIn this week's Alternative Social Media Update, I want to share two things that happened this week and have a fundamental connection: they both indicate the challenges alternative social media developers face when they make ASM in a corporate social media world.

]]>RWG Watching Threads, Bluesky and Decentralization, and ActivityPub Trust and Safety2025-01-10-T00:00:00-04:002025-01-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2025/01/10/moreThreadsBskyAP.htmlThis weekly Alternative Social Media update -- the first of 2025! -- is about getting caught back up with some things that have happened in the past month. First up, I'll relate the latest changes at Meta to a specific interest of mine, Threads's fediverse blocklist. Then, I'll point you to a very fascinating back-and-forth discussion about Bluesky's ATProto and ActivityPub (as well as OCapN). Finally, I'll let you know the latest in ActivityPub Trust and Safety.

]]>RWG Threads and the Failure of Global Content Moderation2024-12-13-T00:00:00-04:002024-12-13-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/12/13/threadsmoderation.htmlThis week's Alternative Social Media Update turned out to be more of a critique of corporate social media, specifically Meta's Threads.

]]>RWG Marp + BeautifulSoup2024-12-07-T00:00:00-04:002024-12-07-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/12/07/marpbeautifulsoup.htmlThe FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream just got a bit dreamier.

]]>RWG ASM Update: Can this platform survive?2024-12-06-T00:00:00-04:002024-12-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/12/06/survive.htmlIt's been a pretty packed week, between the end of the semester, my participation in a small conference, and a sick kiddo at home. So this week's ASM update is a short one.

]]>RWG Marp!2024-12-01-T00:00:00-04:002024-12-01-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/12/01/marp.htmlAs avid readers of my blog know, I am livin' the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream: I use FOSS tools to do my academic work. I use Nextcloud to manage files and handle appointments, Zotero and Zettlr to take notes, and LibreOffice Writer to write books and articles. This blog runs on Jekyll. I love it all!

]]>RWG ASM update: libraries, libraries everywhere2024-11-29-T00:00:00-04:002024-11-29-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/11/29/libraries.htmlIt's a simple, yet deep ASM update for this week. Last week, I posted about some recent research in the realm of alternative social media. I also drew attention to the bibliography I maintain here on this blog. In response to that post, folks on the fediverse alerted me to other bibliographic projects collecting research in related ideas. Here I want to highlight two of them.

]]>RWG ASM Update: New Research Edition2024-11-22-T00:00:00-04:002024-11-22-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/11/22/ASMupdateResearch.htmlBluesky continues to blow up. I hear about it everywhere. It's so backed up the Brid.gy system has slowed to a crawl.

]]>RWG ASM Updates: Bluesky growth continues2024-11-16-T00:00:00-04:002024-11-16-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/11/16/ASMupdate.htmlHere's what caught my eye (and ear) this week in the world of alternative social media. I didn't plan this, but it turns out a lot of this is coming from 404 Media -- shout out to them! If you aren't reading their articles... do it now!

]]>RWG ASM Update for November 8, 20242024-11-08-T00:00:00-04:002024-11-08-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/11/08/ASMupdate.htmlASM updates are back! Now that I'm done drafting my book, I want to get back to doing this regularly.

]]>RWG Hey, Journalists: X is Now Truth Social2024-11-08-T00:00:00-04:002024-11-08-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/11/08/ASMandTFG.htmlHey, journalists, it's time to get off X. Today. And switch to the fediverse.

]]>RWG York Circle Lecture: Fleeing Facebook and Exiting X2024-11-05-T00:00:00-04:002024-11-05-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/11/05/yorkcirclelecture.htmlYesterday, I gave a presentation at York University in Toronto as part of their York Circle program. The audience was comprised of York alumni.

]]>RWG From reverse engineering to building bridges: adventures in alternative social media2024-10-18-T00:00:00-04:002024-10-18-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/10/18/GMUpresentation.htmlI recently gave a presentation to the Cultural Studies PhD program at George Mason University. That's the program where I earned my PhD, so it was an honor to come back and talk to my professors as well as some of the new students currently in the program.

]]>RWG Goodbye, Firefox?2024-09-18-T00:00:00-04:002024-09-18-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/09/18/goodbyeFirefox.htmlI think I'm going to stop using Firefox altogether. It was a tiny little weather app that did it.

]]>RWG ASM Update: Mastodon Research Ethics and the Ethical Quandaries of Tech Advocacy2024-09-06-T00:00:00-04:002024-09-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/09/06/ASMupdate.htmlIn this ASM update, I'll write at length about a new research study on Mastodon that gets the ethics of research right -- even though they pulled data from my home Mastodon instance. I'll also discuss a recent podcast episode that talks about the ethics of using and promoting FOSS.

