commit a12405fbb26b01e35fa7ad90c739cd34afc04b27
parent 02a5ee18a4cc222e6ab68bea1bac7bbd95e9c6af
Author: Nick Moffitt <nick@zork.net>
Date: Wed, 20 May 2026 15:30:10 +0100
More writing on the antipatterns essay
Diffstat:
1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
diff --git a/spacehobo/antipatterns.mdwn b/spacehobo/antipatterns.mdwn
@@ -27,13 +27,11 @@ To illustrate this principle, here are some living projects that prove this.
### These things *can be* Permacomputing:
- * Writing lua code on old 32-bit PCs
- * Installing Linux on Microsoft tablets that don't support Windows 11
- * Using an old iMac with a custom update of OSX to perform daily tasks
- * Eschewing cloud or AI services on a work machine, and using an old copy of Notepad to manage your notes
+Take a look at the [[projects]] page to see a list of projects that we feel capture the spirit of Permacomputing. They range from 8-bit BASIC and Forth computers to 32-bit Lua programming tools and low-pixel-count photography festivals. They include Linux distributions you can install on old phones or tablets, power monitoring for your existing devices, and ways to distribute site hosting on solar-powered nodes so your traffic "follows the sun".
-I say "can be", because there are always ways to modify a project's methods so that it thwarts its own goals.
+I say "can be" because it's always possible for a project with noble aims and incredible promise to change. Goals shift, and sometimes people make tradeoffs that ultimately thwart the original aims. Permacomputing is about those goals, and that is why our descriptions of methods and approaches are so fuzzy.
+So let's understand these "can be"s by looking at things that don't fit. Many of these things are fine on their own, or for their own different goals, but they simply aren't Permacomputing.
# Permacomputing is not Nostalgic
@@ -72,6 +70,8 @@ And when you speak to many of the advocates for this system, you will discover t
It is perhaps no surprise, then, that the most prominent hits on YouTube for this movement include channels that mix technical commentary with self-improvement talks and hard-right-wing political essays.
-There is no political purity test in Permacomputing. Some have blanched at the phrase "post-Marxist" on our web site, and somehow misread it as "you are required to be Marxist-Leninist". Our focus is on building communities rather than individuals. This inevitably leads to scepticism of Libertarian schools of thought.
+There is no political purity test in Permacomputing. Some have blanched at the phrase "post-Marxist" on our web site (and somehow misread it as "you are required to be Marxist-Leninist" or something), but that's just one of many frameworks used to approach the topic. The unifying factor is our focus on building *communities* rather than *individuals*. This inevitably leads to strong scepticism around Libertarian schools of thought.
This is not to say that personal empowerment is seen as a problem in Permacomputing circles! If anything, we hope to build systems that free indviduals to make more choices than they could under modern corporate-controlled computing. But we do not require individuals to pass some sort of skill test to join in.
+
+-- [[spacehobo]]
