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__NOTOC__ I created my first website, which was intended to be a [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org Convivial Tools Encyclopedia], in order to promote the ideas of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich Ivan Illich] about what he called "Convivial Tools". ==The vision of Ivan Illich== The underlying theme of all of Illich's work is how to give back to the average citizen some part of the control over knowledge and technology which is currently exercized by specialized elites. Illich was a precursor of the personal computing revolution and of the Internet. His book [http://clevercycles.com/tools_for_conviviality Tools for Conviviality] directly influenced [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=39 Lee Felsenstein], whose key role in the invention of the personal computer is little recognized today. Illich also advocated "[http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=31 Learning Webs]," facilitated by a computer that would provide "peer matching." This remarkable premonition by Illich of one of the main functions of the Internet shows how much of his pioneering vision has today become mainstream. Another example is that he envisaged tools which would be developed and maintained by a community of users, which is precisely how [http://convivialtools.net/index.php?title=Free_and_Open_Source_Software Open Source Software] is developed. ==Reparable tools== Illich's ideas could be applied to the design of household appliances, in order to give them the [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=2 characteristics of convivial tools], and notably [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=4 reparability]. Designing appliances to be easily reparable by their owners would both give consumers more control over technology, and reduce waste by making appliances more durable and easier to recycle. Key elements in the project of marketing [[Reparable Tools]] would be to provide highly usable maintenance manuals and garanteed long-term online availability of all necessary spare parts. First steps for this project could be to identify the best available existing products (via a consumer reports type of website), or to have a pilot machine manufactured by a sub-contractor to "convivial" specifications. A second step might be to create a cooperative around this theme (as for example with the [[Cooperative Social Network]]). ==Convivial systems: idea systems and social systems as "tools"== More broadly, I would like to explore the extent to which [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=20 idea systems] and [http://conviviality.ouvaton.org/article.php3?id_article=21 social systems] can be considered "tools," and how they could be made more "convivial" in Illich's sense. This vision can be set out in terms of a theory and practice of [[Convivial Systems]]. A recent example of the type of approach envisaged is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_2.0 Government 2.0] movement. ==Convivial Internet tools== My projects in the field of Convivial Tools got bogged down in the details of fleshing out the several websites that I created on the subject. Moreoever, I failed to connect with any broader community on this theme. My attention instead turned to the exploration of the Internet as a tool. As a friend recently observed, I've been diverted from my project of making reparable washing machines to a project of making easily reparable machines for the processing of information flows. I now envisage a separate project concerning [[Convivial Internet Tools]]. For example, open source software embodies many of the characteristics of convivial tools, but is generally still too hard to use, with modules that are far from being "reparable" by the average user. But I would also still like to get back to the reparable washing machine.... ==Building the Convivial Tools Commmunity== (To be written) ==Links== *Convivial Tools Encyclopedia (my first Convivial Tools website): http://conviviality.ouvaton.org *Convivial Tools Database (this is meant to replace the preceding Convivial Tools Encyclopedia website): http://convivialtools.net ==See Also== *[[Michael's Projects]] [[Category:Projects]]
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