]]>RWG Zotero 7 Early Review2024-08-13-T00:00:00-04:002024-08-13-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/08/13/Zotero 7.htmlI took a family vacation, so I was away from my work laptop when I learned Zotero has launched version 7, a major upgrade. While I enjoyed my vacation, I was naturally eager to get home to try it out!

]]>RWG Hitting a Nerve and Presenting at IETF2024-07-25-T00:00:00-04:002024-07-25-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/07/25/ASM update.htmlNothing major this month, but I do want to note two things. First, I wrote a post on the fediverse that must have hit a nerve. It's about corporations selling off academic work to AI companies. Second, I presented research to a panel at the IETF, talking about the development of ActivityPub by the W3C's Social Web Working Group. The presentation is based on my forthcoming book.

]]>RWG On Threads's Blocklist2024-06-28-T00:00:00-04:002024-06-28-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/06/28/ThreadsBlocking.htmlMeta's Threads, which is slowly enabling ActivityPub capabilities, has just posted a list of servers it is blocking. The list (as of this writng) has over 660 entries. Since I am finalizing a chapter on Threads for my forthcoming book, I will definitely have to consider this list in detail. For now, I wanted to offer a few comments on this development, since it's a decidedly important moment in the ActivityPub-based fediverse.

]]>RWG Maven Ain't So Mavenly2024-06-12-T00:00:00-04:002024-06-12-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/06/12/Maven.htmlThe ever-alert Liaizon Wakest has informed the rest of us on the ActivityPub-based fediverse of a new social media site, Maven, which has ingested millions of posts from fediverse accounts, including mine.

]]>RWG Thinking of Switching to Linux, Fellow Academics?2024-05-24-T00:00:00-04:002024-05-24-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/05/24/fald.htmlOk, so Microsoft did a thing, a potentially privacy-violating thing, called Recall. Microsoft has been doing lots of other things. Apparently these things have led to people not wanting to use Windows 11, the latest Windows -- or even stop using Windows altogether.

]]>RWG Decentralization or Noncentralization, Bluesky or the Fediverse?2024-04-30-T00:00:00-04:002024-04-30-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/04/30/DecentralizedNoncentralized.htmlI'm nearing wrapping up drafting Move Slowly and Build Bridges, my book about the fediverse. I do several things in the book: provide some history, show the struggles of instance admins, talk about the politics of blocklists.

]]>RWG Reading the Online Harms Act with my Fediverse Admin Hat On2024-04-10-T00:00:00-04:002024-04-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/04/10/Online Harms Act.htmlThe Online Harms Act is currently the talk of Canada. As the government’s website describes it,

]]>RWG Researching the Fediverse: Instances and Individuals2024-03-14-T00:00:00-04:002024-03-14-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/03/14/Instances and Individuals.htmlI just read a new article focusing on Mastodon: Christina Dunbar-Hester's "Showing Your Ass on Mastodon." (I've put in the bibliography, too). It has inspired a blog post!

]]>RWG Move Slowly and Build Bridges -- Preview2024-02-11-T00:00:00-04:002024-02-11-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2024/02/11/Move Slowy Preview.htmlSo... it's coming together.

]]>RWG Thoughts on Threads, or Is Mark Zuckerberg Jesus?2023-12-16-T00:00:00-04:002023-12-16-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/12/16/ThoughtsThreads.html(Sorry about the provocative title, but I just had to do it.)

]]>RWG Ethics and Codes of Conduct on Mastodon2023-11-22-T00:00:00-04:002023-11-22-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/11/22/EthicsAndCOCs.htmlYesterday, I taught one of the final meetings of my undergrad "Ethics and the Media" course at York. We're using Charle Ess's Digital Media Ethics (3rd edition) as our textbook, and so we've had a good guide to ethical theories, such as virtue ethics, deontology, utilitarianism, and feminist ethics of care. (I also supplement Ess with readings and ideas from Shannon Vallor, Kwame Gyekye, Carissa Veliz, Michael Zimmer, and others).

]]>RWG How Universities Lost the Internet2023-11-10-T00:00:00-04:002023-11-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/11/10/HowUniversitiesLostIT.htmlMy first full-time academic job was at the University of Utah. Utah is, of course, very famous. No, not because of cold fusion or teaching Ted Bundy about the law.

