[okfn-discuss] SABRE Conf. on Social Semantic Web

Wed Aug 22 11:32:43 UTC 2007

Hi Sören,

This is all very interesting!

There's a lot of things I'd like to discuss with you, but my first 
question is:

How, if at all, do people in your group conceive of the relation between 
the semantic web (which seems to have the signifier as the foundational 
unit) and other/older conceptions of human or world development (which 
seems to have process as the foundational element)?

In other words (and it's just a question): what does the semantic web 
make work; what is the outside of agile knowledge engineering; what 
acceptance tests might establish the extent to which lifting social 
software to the semantic collaboration level adequates to process 
development and human welfare concerns?

Perhaps to explain a little: I often feel that names and knowledge (and 
other things) make contributions to building better processes, and 
thereby enhance life, but process as such appears not to be a discursive 
formation, and human welfare isn't only a knowledge system. Must we not 
be cautious to avoid confusing ends with means?

My second question is about the socio-technical distinction, or couping, 
or dualism. What do you find this to be helpful for? It was a treasured 
concept for me in late 90s, but today I feel that technical machines are 
always firstly social machines (so there at least isn't a binary 
opposition), and further, that there are at least four kinds of 
machines, namely the social, the technical, the organic, and the 
desiring machines. They drive each other, but the critical thing for 
development and developers to know is that it is the desiring machines 
which drive the social, the technical, the organic, and even the 
desiring machines. Given Fred Brooks' declaration that 'it is the 
conceptual components there are taking most of the time' I feel it is 
most important for developers to be able to develop a balanced and 
sustainable practice of conceiving in common with others, and not to 
burn out whilst alternating between constituting themselves under the 
image of either a technical machine, or of a social machine, or a 
confusion of the two :-). My tentative analysis is that at one limit, a 
developer's world breaks down when it fails to reproduce their desire to 
reproduce their world, whist at another limit the entire world of 
propositions for development is driven by a general desiring and as a 
whole simply proposes a generally desirable world.

My other questions are about your engineering practices, simply where 
you are and what you're doing, but I'll leave them for now...... :-)

With my very best wishes,

John.

Sören Auer wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> we are organizing a conference on Social Semantic Web in September 
> (26th-28th) in Leipzig. You can find details about the programme, 
> proceedings etc. in the attached call for participation.
> The aim of the conference I think goes pretty much accord with OKFN, 
> so everybody is cordially invited to join us in Leipzig. In addition 
> to attending talks and discussions the conference programme leaves 
> some room for late breaking poster and lightning presentations. Just 
> send me a note if you are interested.
>
> --Sören
>

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