Computer Club in Seattle, anyone?
I'd be interested if it existed...
The Connections Museum staff might be a starting point.
Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
21–30 of 86 posts
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
For me it was the part where the author claims that "computing is political", therefore computer clubs should be too. Computing is very much not political. It's a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for various ends, both political and apolitical. If you want a computer club, have a computer club. If you want a political club, have a political club. But I think forcing the two together weakens both pursuits.
I think computer is political in the way art is inherently political. Even if a piece of art isn’t explicitly about politics (an oil painting of a sunset), it’s still born of the lived experience and thoughts and emotions and politics of the artist.
Not everyone revolves their life around politics.
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#23> meetups about "how to node.js apolitically" are sidelining people who want "how to node.js pro-socially." This statement did turn me off a bit. "how to node.js apolitically" would in practice ofc just be "how to node.js", which should be perfectly fine for a computer club, just as a pro-social computing course. Maybe someone wants to use their computing skills for social good, maybe they want to use them for biosci…
For me it was the part where the author claims that "computing is political", therefore computer clubs should be too. Computing is very much not political. It's a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for various ends, both political and apolitical. If you want a computer club, have a computer club. If you want a political club, have a political club. But I think forcing the two together weakens both pursuits.
The personal is political, but also, yes I agree that you don't have to weight the politics 100% of the time.
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#24Shoutout to the DC Python Doju meetup for basically doing this for python computing
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#25> meetups about "how to node.js apolitically" are sidelining people who want "how to node.js pro-socially." This statement did turn me off a bit. "how to node.js apolitically" would in practice ofc just be "how to node.js", which should be perfectly fine for a computer club, just as a pro-social computing course. Maybe someone wants to use their computing skills for social good, maybe they want to use them for biosci…
For me it was the part where the author claims that "computing is political", therefore computer clubs should be too. Computing is very much not political. It's a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for various ends, both political and apolitical. If you want a computer club, have a computer club. If you want a political club, have a political club. But I think forcing the two together weakens both pursuits.
I don't think the author is talking about starting a computer club, they're thinking about a social club. To get people in the door at a social club you need them to think "that'll be people like me."
So "Democrat ladies who lunch and write patches for Mastodon," and "Trump supporters who drink beer and write surveillance software," or "meditation group (Haskell-only)" would work great, much better than "Your coworkers, but you've never met them before."
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
For me it was the part where the author claims that "computing is political", therefore computer clubs should be too. Computing is very much not political. It's a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for various ends, both political and apolitical. If you want a computer club, have a computer club. If you want a political club, have a political club. But I think forcing the two together weakens both pursuits.
I don't think the author is talking about starting a computer club, they're thinking about a social club. To get people in the door at a social club you need them to think "that'll be people like me." So "Democrat ladies who lunch and write patches for Mastodon," and "Trump supporters who drink beer and write surveillance software," or "meditation group (Haskell-only)" would work great, much better than "Your coworke…
where do I sign up for meditation group (Haskell-only)?
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
For me it was the part where the author claims that "computing is political", therefore computer clubs should be too. Computing is very much not political. It's a tool. Like any tool, it can be used for various ends, both political and apolitical. If you want a computer club, have a computer club. If you want a political club, have a political club. But I think forcing the two together weakens both pursuits.
I think computer is political in the way art is inherently political. Even if a piece of art isn’t explicitly about politics (an oil painting of a sunset), it’s still born of the lived experience and thoughts and emotions and politics of the artist.
so not political
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#28> the recurse center social rules foster collaboration and psychological safety, consider using them > No well-actually’s > No feigned surprise > No backseat driving > No subtle -isms There seems to be something really magical about the Recurse Center social rules. Or maybe their admissions process. Or both. I did a batch a couple years ago and I was stunned at how fun and drama-free people are there. I've heard occa…
How can this work in practice? "The sky is green". How do you answer this without breaking the first rule?
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#29> the recurse center social rules foster collaboration and psychological safety, consider using them > No well-actually’s > No feigned surprise > No backseat driving > No subtle -isms There seems to be something really magical about the Recurse Center social rules. Or maybe their admissions process. Or both. I did a batch a couple years ago and I was stunned at how fun and drama-free people are there. I've heard occa…
How do they make that work, you think? Could you say a bit more?
One weirdo can severely mess up group dynamics, which is deadly for a small nascent club-type thing.
What if you have someone join who's ferociously intelligent, and not outright evil but just inherently socially maladjusted? You just kick em out if they can't help themselves to continuous "well actually"s, even though they mean well? That in itself might create drama...
Re: Start a computer club in the place that you live (2023)
#30> meetups about "how to node.js apolitically" are sidelining people who want "how to node.js pro-socially." This statement did turn me off a bit. "how to node.js apolitically" would in practice ofc just be "how to node.js", which should be perfectly fine for a computer club, just as a pro-social computing course. Maybe someone wants to use their computing skills for social good, maybe they want to use them for biosci…
Everyone knows why these 'X but apolitical' clubs start. It's because there was an X club but then someone decided there had to be a Code of Conduct maybe influenced by a previous member of X club doing something inappropriate or unacceptable. Then the Code of Conduct slowly expands to being the entirety of what the club concerns itself with. In time, all club time is spent navel gazing. If the CoC doesn't do it, there will come a time when the club has to take a stance on opposing an invasion in Gaza or something and that'll be the thing to do it. You can't even suggest not doing this because that's also meta-discussion. There is no way to fight this meme without engaging in the meme.
It's the same story over and over again. I think it was around the Donglegate era that this stuff started becoming really popular but that's how it is.