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User:Sy

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Please don't edit this page, edit my Discussion page for comments.

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http://jrandomhacker.info

Contents

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News

Because of my interest in mediawiki and my disinterest in wikipedia, I'm back here. My own wiki is being converted over to mediawiki, and so I don't mind puttering around to help this place recover from the move in my off-time.

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Sy's Favoured Topics

In reverse-order of the greek root of the third word, unless it's latin.

Capturing fleeting moments of amusement. It's like trying to be a contemporary historian.. a form of recordkeeper.
This wiki's strong focus on education is particularly enthralling. Not only would these resources be useful for myself, but my own partitipation helps me further understand the issues. Building on that, by writing what I know on these topics I am helped to develop my skills of explanation.. which I prize highly.
"Information" and "knowledge" suck. They are parasitic and must be seen as disposable burdens.. to be idly picked up as tools for a task, and discarded shortly afterwards. The tools to access, manipulate or distribute information must themselves be designed to be so straightforward as to not require a certificate to use. Come on.. how can using a word processor have certification attached to it?
The concept of a mechanism by which collaboration can be facilitated is one with great power. Chaining a thousand monkeys to a typewriter a piece may not mean much in a literal sense, but the idea behind collaborative tools is to not just allow the monkeys to type, but to coordinate and enhance their efforts.
The shackling of information. The great responsability attached to public access to information.
The general uselessness of the internet, and how it ignores decades of good ideas, amuses me to no end. The complete insecurity it represents, the loss of time and unnecessary expenditure of efforts make the internet basically hopeless. The internet has brought new stresses with advertising and a general (and accepted?) loss of privacy.
The dance between technologies and the law is most directly seen in these topics. Herein lies probably the most contemporary public interest of all technology issues. The software people use, how it gets them what they want, and legal concerns all mesh together in amusing ways.
Where I enjoy writing on complex issues, especially where others seem ineloquent, I especially appreciate the thrill of writing on delicate issues. Language must be made impersonal and informative without being too argumentitive.
These topics are delicate just as dangerous topics are, except it's like being a freedom fighter to write on these. Doing it right really is fulfilling.
The foundation of thought. Herein is the root of potential.
Things which act on communication and it's potential.
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My Current Projects

  • Nothing for a while.
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Relaxed Projects

  • Sy/Mole-Theory - How a single person could seed problems in most current systems of moderation or security. An explanation of how those considered a part of the "many eyes" don't matter if their attention is not directed properly or they simply aren't educated.
  • /TEMPEST - Remote screen reading etc. This doesn't quite belong in the wiki yet. It does deal with the use, transmission and security of information though.. so it'll find it's way in eventually.
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Stuff With Serious Potential

  • Web Browser: Twibright Links - I wanna cut and paste dammit! - HOLD SHIFT, MAN! :)
  • Editor: Nedit | nano | FTE - Dammit, why can't people make proper editors.. I have problems even with these puppies.
  • Operating Systems: GNU/HURD | Debian - Debian scares me and I lose sleep thinking about it.
  • Window Managers: BlackBox - I use it.. I could do better though, but some features I require just aren't elsewhere. Heck, blackbox variants are uninteresting.. I just want blackbox without the damned toolbar / docking crap. Isn't that what ./configure options are for? Sigh.
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About Me

I was brought here by random luck and fate. I'm unsure how I originally found this place, but I had it bookmarked through idle travels and after having done some research on Wikis and how they might relate to a Collaborative Writing and Collaborative Filtering / Collaborative Modertating project I've been mulling over for a few years, I decided to drop in and flesh the Wiki out. I'm interested in the overall structure of the display of information. Information and Knowledge are disposable. These things should be easy to find, easy to learn and straightforward to apply, and devoid of stress in throwing them away.

During my stay here, I regularly trolled through the Recent Changes list and was inspired to make minor corrections. I enjoyed tweaking and often found myself doing little writeups for those missing Wiki pages which new pages refer to. I ended up being a major contributor to this wiki, to the point that its size and structure began to attract other editors. Also, my work on linking and organizing pages is the main reason google loves this place so much.

Some would have considered me a form of WikiGnome, one who creeps out from the woodwork to make little changes, link things together or hunt down some tasty tidbit of information and who then disappears into the night. This does not fully describe my disposition. While I may not have expertise in the field a particular page deals with, two things I had during my stay are a strong desire to help and effortful time to help with. In my time I have tried to be both a shining example and a catalyst for collaborative effort. In reality, I was just a normal curious guy trying to do some good work. I tended to inject my opinion into the general structure of things, but when it comes to a topic, I knew when I'm out of my environment and when to respect the opinion and input of others. I too make mistakes and bow to the aid of others. We're all in this together. =)

I'm was not any sort of official maintainer of iA or this wiki. I'm just some guy, like you, who decided to drop by and edit some pages.

Btw, this wiki went on my resume as volunteering experience. I did that much work on it.

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About You

Perhaps you or your project was spoken of within this wiki, or you bumped into it while doing some googling. Maybe you got a personal recommendation. At any rate.. you're here. Now what?

Out there in the real world there might be two types of people, but here there's really only one. They are both a reader and a contributor.. both a thinker and a worker. Learn about the concept of the wiki and about this wiki. Then learn about contribution starting with the Style Guide and the Text Formatting Rules pages. From here you will have a basic understanding of things.

Visit the Homepage and soak up some of the content. Go ahead and use this place like a static resource to help your own research projects, but be prepared to do a little footwork in return. If you see a spelling mistake, or have a particular interest in a topic you see here.. and can add more, then make that correction or addition. Did you bump into some riviting reading somewhere, and can see how it applies to a topic here? Well then go ahead and add in a link.. chat about it in a Talk page. Maybe others have some facinating insight and can further your knowledge in the subject.

Do you have time on your hands? Are you stuck for ideas on what you'd like to do? Pick some interesting topics here, and read up on them. Maybe you know some more about something and can add to the wealth of information. You don't need to be an expert in anything - spelling, grammar, link checking and even googling are things which anyone can help with. If you're stuck on a place to go.. you could even check out A Random Page. Two of the most excellent things one can contribute to are wikification and the creation of new topics which a current wiki page points to.. one that doesn't exist and ought to.

If you're particularly persistant, visit Name Pages for some of the personalities of regular editors. You won't find everyone there, but you will find such things as todo lists and ideas notes. Perhaps while reading someone's page you can be given topic ideas. Perhaps you can lend that extra inspiration to someone's project and help it mature into a wiki topic. You might even be insane enough to make regular trips to the Recent Changes page. I know I was. =)

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Notes


These pages are obsolete, and should be ported over to an official page somewhere and otherwise worked on:
  • /Scratchpad - Junk I want to put up on the wiki, but which doesn't belong anywhere else. Maybe you can help find a link a home or know how I could start a new wiki topic. Let me know!
  • /Todo - My hugely huge todo list. Sorted by priority and interest. Take a peek at this for inspiration on where you too can help out. Feel free to lend a hand with or even take over something listed here.
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