]]>RWG Alternative Social Media Preconference at AoIR2023-10-19-T00:00:00-04:002023-10-19-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/10/19/AoIR_ASM_preconfernce.htmlOn October 18, at 8.30 am, a group of about 30 Internet Scholars gathered for a Association of Internet Researchers preconference, called "Building an Alternative Social Media Network."

]]>RWG ActivityPub, the Non-Standard Standard2023-10-15-T00:00:00-04:002023-10-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/10/15/APnonStandard.htmlIn a couple days, I head to Philadelphia for the 2023 version of the Association of Internet Researchers conference. It's my favorite conference. And to give AOIR even more credit, they were one of the first professional academic organizations to set up their own Mastodon instance (I participate in that project by helping run the instance).

]]>RWG A defense of the humble, importable blocklist2023-09-20-T00:00:00-04:002023-09-20-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/09/20/blocklists.htmlSo I tried to take part in Fediforum today, but I wasn't really able to participate. My initial idea was to get into a debate with my friend Roel Roscam Abbing, who is an incredibly deep thinker and is writing what will no doubt be a foundational dissertation about the fediverse. We were hoping to prompt a discussion about importable, instance blocklists on the fediverse.

]]>RWG ASM update, Bibliography Edition2023-09-08-T00:00:00-04:002023-09-08-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/09/08/ASMupdateBib.htmlThis is a minor update, but I hope it's useful to anyone interested in doing alternative social media research. I've long hosted a Zotero group, the Social Media Alternatives Project, which has a library. As much as I love Zotero, though, I've not had much luck with groups for fostering public discussion. Their libraries are a bit too tucked away.

]]>RWG Move Slowly and Build Bridges to be published by Oxford University Press2023-08-17-T00:00:00-04:002023-08-17-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/08/17/OxfordUP.htmlI am very excited to announce that my next book, Move Slowly and Building Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media will be published by Oxford University Press.

]]>RWG ASM update, August 12 20232023-08-12-T00:00:00-04:002023-08-12-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/08/12/ASMupdateFSEP.htmlIt's been a while, thanks to drama with rent and apartments (welcome to Toronto, Robert), but I'm back with another Alternative Social Media update!

]]>RWG Seeking Grad Students and Postdocs2023-07-02-T00:00:00-04:002023-07-02-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/07/02/GradStudentsPostDocs.htmlThis is just a short note to announce that, thanks to some generous funding at York University, I am recruiting graduate students (MA and PhD) as well as post-docs. I'd like to work with folks on alternative social media, in particular. Methodologically, I tend to use qualitative approaches, such as digital ethnography, software studies, and grounded theory/situational analysis. I am a critical scholar, as well, so I prefer working with people who are actively examining power relations in technical systems.

]]>RWG ASM Update, June 25 20232023-06-25-T00:00:00-04:002023-06-25-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/06/25/ASMupdate-Warwick.htmlThis update focuses on the University of Warwick Mastodon Research Symposium.

]]>RWG ASM Update, June 16 20232023-06-16-T00:00:00-04:002023-06-16-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/06/16/ASMupdate1.htmlNB: I've started an alternative social media email list, and I regularly email the list with news from the world of ASM. Since many ASM are free and open source software, it occurred to me that I should mirror those emails here on the blog. These might be the next iteration of "FOSS finds," a series I ran in previous posts. If you are an ASM researcher and want to subscribe to the email list, contact me and I can add you. Or, just watch this space for (roughly) fortnightly updates.

]]>RWG Reading the Minutes of the Social Web Working Group, part 22023-05-09-T00:00:00-04:002023-05-09-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/05/09/ActivityPub2.htmlNB: This is the second in a series of posts where I will share my notes on my readings of the minutes of the Social Web Working Group. The first one is here. Future posts to come.

]]>RWG AoIR Social's Code of Conduct2023-03-15-T00:00:00-04:002023-03-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/03/15/AOIRsocialCOC.htmlSo, as I noted in the last post, AoIR.social is live! It's in beta testing, so to speak, as we bring on board moderators to learn the system before rolling out to the Association of Internet Researchers membership.

]]>RWG AOIR.social!2023-03-03-T00:00:00-04:002023-03-03-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/03/03/AOIR social.htmlA few months ago, I wrote about the possibility of the Association on Internet Researchers running their own Mastodon instance. I discussed the major concerns the organization had about running such an instance, and the direction the project is heading.

]]>RWG Bumps, Slumps and the Killer Hype Cycle2023-02-10-T00:00:00-04:002023-02-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/02/10/bumpAndSlump.htmlOk, you all probably remember last fall, when the Muskening happened. When Mastodon saw a massive influx of new members. When Mastodon admins were struggling to keep up with the influx but ultimately showed that the network can, in fact, scale up. It was, in my view, the biggest stress on the ActivityPub protocol -- and ActivityPub kicked ass. Millions of people signed up for Mastodon.

