Issue 2.2 is out

Issue 2.2 - 01

Nearly three years ago, in a brainstorming meeting about future issues, we decided that we needed to write about gender. We opted not to do it straight away. There were other subjects to take care of first, and we wanted to do gender right. Publishing an issue about a fundamental but tricky topic is something we approached with enthusiasm and care. Now, at a time when gender in F/LOSS and the wider tech community is once again a hot topic, we feel ready to contribute to the discussion.

This issue tackles a broad range of issues relating to gender, its construction and its treatment in F/LOSS communities. We look at problems of representation and inclusion. Our contributors offer a variety of standpoints and opinions. They come from diverse backgrounds and, we think, bring new and exciting voices to a vital discussion.

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Announcing Libre Graphics magazine issue 2.1

[The following post is formatted as a press release for ease of cross-posting.]

Announcing Libre Graphics magazine issue 2.1

This February, Libre Graphics magazine (http://libregraphicsmag.com) has reached a major milestone. We have published and shipped issue 2.1, the first number in our second volume. Titled “Localization/Internationalisation,” this issue explores the unique problems of  non-latin type, the hyper-localisation of custom clothing patterns and international visual languages, among other topics.

Launched at FOSDEM, this issue marks the beginning of our second volume of publication, and heralds our move towards an increasingly critical slant. Exploring not just how Free/Libre Open Source Software can be used to create high quality art and design, in volume 2, we see a growing emphasis on the cultural and social issues around F/LOSS and Free Culture. With 2.1, we discuss issues of regionality. We are currently seeking submissions (http://libregraphicsmag.com/libregraphicsmag.com/2013/02/gendering-floss-issue-2-2-call-for-submissions) for 2.2, “Gendering F/LOSS,” which will revolve around gendered identity and work in F/LOSS and Free Culture.

We invite both potential readers and submittors to download, view, write, pull, branch and otherwise engage. We hope, in the coming year and with the help of a growing community, to further push the work of F/LOSS art, design and discussion.

About Libre Graphics magazine

Libre Graphics magazine (ISSN 1925-1416) is a print publication devoted to showcasing and promoting work created with Free/Libre Open Source Software. Since 2010, we have been publishing work about or including artistic practices which integrate Free, Libre and Open software, standards, culture, methods and licenses.

Website: http://libregraphicsmag.com
Identi.ca: @libregraphicsmagazine
Twitter: @libgraphicsmag
Gitorious: https://gitorious.org/libregraphicsmag

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Gendering F/LOSS: Issue 2.2 call for submissions

Art and gender have a long history together. From ancient Greek sculptures of ideal men to renaissance nudes, visions of what it is to be a man or woman have been with us for about as long as we’ve been representing our world. Design, often viewed as the commercial edge of art, has had a hand in shaping our attitudes towards gender. In the service of advertising, graphic design has given us visions of emancipated women smoking cigarettes, underwear-peddling men with spectacular abdominal muscles, and smiling families eating soup together. Design and art show us images of men, women and children: ourselves as we should and shouldn’t be.

In the world of Free/Libre Open Source Software, and in the larger world of technology, debate rages over the under-representation of women and the frat house attitude occasionally adopted by developers. The conventional family lives of female tech executives are held up as positive examples of progress in the battle for gender equity. Conversely, pop-cultural representations of male developers are evolving, from socially awkward, pocket-protectored nerds to cosmopolitan geek chic. Both images mask the diversity of styles and gender presentations found in the world of F/LOSS and the larger tech ecology.

We’re looking for work, both visual and textual, exploring issues of gender and its representation in F/LOSS art and design. Whether it’s a tract on the physical appearance of sprites in video games, or a F/LOSS interpretation of a gendered art form, we want to hear about and see it. We invite submissions for articles, showcases, interviews and anything else you might suggest. Proposals for submissions (no need to send us the completed work right away) can be sent to submissions@libregraphicsmag.com
The deadline for submissions is March 22, 2013.

Gendering F/LOSS is the second issue in volume two of Libre Graphics magazine. Libre Graphics magazine is a print publication devoted to showcasing and promoting work created with Free/Libre Open Source Software. We accept work about or including artistic practices which integrate Free, Libre and Open software, standards, culture, methods and licenses.

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F/LOSS workflows for grassroots publications, MozFest 2012

The third edition of the Mozilla Festival is happening next week in London, from the 9th to the 11th of November. We participated in the very first edition, in 2010, while we were still preparing the first issue of Libre Graphics magazine. Now, after one full year of publication and in the production phase of issue 2.1, we are back.

On Sunday, the 11th, we will be hosting a session on F/LOSS workflows for grassroots publications. There we’ll be showing and sharing our experience with F/LOSS tools for publication, starting with the canonical tools for design&layout, to others we’ve integrated in the magazine workflow, like version control.

Our session is part of the Source Code for Journalism track. We’ll have the privilege of work with texts by Cory Doctorow, Daniel Suarez and Hannu Rajaniemi, commissioned for the festival by The Open Internet Preservation Society (OIPS), and we will also share other assets under libre and permissive licenses.

