<nettime> introducing @nettime_bot

[nettime mod squad <nettime@kein.org>]

Hi, nettimers --

The mod squad elves have been hard at work upgrading nettime's
so-called infrastructure.

    (1) Nettime has a shiny new twitter bot: @nettime_bot.

    (2) It reports each new mail in a simple format:

        <#nettime> [Subject] | by [Sender] [URL]

For example,

    <#nettime> Jason Scott > FaceFacts | by nettime's_about_face
    https://nttm.to/l/1512036

    (2) The URL points to nettime's own shortening function (in other
words, no external link-tracking service is involved).

(3) As you can see, the URLs are

    - secure, thanks to the Let's Encrypt project
      <https://letsencrypt.org/>, and

    - under our shiny new domain nttm.to.

(4) The URLs follow a simple formula: https://nttm.to/[list]/YYMMNNN

    - [list] indicates which nettime list (just 'l' for nettime-l for
      now), and

    - NNN counts the number of messages per month (e.g., 01 = first, 02
      = second, etc).

Nettime.org also serves up HTTPS now, if you prefer, but it doesn't
force a secure connection. Yet.

Nothing else has changed. 

We designed this function as minimally and flexibly as possible, in
keeping with the list's overall approach.

We're making these changes because we recognize that email in general,
and maybe mailing lists in particular, are becoming more isolated
amidst the changing cultures of the net. Historically, email's
openness was its strength; but it has also turned out to be a
weakness, because it enables distributed abuse without enabling an
effective response. This, combined with the 'graying' of email
(notably, its institutional use as a proxy form of identification),
mean that some of the key 'technical' circumstances that made the
nettime project possible will never happen again *by email*. So if we
want this project to outlast these change (and why not?), we need to
think about how nettime can adapt.

Despite the best efforts of corporate marketers to trademark a series
of 'springs,' we doubt that similar circumstances will happen 'again'
on Facebook or Twitter or any other proprietary service. But -- of all
the major so-called 'social networks' -- twitter seems most likely to
succeed as a popular phenomenon but fail commercially. With a little
luck, it will become what it should be: lowercase-t twitter, a
protocol.

If you use twitter, please spread the word, follow @nettime_bot if you
like, and use the #nettime hashtag if/when/how it suits you.


    Cheers, and happy new year (if you go in for that kind of thing).

    -- the mod squad (Ted, Felix, and Doma)


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