]]>RWG Reading the Minutes of the Social Web Working Group, part 12023-01-20-T00:00:00-04:002023-01-20-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/01/20/ActivityPub1.htmlNB: This is the first in a series of posts where I will share my notes on my readings of the minutes of the Social Web Working Group. Future posts to come.

]]>RWG FOSS Academic Year in Review 20222023-01-03-T00:00:00-04:002023-01-03-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2023/01/03/FOSSacademicYIR copy.htmlI don't often do "Year in Review" posts, but... this past year has been something else. I've started a new job in a new country, I published another book, and my area of research (alternative social media) got a lot of media attention. In addition, I've formulated a new book project -- and in doing so, I almost regret the name of this blog! But don't worry: the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream is still alive, even if it is a bit more self-reflexive about what FOSS means.

]]>RWG A Very Playvicious Christmas2022-12-24-T00:00:00-04:002022-12-24-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/12/24/Playvicous-Christmas.htmlThis Christmas season, we all received a gift: Ro is blogging about Playvicious.social. He currently has four posts with more on the way:

]]>RWG Two New Publications2022-12-19-T00:00:00-04:002022-12-19-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/12/19/Two-new-pubs.htmlJust a quick note: I have a new journal article, co-authored with Diana Zulli: "The Digital Covenant: Non-centralized Platform Governance on the Mastodon Social Network." The abstract is:

]]>RWG AOIR.social?2022-12-11-T00:00:00-04:002022-12-11-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/12/11/AOIR social.htmlElon Musk has crazy timing.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds, Content Moderation webinar2022-12-09-T00:00:00-04:002022-12-09-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/12/09/FOSSFinds.htmlA short FOSS Finds this time, but it contains something worth watching out for.

]]>RWG Twitter Isn't That Important2022-11-19-T00:00:00-04:002022-11-19-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/11/19/Surge.htmlElon, what are you doing? I don't know. None of us knows.

]]>RWG Expanding The Conversation (notes on the Pew Alternative Social Media Report)2022-10-25-T00:00:00-04:002022-10-25-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/10/25/ASM-not-RWASM.htmlNB: I just published a piece in_ The Conversation _about a recent Pew Research report, "The Role of Alternative Social Media in the News and Information Environment". I argue that the authors get "alternative social media " wrong. I lay out some of my concerns in that Conversation piece, but I only had about 900 words to work with.

]]>RWG More Mastodon Scraping Without Consent (Notes on Nobre et al 2022)2022-10-18-T00:00:00-04:002022-10-18-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/10/18/notesOnNobreEtAl.htmlThere's a new paper out about Mastodon! But unfortunately, it's a deeply problematic one.

]]>RWG A Deep Dive into a Zotero Workflow2022-10-05-T00:00:00-04:002022-10-05-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/10/05/deepdivezotero.htmlI've previously posted about Zotero "tips and tricks," I have a brief review of the beta version of Zotero's PDF system, and I have an overview of my workflow in Linux, but here I want to do a deep dive into how I conduct note-taking in Zotero. I imagine this can be part of a series where I talk about how Zotero notes flow into Zettlr and from there into drafting out ideas in Libreoffice Writer.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds, Scuttlebutt Edition2022-09-13-T00:00:00-04:002022-09-13-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/09/13/FOSSFindsASM.htmlThis time in FOSS Finds, we've got an academic paper on Scuttlebutt, an open source social networking protocol enabling an alternative social media system.

]]>RWG Movin' North2022-08-17-T00:00:00-04:002022-08-17-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/08/17/MovingToYork.htmlYeah, I know I haven't posted in a while, but hear me out: there's a good reason.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds, On Demand Edition2022-06-29-T00:00:00-04:002022-06-29-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/06/29/FOSSFindsOnDemand.htmlAs I've written before, I'm working on a book about the fediverse. To do that properly, I need to have a good understanding of ActivityPub, a key underlying protocol that enables servers to talk to one another. A member of one ActivityPub-enabled server, such as Mastodon, can connect with another on a different server -- even if it runs different software, such as Pixelfed. It's quite a technical achievement and -- I believe -- it really needs to be part of the conversation when we discuss things like moderation, platform governance, and the political economy of the internet.

