Geeks for Social Change
@gfsc.community
Technology for community liberation 🏳️⚧️ https://gfsc.community https://gfsc.studio Fedi: @gfsc@social.gfsc.studio Discord: http://discord.gfsc.studio Posts by @kim.town
Hey! Today's a great day to support a trans led org working towards a better future that relies entirely on donations, just saying 😊 We have had the worst run recently on funding apps so all support gratefully received! gfsc.community#/portal
Geeks for Social Change
We are a collective creating community technology in anticipation of a world without billionaires. Led by trans and disabled people. Join us today!
gfsc.community
Big tech is synonymous with queer and trans organising. Queer and trans people's entire social lives are now technologically mediated by billionaires who hate trans and queer people and make enormous political donations to make our lives worse. Is there any way out of this Full Meta Jacket?
Full Meta Jacket: How corporations colonised queer life
Big tech, especially Meta, is synonymous with queer and trans organising. Kim gets into the weeds exploring how this happened, and suggests some routes out of it including GFSC's own Trans Dimension…
gfsc.community
The power of empire is the power of the sun. The sun’s power is literally extraterrestrial, singular, distant, with everything oriented towards it and drawing power from it. So it is with tech: everything we do is oriented around the tech giants, the billionaires. gfsc.community/towards-a-lu...
Towards a Lunarpunk Practice, Part 1: The Sun
Big tech is a modern day sun-empire that everything orients itself around: even the alternatives. How can we banish the golden geese, re-enchant our tech practice, and make all this stuff feel fun…
gfsc.community
“Patriarchal racial capitalism disenchants to kill. Extraction is a relationship possible only in a world proclaimed always already dead (by the people doing the killing).” – Ines Tielas “You have zero privacy anyway. Get over it.” – Scott McNealy, CEO of Sun Microsystems, 1999
Accessing health and social care services is increasingly mediated by technology, with emphasis on transforming services from analogue to digital. This policy translates to a gold rush for the private sector to extract & exploit public health data in the community, in hospitals & in people’s homes.
How health technology is replacing care with surveillance
Surveillance technology in health and social care like Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose, and much of its development links to warfare. Why is it being commissioned, and where…
gfsc.community
Surveillance is not Safety. Technology like Oxevision comes from warfare, intelligence and the criminal justice system. It brings increased securitisation and coercion. Technology designed to extract, analyse or learn from data is introduced in settings where there are existing coercive practices.
How health technology is replacing care with surveillance
Surveillance technology in health and social care like Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose, and much of its development links to warfare. Why is it being commissioned, and where…
gfsc.community
Oxevision is an infrared camera and sensors, mounted in a box in the ceiling of patients' bedrooms. “It felt like staff would be sat in the office with a bucket of popcorn watching all the patients like a human zoo.” Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose.
How health technology is replacing care with surveillance
Surveillance technology in health and social care like Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose, and much of its development links to warfare. Why is it being commissioned, and where…
gfsc.community
My name is Blue and I’m working with GFSC as an intern over the summer. I’ll talk about how technology is used in health and social care, why that’s a problem and how approaches such as community technology partnership can make a difference. The internship is funded by the Digital Good Network.
How health technology is replacing care with surveillance
Surveillance technology in health and social care like Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose, and much of its development links to warfare. Why is it being commissioned, and where…
gfsc.community
How health technology is replacing care with surveillance Surveillance technology in health and social care like Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose, and much of its development links to warfare. Why is it being commissioned, and where could we find alternatives?
How health technology is replacing care with surveillance
Surveillance technology in health and social care like Oxevision is intrusive, coercive and not fit for purpose, and much of its development links to warfare. Why is it being commissioned, and where…
gfsc.community
Before you release your game to the world, ask yourself this: if you perish tonight, would this be sufficient as your only legacy? It doesn't need to be perfect. I doesn't even need to be all that good! But it does need to have *your* vibe, or at least a vibe which stirs your heart.
Sell the Sizzle not the Sausage: How to Release Your Game
Making a video game is easier than ever, but how do you release it into the world, put it up for sale and get it noticed? A guide on how to get your game out there, by an award-winning solo game…
gfsc.community
Sell the sizzle, not the sausage! Don't just tell people about your game Show them the excitement of it, the delight of it. If the game-play is fun – and it should be –let them see enough to imagine playing it. No amount of specs, stats and accolades stir the heart like the prospect of play.
Sell the Sizzle not the Sausage: How to Release Your Game
Making a video game is easier than ever, but how do you release it into the world, put it up for sale and get it noticed? A guide on how to get your game out there, by an award-winning solo game…
gfsc.community
How to Release your Game: Making a video game is easier than ever, if you have the time and the energy, but how do you release it into the world, put it up for sale and get it noticed? A new piece on the finishing touches, the publicity, release, events and awards. gfsc.community/sell-the-siz...
Sell the Sizzle not the Sausage: How to Release Your Game
Making a video game is easier than ever, but how do you release it into the world, put it up for sale and get it noticed? A guide on how to get your game out there, by an award-winning solo game…
gfsc.community
An interview with No One Is Disposable: “One of the most difficult parts about being canceled is the isolation, and the sudden realisation that your comrades are in fact, not your comrades - they aren’t even your friends and don’t want to be seen in public with you.” gfsc.community/noid-no-one-...
