| non-dev-resources.mdView |
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| 1 | +## Proposal for Scuttlebutt Resources for the non-technically minded. |
| 2 | + |
| 3 | +# Goal |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | +This project will develop a set of resources that articulate the spirit of Scuttlebutt and all its |
| 6 | +awesome potential, but targeted to people who are not developers or technological hobbyists. With |
| 7 | +these resources, our network is accessible to a larger group-- who can get onboarded and active |
| 8 | +without needing to understand github, node dependencies, or the malleable and nuanced definition of |
| 9 | +a pub. |
| 10 | + |
| 11 | +These resources would proudly display our existing, beautiful solarpunk weirdness, so people are |
| 12 | +drawn to the culture of this community as much as to the promise of its tech. |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +# How it Would Work |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +We would create a set of videos, articles, and other illustrative materials that succintly |
| 17 | +articulate what scuttlebutt is, why it's unique, and why someone would want to join. We would also |
| 18 | +create an equally rich set of materials that help people once they've joined, to help them make |
| 19 | +sense of the space and quickly feel at home. These resources would all live on scuttlebutt.nz so we |
| 20 | +have a simple link to give friends interested in Scuttlebutt, but would be clearly separate from the |
| 21 | +existing tech documentation already there. |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +While the resources would work together to give a nuanced, helpful introduction to our 'verse; they |
| 24 | +would also be designed to work on their own and without any context. In this way, each piece could |
| 25 | +be shared through the old internet's existing channels as interesting standalone pieces, but they |
| 26 | +would lead people to scuttlebutt.nz and all the other riches to be found there. |
| 27 | + |
| 28 | +# Examples of Resources to be Made with this Grant |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +**Introduction to Scuttlebutt in Less than 3 Minutes** |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +A video that explains the key, cool concepts of Scuttlebutt, and how its different from other social |
| 33 | +networks. This video would be 3 minutes or less, and offer a bright and humorous entry point to our |
| 34 | +world to encourage folks to learn more (and lead them to longer, more in-depth videos like "an SSB |
| 35 | +love story") |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +**Revised Landing Page for Scuttlebutt.nz** |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +A simpler homepage for scuttlebutt that succintly explains the spirit of our community. This page |
| 40 | +would then invite people to learn more on either two paths: one path is if you want to join this |
| 41 | +community, and another would be for if you want to build stuff for this community. With this, we |
| 42 | +can more clearly delineate the awesome technical stuff from the awesome non-technical stuff, and not |
| 43 | +overwhelm the curious with too much information at once. |
| 44 | + |
| 45 | +**Simple Animation Explaining what to Expect when you first join Patchwork** |
| 46 | + |
| 47 | +Patchwork is the most accessible of our clients, currently, but can still be confusing to new |
| 48 | +people. But we can build a simple GIF that shows what you can expect when you first install and |
| 49 | +open it, what you'll see when you join a pub, and how to start talking. This GIF could then live on |
| 50 | +our revamped page, so people have context for this client their currently downloading, and what |
| 51 | +they'll want to do next. |
| 52 | + |
| 53 | +**What It Means to "Send a Message" or "Post an Update" on a Centralized Network** |
| 54 | + |
| 55 | +In the same spirit of writing accessible introductions to the technical processes of Scuttelbutt, we |
| 56 | +should write how analogous things work on a centrallized network. These networks have obfuscated |
| 57 | +their technical side so that it all just seems like simple magic, It's harder than to express why |
| 58 | +exactly a decentralized network is important to someone who doesn't understand how their facebook |
| 59 | +feed is "centralized" in the first place. This would be a video/article that breaks down step by |
| 60 | +step what happens when you send a FB message to your grandma, and what happens when you post |
| 61 | +a status update about your feelings on twitter. Through these illustrations, the core flaws of |
| 62 | +these programs will be made more clear, and offer better context for discussing why the technical |
| 63 | +aspects of SSB are important. |
| 64 | + |
| 65 | +**How to Throw an SSB Party** |
| 66 | + |
| 67 | +An awesome way to get started with SSB is to have a bunch of your friends all join on the same local |
| 68 | +network and you see how the tech works on a personal level. Also, there are many users who find SSB |