]]>RWG (I'm) Mashing That Subscribe Button2022-05-26-T00:00:00-04:002022-05-26-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/05/26/Subscribe.htmlOne major goal for my Goal 2 book project is to learn from people who create things on the fediverse. They might create code and cultures by developing and running instances. Or, they might be using the fediverse to promote their photography, music, or ideas.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds, StoryCorps Edition2022-04-23-T00:00:00-04:002022-04-23-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/04/23/FOSSFinds.htmlThis month's FOSS finds: I was listening to NPR (which makes sense since I drive an electric car and I am a communist) and StoryCorps came on. I usually hear it while dropping my kid off at school, and it's always a conversation-starter between us. It has been for years. Which got me to thinking: the StoryCorps project must have a lot of archived recordings of their oral history.

]]>RWG FOSS Interview Workflow2022-04-17-T00:00:00-04:002022-04-17-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/04/17/InterviewWorkflow.htmlWith my last book wrapped up, I am now hard at work building the next book, which is the Goal 2 of this blog. (Goal 1, recall, is writing about being a FOSS academic. Goal 2 is writing a book about FOSS). My new book project will focus on what I'm calling "ethical source alternative social media" -- social media that allows ordinary people to be in control, that uses moderation for social, economic, and environmental justice and not to support oppression, and that runs on FOSS.

]]>RWG New Book, Old Book2022-03-26-T00:00:00-04:002022-03-26-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/03/26/NewBookOldBook.htmlI've not written much about my most recent book, Social Engineering (MIT Press, 2022) on this blog. It didn't seem like a good topic for this FOSS-centric blog. When I did write about it, I focused on the fact that my co-author, Sean Lawson, and I were able to use FOSS (particularly Nextcloud) to write it. In the parlance of this blog, that's a decidedly Goal 1 topic -- about using FOSS tools to do academic work.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds2022-03-07-T00:00:00-04:002022-03-07-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/03/07/FOSSFinds.htmlThis week's FOSS finds: The big news -- or maybe non-news -- in this space is the pathetically inept rollout of Truth Social, Donald Trump's $1,000,000,000 social networking site built on the free-as-in-beer but also free-as-in-freedom Mastodon software base. I watched Truth go online and I have thoughts, but here I will just share some resources I've gathered.

]]>RWG Coding Freedom, by Biella Coleman2022-02-15-T00:00:00-04:002022-02-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/02/15/CodingFreedom.htmlAs part of Goal 2 of this blog, I'm writing a book about FOSS, specifically FOSS alternative social media. Like any good academic, I need to review the literature. I want to do so a bit more publicly than I have in the past -- hence this blog.

]]>RWG I Have Settled on Zettlr2022-02-03-T00:00:00-04:002022-02-03-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/02/03/Zettlr.html[Edited to add: this is one of the more popular posts I've written, and so I've modified it so people can comment on it through the fediverse.]

]]>RWG FOSS Finds2022-01-29-T00:00:00-04:002022-01-29-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/01/29/FOSS Finds.htmlThis week's FOSS finds: I'm starting to look back at the early days of ActivityPub, and chat apps get some coverage. So once again, don't count on these posts as a news feed, but more a window into my thinking as I research my FOSS alternative social media book.

]]>RWG Very Kool + Jellyfin2022-01-26-T00:00:00-04:002022-01-26-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/01/26/Very Kool.htmlKDE

Just a quick note to say that I took the plunge: after many, many years of using MATE desktops, I've tried KDE Plasma. I really, really like it.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds, Environment and Labor Edition2022-01-21-T00:00:00-04:002022-01-21-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/01/21/FossFinds2.htmlIn this week's FOSS finds, I'm thinking about the environmental impact of tech and I gathered sources on Marak's refusal to keep giving away code. I'm including a few examples here to show my work.

]]>RWG FOSS Finds2022-01-11-T00:00:00-04:002022-01-11-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/01/11/FOSSFinds.htmlI recently announced my new book project, focusing on ethical FOSS social media, and I'm trying an experiment in writing it openly. That's Goal 2 of this blog (Goal 1 being discussions of my actually using FOSS to complete this task). To that end, I've decided to share items I've found as I do my research.

]]>RWG Goal 2, Initiate2022-01-06-T00:00:00-04:002022-01-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2022/01/06/Goal2.htmlFor about a year I've been teasing at Goal 2 for this blog, which is to write a book about FOSS. It's probably not surprising to hear that I needed to narrow that focus down. FOSS is a massive phenomenon, and any given area within it deserves lengthy analysis. For example, Biella Coleman's classic book Coding Freedom focuses heavily on the Debian distribution. One could imagine similar books about the Linux Kernel, or Canonical, or Arch, or web servers.