NOID: No One is Disposable
Ben spoke to No One Is Disposable, a community of people who believe nobody deserves to be exiled or shunned by society, and that to heal and grow means being given the opportunity to make amends.
gfsc.community
No One Is Disposable: “Advocate for their continued inclusion. Advocate for a restorative process. Advocate for uncomfortable conversations to happen. Remind people that everyone, yes everyone deserves liberation and solidarity.” gfsc.community/noid-no-one-...
NOID: No One is Disposable
Ben spoke to No One Is Disposable, a community of people who believe nobody deserves to be exiled or shunned by society, and that to heal and grow means being given the opportunity to make amends.
gfsc.community
An interview with No One Is Disposable: “I think I speak for most of us in the organisation when I say don’t be afraid to advocate for someone. We don’t mean absolutely deny any and all accusations leveled against someone, but advocate for their continued inclusion”
NOID: No One is Disposable
Ben spoke to No One Is Disposable, a community of people who believe nobody deserves to be exiled or shunned by society, and that to heal and grow means being given the opportunity to make amends.
gfsc.community
I love the idea of Mastodon, but we’ve had to temporarily stop hosting on our own server. We can’t justify the cost or the effort. We’re not giving up on the idea forever, though. We just need a proper reset to think about why we’re on the fediverse and what we hope to get out of it.
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
Moderation is an unsolved problem. Fascism & transphobia prosper in parts of Mastodon. There’s no support to deal with this. The hardest part is funding. It relies on community funding for server costs. There’s also a huge amount of work to be done around the scenes, moderating and fixing problems.
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
Mastodon could be great, but there’s a way to go. The governance prioritises features over community. The technology is decentralised, but the culture isn't. Discussion is often about protocol and the platform itself, but not about community safety or accessibility. gfsc.community/why-we-disco...
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
Mastodon is promising, but unfinished. There’s little reason for little folk to join: at this point few people want to join yet another social media site The audience can be culturally monolithic: by some stats, it’s overwhelmingly white, male, & full of programmers. gfsc.community/why-we-disco...
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
Mastodon: the good stuff: It’s genuinely got a different audience to other platforms, one you won’t find anywhere else. It’s hard to tell exactly where our donors have come from, but I think we’ve gained a lot of supporters and donors through the Mastodon network gfsc.community/why-we-disco...
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
Mastodon: the good stuff: People have wanted this kind of microblogging social media ever since Twitter It’s one of the very few things you can point to and say: this is what community-owned infrastructure actually looks like. No ads, no influencers, and good focus. gfsc.community/why-we-disco...
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
Our Mastodon server was an experiment started at the peak of our success winning funding bids. Since 2024, our core funding has fallen away. The server dwindled to three active users, and the operating costs were no longer worth it for our economy of scale. gfsc.community/why-we-disco...
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours to run a server on a shoestring. gfsc.community/why-we-disco...
Why we discontinued our Mastodon server
After three years of running our Fediverse server, we're shutting it down. Not because we've given up on the Fediverse, but because it isn't safe or sustainable enough for a community org like ours…
gfsc.community
A lot of people who could benefit from PlaceCal don't have a paid curator to do the setup for them. This latest release is about starting to meet them where they are right now: short on time and money but big on enthusiasm. gfsc.community/placecal-v0-...
PlaceCal v0.28 update: we now have a directory!
PlaceCal is our free, open source community events platform. Our latest update adds a searchable directory of partners and events, with neighbourhood filtering and a page for every group. Here's what…
gfsc.community
The keenest users of PlaceCal now are grass-roots, often unfunded groups: climate justice networks, trans community organisers, experimental music performers, Black British history projects, and local queer groups gfsc.community/placecal-v0-...
PlaceCal v0.28 update: we now have a directory!
PlaceCal is our free, open source community events platform. Our latest update adds a searchable directory of partners and events, with neighbourhood filtering and a page for every group. Here's what…
gfsc.community
We originally built PlaceCal for funded public sector neighbourhood projects with staff who could spend time onboarding community groups into partnerships as part of their jobs. gfsc.community/placecal-v0-...
PlaceCal v0.28 update: we now have a directory!
PlaceCal is our free, open source community events platform. Our latest update adds a searchable directory of partners and events, with neighbourhood filtering and a page for every group. Here's what…
gfsc.community
PlaceCal is our free, open source community events platform. Our latest update adds a searchable directory of partners and events, with neighbourhood filtering and a page for every group. gfsc.community/placecal-v0-...
PlaceCal v0.28 update: we now have a directory!
PlaceCal is our free, open source community events platform. Our latest update adds a searchable directory of partners and events, with neighbourhood filtering and a page for every group. Here's what…
gfsc.community
A page from Geeks for Social Change Manifesto #1: People, not users Big tech reduces people to ‘users’: abstracted, homogenised units for selling monthly subscriptions to. We ask instead: what is it people actually want to do and be? What social processes do we want to make easier?
Community & Impostor Syndrome in the Games Industry gfsc.community/th/ The games industry is a big one. It's easy to feel like an intruder. Ben writes: Here's how I got into game-development, and three events which showed me the merits of community and cooperation in this solitary line of work.
Between Solitaire and Monopoly: Finding Community in the Games Industry
The games industry is a big one, and it's easy to feel like an intruder. How'd I get in? In truder window! In actuality, I got in by making the games I wished existed and meeting a community of other ...
gfsc.community
Community infrastructure: what it is, and how GFSC plans to fund it. gfsc.community/our-social-b... - a new blog post by @kim.town
How GFSC plans to sustainably fund community infrastructure
My last post we explained what GFSC does and why. Now the practical bit: how do we actually pay for it? And to answer that, we need to talk about something we've lost: shared distribution.
gfsc.community