<![CDATA[finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks]]>finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987

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]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/topic/cf62e01b-9099-4ef6-955a-0e6a5ab47143/finally-wendell-berry-s-standards-for-technological-innovation-truly-as-relevant-now-as-they-were-in-1987-othernetworksRSS for NodeTue, 07 Apr 2026 01:31:01 GMTThu, 02 Apr 2026 16:18:09 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 01:38:13 GMT]]>@loriemerson Reading this makes me regret leaving behind my vintage copy of "The Unsettling of America" when I had to move. Berry is wonderful.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/FrChazzz/statuses/116338215705918644https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/FrChazzz/statuses/116338215705918644Fri, 03 Apr 2026 01:38:13 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:41:27 GMT]]>@nickrauchen @aakoskin @loriemerson

"Then there's just being kind to your readers... keep things simple, short, and concise"

That's what I like about my low character limit. It enforces brevity. It's also what I don't like about it. Double edged sword. Trying to work with limited resources is a good exercise, even if they can't always be adhered to 100%.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/lxskllr/statuses/116337992475847415https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/lxskllr/statuses/116337992475847415Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:41:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:40:10 GMT]]>@loriemerson the Wendellian laws should be international law

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/falcennial/statuses/116337987470140014https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/falcennial/statuses/116337987470140014Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:40:10 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:36:43 GMT]]>@lxskllr @aakoskin @loriemerson

Threading in is pretty clunky I agree. I can't remember much about it, but in old-school there was an obvious "Continue" or "Next" button for threading. The server I'm currently on has a much larger char limit so it has not been an issue. The main reason I thread anything is for topics like travel logs that unfold over time.

Then there's just being kind to your readers... keep things simple, short, and concise. An ideal I am sometimes not able to achieve even with good intentions. πŸ™‚

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337973899755042https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337973899755042Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:36:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:30:48 GMT]]>@loriemerson @lxskllr @aakoskin

Speaking as a reader of your post, I'd rather have the text than a picture of the text. In this case I think all/most of the content was in the alt text, which is good but may be hidden for some (depends on the UI).

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337950590125959https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337950590125959Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:30:48 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:26:07 GMT]]>@nickrauchen @aakoskin @loriemerson

It can, but threaded posts are kind of annoying imo. Sometimes it's better to have everything in one view.

I say that someone who does a minimum of one threaded post every day :^D

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/lxskllr/statuses/116337932232934253https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/lxskllr/statuses/116337932232934253Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:26:07 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:23:28 GMT]]>@lxskllr @aakoskin @loriemerson

I think the char limit varies on depending on server, client, etc.

Something textual that is "long form" can be threaded, yes?

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337921809259210https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337921809259210Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:23:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:18:52 GMT]]>@lxskllr @nickrauchen @aakoskin I am having trouble wrapping my head why the format of my post is worth anyone commenting on - the text is in the image. it's not elegant but I wanted to give a screenshot of the exact text I was reading from Harper's. surely there are more important things to discuss here, and in general, than policing precisely how people post

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://post.lurk.org/users/loriemerson/statuses/116337903715896381https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://post.lurk.org/users/loriemerson/statuses/116337903715896381Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:18:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:15:51 GMT]]>@nickrauchen @aakoskin @loriemerson

Might run out of characters. Default mastodon limit is 500. I've done text images to get around the limit.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/lxskllr/statuses/116337891811719983https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.world/users/lxskllr/statuses/116337891811719983Fri, 03 Apr 2026 00:15:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:58:27 GMT]]>@aakoskin @loriemerson

"Never post an image/screenshot if you can type the same in plain text."

For a simple list like the above. I agree.