]]>RWG Test post for Mastodon Comments2021-12-16-T00:00:00-04:002021-12-16-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/12/16/CommentsTest.htmlI've been struggling with having comments on this Jekyll-based static site for a while. For a bit, I used Staticman, but that died for some reason.

]]>RWG Tuxies 20212021-12-11-T00:00:00-04:002021-12-11-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/12/11/Tuxies2021.htmlLinux Unplugged is at it again: it's Tuxies time! I voted, and you can, too. Unlike last year, this year they're using a self-hosted Nextcloud form -- brilliant! Like last year, I've voted based on my experience as a FOSS Academic. My picks may not win -- but they might just help you live the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream.

]]>RWG In Praise of Mastodon, Again2021-10-30-T00:00:00-04:002021-10-30-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/10/30/PraiseMastodonAgain.htmlEarlier this year, in the wake of the attempted coup that happened right here, live, on TV, in these United States, I wrote a post praising how Mastodon handled the alt-right and Donald Trump. As I saw it, Mastodon's swift action against the alt-right (specifically, their quick repudiation of Gab) was a very different approach than the corporate platform approach of Facebook and Twitter. Yes, the latter removed Trump. But they did so at a pretty convenient moment: after the election was over and the ad dollars were spent. Moreover, while banning Trump was a long-overdue move, it was clearly inadequate. As investigative journalism is revealing, Facebook in particular did little to quell the planning of the January 6 insurrection.

]]>RWG Nextcloud Appointments!2021-09-25-T00:00:00-04:002021-09-25-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/09/25/Appointments.htmlI used an exclamation point intentionally, because the Appointments app for Nextcloud is just that awesome.

]]>RWG September update2021-09-10-T00:00:00-04:002021-09-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/09/10/Update.htmlI took a bit more time off, at least from this blog, but it's late September and I really should be back in school. And I am. Classes just started up at LaTech, and with them my attention turns to reading and writing about FOSS.

]]>RWG Manjaro Mania!2021-07-18-T00:00:00-04:002021-07-18-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/07/18/Manjaro Madness.htmlI made a change.

]]>RWG (Almost) De-Googled Research2021-07-03-T00:00:00-04:002021-07-03-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/07/03/DeGoogleSearch.htmlBig news on the search front! The Brave Browser is now offering a search engine. According to their announcment, Brave Search promises "independent option for search which gives them unmatched privacy" and will use an independent index, rather than rely on Google or Microsoft. I've already started playing with Brave Search and am curious to see how it develops.

]]>RWG A Vacation and F-Droid2021-06-24-T00:00:00-04:002021-06-24-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/06/24/Vacation and FDroid.htmlI've not posted for a while. And that's ok. Why? Because we all need a break. A vacation.

]]>RWG FALD Updates2021-05-14-T00:00:00-04:002021-05-14-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/05/14/FALDupdate.htmlA few quick updates on the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream front.

]]>RWG Messin' with Wireguard 2021-04-29-T00:00:00-04:002021-04-29-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/04/29/Wireguard.htmlI've been messin' about with Wireguard and -- after some hiccups -- I have a small network of peers connected. I now have a couple laptops, a desktop, a phone, and a Raspberry Pi all networked, with the connection remaining persistent even as the mobile devices move across wi-fi networks.

]]>RWG Sudo Install Dark Mode2021-04-23-T00:00:00-04:002021-04-23-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/04/23/DarkMode.htmlJust a short post to note I have succumbed to the dark side.

]]>RWG Review of Zotero's New PDF Annotation Features2021-04-02-T00:00:00-04:002021-04-02-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/04/02/ZoteroComments.htmlUPDATE in 2022: I've added the ability to comment via Mastodon on this post (see below) since this post is one of the more popular ones on the blog.

]]>RWG RM Mess2021-03-28-T00:00:00-04:002021-03-28-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/03/28/RMMess.html The Cover of Williams's book Free as in Freedom, a biography of Richard Stallman
The Cover of Williams's book Free as in Freedom, a biography of Richard Stallman

I guess I have strange timing.

]]>RWG Cutting-Edge Zotero2021-03-19-T00:00:00-04:002021-03-19-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/03/19/cuttingZotero.htmlThere's exciting news on the Zotero front!

]]>RWG GDPR Compliance2021-03-11-T00:00:00-04:002021-03-11-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/03/11/GDPR.htmlA quick note to any readers in GDPR regulated areas: I'm in the USA, and I don't really do business in Europe. I don't really do business anywhere, to be honest. Anyway, I also really respect privacy concerns. So, in the interest of transparency, I want to note that I use a Statcounter script to help track traffic to this blog.