Join us there to learn more about F/LOSS and collaborative creation methodologies for design!

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This week we’re in Brussels: the Libre Graphics magazine Camp

Last Saturday me, ginger and Ricardo arrived in Brussels for a week long residency at Constant Variable.
After a year and a half of long distant communication we felt the need to meet in person, to prepare the second year of the magazine.

We started yesterday and outlined the week schedule out of a long list of topics. This first day was dedicated to a detailed recap of volume 1: section listing and content review, design and layout decisions, production workflow details, flaws and successes.

The energy boost made us go on trough the evening. We started re-structuring and cleaning up our Git repository (more news on this topic soon!) and working on new infrastructures for the project — we’re cooking up a public mailing list, among other things, soon to be announced.

The weekend of 8th and 9th of September will be dedicated to public events. On Saturday, we will host a workshop under the theme Localisation/Internationalization and on Sunday we’ll present the results at Variable’s one year celebration barbecue. If you’re in town we invite you to join us!

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We’re having a workshop in Brussels!

Yes, we’re having a workshop very soon. It’s open to the public. Come out if you’re in the area. Here’s the announcement:

The editors of Libre Graphics magazine invite you to take part in the making of the upcoming issue. From 2pm to 6pm on Saturday, September 8, join us at Constant Variable (Rue Gallait 80, Schaerbeek) in Brussels for a workshop that will have as a starting point the issue’s theme, Localisation/Internationalization (more information at http://tinyurl.com/lgmag-issue2-1).

As foreigners, we’ll reflect on the concept of location, be it physical or digital, and its effects on our work processes, interactions and outcomes.

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The Americas: slightly behind the times

You may have noticed some exciting things happening. Issue 1.4 has been quietly released. A new libregraphicsmag.com website (designed by the ever capable Ana Carvalho) has come along with it. It’s all pretty exciting.

If you’re a subscriber (or a non-subscriber who has ordered a copy of 1.4)  anywhere in the Americas, you may be wondering where your magazine has gotten to. Never fear! It’s soon to be on the way. While the European edition (printed in Porto, Portugal) has been out since late-April, we’ve had a couple technical and logistical glitches with the Canadian print. Today though, finally, after some waiting and wrangling, it’s going to print. So, if you are in the Americas, expect issue 1.4 to hit your doorstep or mailbox in the next two weeks.

Thanks for your support, and sorry for the delay.

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Localisation/Internationalization: Issue 2.1 call for submissions

EN: Localisation/Internationalization

The simple difference between an “s” and a “z” is a small but vital representation of the theme for issue 2.1 of Libre Graphics magazine. While the two letters sound the same when used in words like “localisation” and “internationalization,” the cultural baggage attached to them differs. They indicate the way small regional differences are played out, the way choices are made on national and regional levels, for reasons of culture, heritage or simply backlash.

In software, localisation and internationalisation go hand in hand, with internationalisation forming the framework into which localisation is slotted. Creating a piece of software representing a notional no-place allows customisation, serving very real some-places. In technology, art, design and everyday life, we see countless examples of artefacts walking the line between localisation and internationalisation. From the no-place, wordless, pictorial instructions for assembling flat-pack furniture to the clothing hang tag written in six languages, we find different tactics for coping with our small world.

We’re looking for work, both visual and textual, exploring issues of regionalisation, localisation, internationalisation and globalisation. Whether it’s the cultural differences in the significance of colour, or the unique problems of non-latin type, we want to hear about and see it. We invite submissions for articles, showcases, interviews and anything else you might suggest. Proposals for submissions (no need to send us the completed work right away) can be sent to submissions@libregraphicsmag.com. The deadline for submissions is September 15 October 1, 2012.

Localisation/Internationalization is the first issue in volume two of Libre Graphics magazine. Libre Graphics magazine is a print publication devoted to showcasing and promoting work created with Free/Libre Open Source Software. We accept work about or including artistic practices which integrate Free, Libre and Open software, standards, methods and licenses.


ES: Localización / Internacionalización

La simple diferencia entre una “s” y una “z” es una representación pequeña pero vital del tema para la edición 2.1 de la revista Libre Graphics. Mientras que las dos letras suenan iguales cuando se utilizan en palabras como “localización” e “internacionalización”, el bagaje cultural asociado a ellas es diferente. Indican la forma en las que pequeñas diferencias regionales se materializan, la forma como se toman decisiones a nivel nacional y regional, por razones de cultura, patrimonio, o simplemente resistencia u oposición.

En el software, la localización y la internacionalización siguen muy próximas, con la internacionalización constituyendo el marco en que la localización está inserta. Crear una pieza de software representando un teórico no-lugar (1) permite personalizaciones, que sirven a “lugares” muy reales.

En la tecnología, el arte, el diseño y la vida cotidiana, vemos innumerables ejemplos de artefactos que caminan la línea entre la localización y la internacionalización. Desde las instrucciones sin palabras y pictóricas para el montaje de muebles flat-pack hasta la etiqueta de ropa escrita en seis idiomas, nos encontramos con diferentes tácticas para hacer frente a nuestro pequeño mundo. Estamos en busca de trabajos, tanto visuales como textuales, explorando temas de regionalización, localización, internacionalización y globalización. Queremos eschucharlos y verlos, ya se trate de las diferencias culturales respecto del color, o los problemas específicos de tipos no-latinos.