I suspect that there is a "plain text penalty" for words/ideas without imagery in social media, but I'm not up on the trends, rules, or research in that domain.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337823413852743https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337823413852743Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:58:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:51:59 GMT]]>@loriemerson

I like to go to original sources, so here's a link via @Kottke.org...

https://classes.matthewjbrown.net/teaching-files/philtech/berry-computer.pdf

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Nine Rules for Evaluating New Technology

In 1987, Wendell Berry wrote an essay called Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer. In it, he outlined his standards for adopting new technology in his work

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kottke.org (kottke.org)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337797963439174https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://c.im/users/nickrauchen/statuses/116337797963439174Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:51:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:41:24 GMT]]>@loriemerson wow, current vibe-coded software tools fail almost every one of these standards.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/perhaps391/statuses/116337756340150555https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/perhaps391/statuses/116337756340150555Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:41:24 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:22:53 GMT]]>@loriemerson yeah that’s a fantasy list that doesn’t exist anymore lol

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/scottytrees/statuses/116337683535124118https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/scottytrees/statuses/116337683535124118Thu, 02 Apr 2026 23:22:53 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:32:31 GMT]]>@loriemerson amazing - I tracked down the source. Thanks for this! πŸ™‡β€β™€οΈβœŒοΈπŸ’™

Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer
Wendell Berry
New England Review and Bread Loaf Quarterly
Vol. 10, No. 1 (Autumn, 1987), pp. 112-113 (2 pages)
Published By: Middlebury College Publications

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JSTOR: Access Check

JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

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(www.jstor.org)

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/nicksilkey/statuses/116337485492352619https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/nicksilkey/statuses/116337485492352619Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:32:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:30:43 GMT]]>@aakoskin @loriemerson the text is in the image description you numpty.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://goblin.camp/users/ItsJenNotGoblin/statuses/116337478415708248https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://goblin.camp/users/ItsJenNotGoblin/statuses/116337478415708248Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:30:43 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:24:51 GMT]]>@libroraptor @loriemerson Yeah, smaller isn't necessarily better.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tiggi.es/users/isocat/statuses/116337455379010388https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tiggi.es/users/isocat/statuses/116337455379010388Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:24:51 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:24:17 GMT]]>@loriemerson Nothing about durability. Point 6 only gets partway there.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tiggi.es/users/isocat/statuses/116337453110418212https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://tiggi.es/users/isocat/statuses/116337453110418212Thu, 02 Apr 2026 22:24:17 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:15:25 GMT]]>@dalias that's just a sad little troll, making a pathetic attempt to shit on someone else's post.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/AlexanderMars/statuses/116337182322640070https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.social/users/AlexanderMars/statuses/116337182322640070Thu, 02 Apr 2026 21:15:25 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:32:28 GMT]]>@loriemerson I'm not keen on rule 2: often the current tool's problems include being too small to operate well.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.nz/users/libroraptor/statuses/116337013469322084https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.nz/users/libroraptor/statuses/116337013469322084Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:32:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:20:47 GMT]]>Wendell Berry rocks.

@ai6yr @loriemerson

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://kpop.social/users/dogfox/statuses/116336967507532789https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://kpop.social/users/dogfox/statuses/116336967507532789Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:20:47 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:11:58 GMT]]>@loriemerson This is a great list!!

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/ai6yr/statuses/116336932833912716https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://m.ai6yr.org/users/ai6yr/statuses/116336932833912716Thu, 02 Apr 2026 20:11:58 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:52:27 GMT]]>@earthshine @loriemerson Yeah, powered by burning wood or vegetation, or a combustion engine running pure ethanol..maybe even incinerating mountains of bioplastics... πŸ™‚

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.slightlycyberpunk.com/users/admin/statuses/116336856131385242https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://mastodon.slightlycyberpunk.com/users/admin/statuses/116336856131385242Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:52:27 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:34:32 GMT]]>@publius Slavery was recognized at the time it was practiced as an abomination by all decent people.

History classes just teach the awful people of their times as though they were the only ones whose opinions counted.

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/dalias/statuses/116336785677243845https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/dalias/statuses/116336785677243845Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:34:32 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to finally, Wendell Berry's standards for technological innovation--truly as relevant now as they were in 1987 #othernetworks on Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:09:56 GMT]]>@AH_99 e-SUVs are out, e-bikes very much in

]]>https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://polyglot.city/users/zombiecide/statuses/116336688953809451https://board.circlewithadot.net/post/https://polyglot.city/users/zombiecide/statuses/116336688953809451Thu, 02 Apr 2026 19:09:56 GMT