]]>RWG PDF Hell2021-03-10-T00:00:00-04:002021-03-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/03/10/PDFhell.htmlWhy in the year 2021 is it hard to edit PDFs in Linux?

]]>RWG A Lost Weekend of Lost Posts2021-02-28-T00:00:00-04:002021-02-28-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/02/28/LostPosts.htmlSometimes, the FOSS Academic Lifestyle Dream can hurt you.

]]>RWG Linux on Mars2021-02-21-T00:00:00-04:002021-02-21-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/02/21/LinuxMars.htmlBowie wanted to know: is there Linux on Mars?

]]>RWG A Survey for Mastodon Developers, Admins, and Users2021-02-09-T00:00:00-04:002021-02-09-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/02/09/MastodonSurvey.htmlA quick note: I'm conducting a survey with a colleague of mine, Dr. Diana Zulli. We're interested in learning from Mastodon developers, admins, and users about "freedom of expression."

]]>RWG I Asked Mastodon About FOSS for Academics. Here's What They Said2021-02-07-T00:00:00-04:002021-02-07-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/02/07/CloudAcademic.html A penguin with question marks above its head
This penguin's got questions.

I posted a question to Mastodon (specifically, scholar.social):

]]>RWG Staticman Comments Test Post2021-01-24-T00:00:00-04:002021-01-24-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/01/24/Staticman.htmlThis post is to test Staticman comments. I'll edit this post later to update my progress. For now, if anyone stumbles across this and wants to add a "test" comment or something helpful, feel free!

]]>RWG 20 Years of Wikipedia2021-01-20-T00:00:00-04:002021-01-20-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/01/20/20-years-wikipedia.htmlWikipedia is 20 years old this year. Congratulations! Celebrations abound across the Internet.

]]>RWG In Praise of Mastodon After an Insurrection, or, What if Donald Trump Had Joined Mastodon?2021-01-08-T00:00:00-04:002021-01-08-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2021/01/08/PraiseMastodon.htmlIn a previous post, I disparaged 2020. But hey, just wait: 2021 has already become pretty bad. As you probably have seen, pro-Trump supporters decided to invade the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

]]>RWG Minor Update -- New Publication, No More Hyvor2020-12-29-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-29-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/29/Minor Update.htmlA minor update: I have a new publication about alternative social media in The Reboot. The piece discusses two FOSS alternatives to Twitter: the amazing, and yet likely soon-to-be-defunct Twister, which is a P2P, distributed microblog. I also discuss my favorite project, Mastodon.

]]>RWG My Workflow2020-12-27-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-27-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/27/Workflow.htmlEDIT: Credit where credit is due: I stole many of these ideas from Sean Lawson. Except they are better with FOSS.

]]>RWG Minor Update -- Tagging System2020-12-20-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-20-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/20/Minor Update.htmlA minor update: I'm still learning how to use Jekyll, and one goal I had was a usable tagging system. I think I've achieved it! I want to study the problem more and see if I can't automate more parts of it, but so far, so good. If you have feedback, leave it in the comments!

]]>RWG My FOSS Journey2020-12-15-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/15/FOSS-Journey.htmlA recent Destination Linux podcast interviewed Neal Gompa, a Fedora contributor, and their first question was: how did you start using Linux? I won't recap Gompa's story -- I'd recommend listening to the show -- but suffice it to say it involves an old copy of Red Hat he randomly found.

]]>RWG The Tuxies, Academic Style2020-12-10-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-10-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/10/The-Tuxies-Academic-Style.htmlThe Linux Unplugged podcast is hosting their first-ever Tuxies award. They're soliciting votes for a range of categories of FOSS projects.

]]>RWG Dreaming in Code2020-12-06-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-06-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/06/Dreaming In Code.htmlThere have been a lot of books that have influenced my career: Fred Turner's From Counterculture to Cyberculture, Gabriella Coleman's Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy, Karl Marx's Grundrisse, John Law's Aircraft Stories, and Patricia Hill Collin's Black Feminist Thought. These works are a kind of well to return to, again and again, to quench intellectual thirsts: thinking historically about communication technologies, and thinking about heterogeneity in the cultures of communication technologies.

]]>RWG Zotero Tips and Tricks2020-12-01-T00:00:00-04:002020-12-01-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/12/01/Zotero Tips and Tricks.htmlIf you're not using Zotero... I don't know what to say.

]]>RWG Introduction2020-11-27-T00:00:00-04:002020-11-27-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/11/27/introduction.html A small Tux the Penguin paper toy
"Tux the penguin papercraft" by Siobhan Rohlwink-Coutts is licensed with CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

As a university professor, I do a lot of different things, many of them having to do with technologies. I engage in research, write articles and books, put together syllabi, work with students, and collaborate with colleagues. All of these require the use of networked computers. But I don't use Windows and I don't use Apple.

