Ed Rial (he/him) @Ed_Rial@qoto.org
Ed is the sum of all his parts... Dadding, running, physics, games, cartoons, friends, family and beer. I work at BESSY II (HZB), but I think and speak for myself.
@VictorVenema @pwgtennant thank you for being open to discussion.
@VictorVenema @pwgtennant thanks for the heads up on qoto. I am newish to Mastodon, and I had been alerted that qoto was on various block lists. You're the first to let me know the explicit reason. Thank you. I am on the lookout for a new home, but there's a lot of demand right now... I will check out your related instances.
Thanks for the clarification about 'seeking to publish'. I think that, for me, is where some confusion lies when it looked like an existing publications list was a compulsory field on sign up. It gave the impression you already had to be in the ivory tower before you could join this instance...
So instead of discussing *about* you over on the birdsite, it seems only fair to engage *with* you over here 😜.
First, thank you for hosting a server, and for investing in developing your instance. It's impressive to see how so many servers are responding positively to the great Birdsite migration.
Science, and science publishing, has a long history of ivory towers and gatekeeping. It's not always intentional. I'm pretty sure the admins of this instance have no truck with any form of discrimination (it's front and centre in the server rules. Number 1!)
The criterion of 'please give your publishing history' means that the instance will implicitly reflect discrimination in science publishing. Which is well documented[1]. A classic example of Unconscious Bias. I've seen the argument that what can you do apart from be a passive mirror to the scientific publishing world. I would argue that these days that is not an acceptable position. You either work to support access to our field, or you implicitly support the status quo. I think instances like fediscience can be a formidable tool to promote representation and participation in the scientific discourse.
It is easy to throw stones from the side, I know. But I think a more equitable approach is that which you had previously, a kind of statement of motivation as to why you would want to join this instance. What research do you do, do you want to do etc.
That is certainly harder to automate, I understand that too. The solution then would be to expand the moderation team. In order to keep things people centred, my opinion, is that people need to remain involved.
I appreciate also that the instance handle is not the be all and end all... I can (and do!) interact across the fediverse... there seem to be plenty that don't really grok that right now. But server identity reflects a large part of online identity. I guess that may be part of the reason you set a server up in the first place.
This feedback is meant earnestly. I'm not trying to be Reviewer #3. I wish you luck in the future and look forward to future interactions! I think you will need it!
Anyway, that's my 2¢.
Using this platform made me realise how I came to accept exposure to cruelty & hostility as part of the deal of being able to talk to you. The clicks algorithm is not necessarily our connection master. How refreshing to be reminded of that.
@Tornflakes yup! https://www.software.ac.uk/
Basically, hard editing your main code and saving it as 'version2_december_bugfix_with_feature_ER' is not really considered best practice these days. Sustainable software is about minimising technical debt in software through the use of version control, continuous integration and other buzzwords 😁
@siddarthious hello! Found you through your #physics tag!
#Introduction post to connect with some people. Work edition.
I'm a #physicist. I work at the BESSYII #synchrotron playing with #magnets in the #undulator group. I like to code in #python. I sometimes have to interact with #fortran and #perl. I'm interested in #sustainablesoftware , but I struggle to keep to best practice 😜
Never thought Elon Musk would do so much for the adoption of a decentralised infrastructure…
Please Elon, can you buy Elsevier ?
@EmmaKennedy it's been useful for me
Hey @peterjukes is here
In my brief decade in British journalism, stories initially called ‘conspiracy theories’ by other journos
Phone hacking
Daniel Morgan
Vote Leave electoral cheating
Cambridge Analytica
Russian interference
Tufton Street
Steve Bannon
Hedge fund donors
@BeamsAndBows ahoy there! Welcome aboard!
Ed is migrated, apparently 🤷♂️
Ed is the sum of all his parts... Dadding, running, physics, games, cartoons, friends, family and beer. I work at BESSY II (HZB), but I think and speak for myself.