| 69 | +on their own and then want to get their own friend group on board. This article would detail a good |
| 70 | +way to throw an SSB party, and things to consider beforehand, and the proper preparations to take. |
| 71 | +The list would be written in a humorous style so it can be enjoyed on its own, though each point |
| 72 | +will still be valid. |
| 73 | + |
| 74 | +**Markdown Style Guide** |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +An easy-to-miss stumbling block for our clients is not knowing how to properly write messages in |
| 77 | +them. Markdown is common in tech, but not as common outside of it. Producing a markdown style |
| 78 | +guide that can be incorporated into our clients would help people confidently post. This guide |
| 79 | +would be short and sweet but incorporate SSB's peculiarities (how to attach your own images, for |
| 80 | +example, or how to mention different channels and people) and the examples of the guides would give |
| 81 | +a way to share our culture in small silly ways. |
| 82 | + |
| 83 | +**SSB Compared to other Clients/Networks** |
| 84 | + |
| 85 | +SSB is it's own beautiful thing, which means it's kinda like (but not quite like) a bunch of other |
| 86 | +things. When I introduce SSB to my friends, I find this often creates a mental blocker for getting |
| 87 | +started. They will think "Oh! So this can replace our signal group" or "I can use this instead of |
| 88 | +slack" or some other application, and then are frustrated when it doesn't quite match what they |
| 89 | +expect. A small guide comparing SSB and its various clients to other well-known |
| 90 | +messaging/socializing platforms can help people find the right context for joining and keep them |
| 91 | +from being frustrated that SSB doesn't do something it wasn't necessarily setting out to do (at |
| 92 | +least yet). |
| 93 | + |
| 94 | +**What is Solarpunk?** |
| 95 | + |
| 96 | +This identification has gained an incredible life within the scuttleverse, and it is a relatively |
| 97 | +new genre/marker within the larger world. While the word sounds so nice, it's not immediately clear |
| 98 | +what "solarpunk" means. Having an article outlining how we define solarpunk and how it's expressed |
| 99 | +within the network (from Spider-Farm to Dominic coding ssb on a solar-powered computer to our |
| 100 | +practical discussions of airship manufacturing and governance without oppression) will help people |
| 101 | +understand this term and encourage solarpunk seekers to be a part of this community. |
| 102 | + |
| 103 | +**Tips for Getting Started** |
| 104 | + |
| 105 | +Someone can install patchwork, and join a pub, and see a feed starting to fill up...but still not |
| 106 | +know how to participate or what any of it means. Some cultural tips for getting started on SSB can |
| 107 | +give that proper foothold. This would be a video/article about how to post, and what to post. How |
| 108 | +to subscribe to a channel, and what a channel means. The difference between public and private |
| 109 | +posts, Some popular topics to check out, and other encouragement to help new folks express their |
| 110 | +unique selves within our unique 'verse. |
| 111 | + |
| 112 | +**And more to discover as all these get made!** |
| 113 | + |
| 114 | +# Why I Want to Work on this Project |
| 115 | + |
| 116 | +I am not a developer, and would not describe myself as technically minded. While I'm definitely |
| 117 | +interested in technology and how it affects humans and history, that is not what drew me to SSB. |
| 118 | +Instead, I found out about this protocol while I was on Tumblr browsing through the solarpunk tag |
| 119 | +and found Andre Staltz' article. I am so thankful for that article because Scuttlebutt has become |
| 120 | +such an important home for me. And I can remember how intimidating it was to make my first post |
| 121 | +into this world, and how welcoming everyone was immediately. So I have a personal relationship to |
| 122 | +the cultural, non-technically specced side of SSB and know the impact it can have ona person. |
| 123 | + |
| 124 | +I've worked on articulating SSB in non-technical ways (the SSB Love Story video on scuttlebutt.nz |
| 125 | +being the most immediate example), and know I have a good aptitude for it, and so want to continue |
| 126 | +on the path I've found myself on. |
| 127 | + |
| 128 | +Lastly, my experience is in art/comedy, and this world is where much of my physical friend group |
| 129 | +lives. I have a personal attachment to creative scenes, and can see how much the current online |
| 130 | +systems oppress and depress them. I know so many people would flourish on this network, and am |
| 131 | +excited about the awesome things we can all build together when devs and non-devs share this space. |
| 132 | +And so I want to try to reach out to as many different groups as possible and welcome them onboard, |
| 133 | +so they can help us build the future together. |
| 134 | + |
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