]]>RWG Alternative Social Media: Canadian Edition2020-01-15-T00:00:00-04:002020-01-15-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2020/01/15/alternative-social-media-canadian-edition.htmlJust a quick update: I am now set up in my office at the University of Calgary in Alberta. I've come here on a Fulbright Canada Fellowship, and one of my goals is to study Canadian alternative social media. On this first full day of basic research, I'm already seeing a great deal of activity, particularly in terms of Indigenous social networking.

]]>Robert W. Gehl Presentation at the University of Calgary: Dark Web, Alternative Social Media, and Memes2019-03-02-T00:00:00-04:002019-03-02-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2019/03/02/presentation-at-the-university-of-calgary-dark-web-alternative-social-media-and-memes.htmlRobert W. Gehl

]]>Robert W. Gehl Facebook Algorithms and Alternative Social Media2018-10-30-T00:00:00-04:002018-10-30-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2018/10/30/facebook-algorithms-and-alternative-social-media.htmlNB: This is an introductory statement for the Contemporary Social Media Platforms and Creative Practice 2018, an online discussion I'm participating in. Thanks to Judy Malloy, a Visiting Faculty Member at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, for inviting me to join in!

]]>Robert W. Gehl #deletefacebook2018-03-23-T00:00:00-04:002018-03-23-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2018/03/23/deletefacebook.htmlThere's furor over the latest revelation that the world's largest corporate social media site, Facebook, sells personal data to those who want to manipulate its users. The story -- this time -- is about Cambridge Analytica, a psychographic analysis organization which claims to be able to drive voter behavior. Many people have weighed in, so I won't say much here. But I want to pick up on a point made by Adrian Chen in The New Yorker:

]]>Robert W. Gehl Farewell, Galaxy22017-10-26-T00:00:00-04:002017-10-26-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2017/10/26/farewell-galaxy2.htmlTried logging onto Galaxy2, a Tor-based social networking site I've participated in since its inception in early 2015. It's been down for a while, and like many Dark Web sites, it looks like it's gone for good. We get a rare note about its closure, though, with a note from its founder, Lameth (see below).

]]>Robert W. Gehl What Would Feminist Alternative Social Media Look Like?2016-09-12-T00:00:00-04:002016-09-12-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2016/09/12/what-would-feminist-alternative-social-media-look-like.htmlChitra Nagarajan's piece in the Guardian, "What Does a Feminist Internet Look Like?", is an excellent call to action for taking feminist principles and applying them to technology usage and governance. I won't recap it here; you ought to read the original. But I will highlight two key passages. This:

]]>Robert W. Gehl Fibreculture special issue on Activism and Technology2016-01-20-T00:00:00-04:002016-01-20-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2016/01/20/fibreculture-special-issue-on-activism-and-technology.htmlRobert W. Gehl

]]>Robert W. Gehl Two new alternative social media publications2015-07-02-T00:00:00-04:002015-07-02-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2015/07/02/two-new-alternative-social-media-publications.htmlI have two new alternative social media-related publications.

]]>Robert W. Gehl Facebook and Activist Pages2015-06-07-T00:00:00-04:002015-06-07-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2015/06/07/facebook-and-activist-pages.htmlAs readers of my scholarly work know, I've been arguing that corporate social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter present activists with a sort of double-bind: on the one hand these sites have powerful network effects, which basically means that any activist can use them to get their messages to many, many other people. On the other hand, these are for-profit corporations which are largely built to drive our attention towards brand and marketing messages.

]]>Robert W. Gehl Building a Better Twitter: a study of rstat.us, Twister, Quitter, and Gnu social2015-04-16-T00:00:00-04:002015-04-16-T00:00:00-04:00https://fossacademic.tech/2015/04/16/building-a-better-twitter-a-study-of-rstat-us-twister-quitter-and-gnu-social.htmlI'm happy to announce that my paper on the Twitter alternatives rstat.us, Twister, Quitter, and Gnu social has been accepted to the online journal Fibreculture. The paper, "Building a Better Twitter: A Study of the Twitter Alternatives Gnu Social, Quitter, Rstat.Us, and Twister," draws on interviews with social media alternative makers to explore the (productive) frictions that occur when the alternatives make contact with with the mainstream Twitter. I use my previous work on "critical reverse engineering" to examine four points of contact: pragmatic, genealogical, legal, and normative.

]]>Robert W. Gehl