Te invitamos a enviar artículos, presentaciones, entrevistas y cualquier otra cosa que puedas sugerir. Las propuestas de comunicaciones (no es necesario que nos envíe el trabajo terminado de inmediato) se pueden enviar a submissions@libregraphicsmag.com.

El plazo de presentación es el 1 de octubre de 2012.

Notas:
1 – La frase se refiere al concepto de “no-lugar” del antropólogo francés Marc Augé, quien introdujo el concepto para referirse a los lugares de transitoriedad que no tienen suficiente importancia vital o histórica para las personas que los habitan, como para ser considerados como “lugares”. Fuente: Wikipedia.


DE: Lokalisierung und Internationalisierung

Der einfache Unterschied zwischen einem “s” und einem “z” spiegelt klein aber lebendig das Thema für Ausgabe 2.1 des Libre Graphics Magazins wieder. Während die zwei Buchstaben in Wörtern wie “localisation” und “internationalization” gleich klingen, ist der kulturelle Unterschied dazwischen recht groß. Sie zeigen, wie regionale Unterschiede immer schwächer werden, wie auf nationaler und regionaler Ebene auf Grund von Kultur, Überlieferung oder schlicht Repressalien Selektion stattfindet.

Bei Software gehen Lokalisierung und Internationalisierung Hand in Hand, wobei Internationalisierung den Rahmen bereitstellt in den sich Lokalisierung einfügt. Ein Stück Software zu erschaffen, das einen abstrakten nicht-existenten Ort darstellt, ermöglicht Anpassungen, die sehr realen Orten dient. In Technik, Kunst, Design und unserem Alltag begegenen uns unzählige Beispiele von Artefakten, die sich zwischen Lokalisierung und Internationalisierung bewegen. Von diesem nicht-existenten Ort, über wortlose, bildliche Anweisungen, um abgepackte Möbel zusammen zu bauen, bis hin zur sechssprachigen Waschanleitung in Kleidern, finden wir verschiedene Wege um mit unserer kleinen Welt zurechtzukommen.

Wir suchen Arbeiten, sowohl visuell als auch textuell, die Themen der Regionalisierung, Lokalisierung, Internationalisierung und Globalisierung erforschen. Ganz gleich ob es dabei um die kulturellen Unterschiede bei der Bedeutung von Farbe oder die spezifischen Probleme von nicht-Latin Schriften geht – wir wollen darüber hören und es sehen. Wir laden dich ein, Artikel, Präsentationen, Interviews oder was auch immer du vorschlägst, an uns zu schicken. Vorschläge für Einreichungen (die Werke müssen jetzt noch nicht fertig sein) können an submissions@libregraphicsmag.com geschickt werden. Die Frist für Einreichungen ist 15. September 1. Oktober 2012.

Lokalisierung/Internationalisierung ist die erste Ausgabe in Volume 2 des Libre Graphics Magazins. Das Libre Graphics Magazin ist eine gedruckte Publikation, die sich der Präsentation und Promotion von Arbeiten widmet, die mit Freier/Libre Open Source Software erstellt wurde. Wir akzeptieren Arbeiten über Freie, Libre und Offene Software, Standards, Methode und Lizenzen oder Werke, die selbige beinhalten.

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Day against DRM: why it matters for your creativity

At Libre Graphics magazine, we try very hard to support the free expression of creativity by just about everyone. We fundamentally believe that one of the major tools of creativity is the repurposing of older work, rebuilding and modifying it to make it new, to say different things. Not only is repurposing important, but copying and modifying are ways of learning. Countless people have learned to draw by copying characters from cartoons or comics.

Now, because so much visual creation has moved to the realm of the digital, there are so many more opportunities to learn and work from the creative products of others. That’s why we make our source materials available, and why we show our working process through the activity stream of our Git repository. We believe that having unrestricted access to both the output and the source of a creative work is vital.

That access is one of our major reasons for being against Digital Rights Management. DRM, in many of its uses, does a lot to prevent the sharing and opening of digital works. At turns, it prevents people from viewing works on multiple platforms, from cutting up and modifying, from doing a lot of things that digital platforms are especially good at. It prevents us from doing things that, depending on which country we live in, we have the legal right to do. DRM puts technically-enforced locks on your ability to use and enjoy digital works.

We have our own reasons for supporting the Day Against DRM. The reasons above, about creativity, transparency and learning from each other. To learn about plenty of other reasons, and to take action, visit DayAgainstDRM.org.

Day Against DRM is an initiative from our friends at the Free Software Foundation, who do all kinds of other excellent work.

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FOSDEM 2012

We’ll be participating at FOSDEM again. This year we’ll have a stand for the Libre Graphics magazine.
There will be printed copies of all the issues published, for browsing and for sale. We’ll also have a collection of freshly printed stickers for all those coming around.

Meet us there on the 4th and 5th of February, next weekend!

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