_a workshop by Cristina Cochior and Joana Chicau for Constant's work session [Collective Conditions](http://constantvzw.org/site/-Collective-Conditions,220-.html), Brussels 2019_
[Varia](http://varia.zone/en/) is a collective-space [^1] in Rotterdam focused on everyday technologies. We keep a [trail of photographs](https://vvvvvvaria.org/archive/) of what we've done.
Together, we try to experiment with various [tools](https://varia.zone/en/pages/collective-infrastructures.html) for collaborative processes, as well as collective infrastructure making and [self-hosting](https://varia.zone/images/variaecosystem.png).
In October 2019, we wrote our own first [CoC](https://pad.vvvvvvaria.org/coc).
In June 2019, during Relearn Rotterdam, some of the participants had discussions about [codes of conduct and conducting codes](https://gitlab.com/relearn/relearn2019/raw/master/relearn.local/var/www/html/etherdump/publish/conductable) and bots of conduct.
Bots can have an important [infrapunctural role](http://infrapuncturalbots.randomiser.info/) that provides a new [logic]( http://infrapuncturalbots.randomiser.info/bot-logic.html). What would it mean to become more entangled with bots, redistribute the labour of making and maintaining a collective, but without falling into the metaphorical understanding of bot as a servant?
Varia members use [XMPP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMPP ) as a chat protocol because it enables us to self-host our own instance and [federate with other chat servers](http://varia.zone/images/varia_s2s_federation.svg). We use bots both to communicate and to document our exchanges. Our initial idea was to develop new forms of note-taking based on our interaction habits. We share a lot of different types of information in group chats, from news to recommendations of articles to instigations to clean the fridge. Starting from the conversational nature of our exchanges, we are experimenting with two different bot-users in the chat: one that gathers images shared on the main Varia channel and displays them online, and another one, focused specifically on the topic of digital interdependencies, that gathers images, quotes and looks for books' citations.
Working on our own digital infrastructure allows us to adapt the tools to our own needs and behaviours; meaning that these bots make sense to us, but they may not make sense to someone else.
* [Streambot](https://git.vvvvvvaria.org/varia/xmpp.streambot): a bot that saves the images sent to the main Varia group chat and creates an [html page](https://vvvvvvaria.org/stream/) for them.
_Conducting: "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conducting]. There are many roles as conductors [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conductor] Also, in connection to the enviroment: "a substance, body, or device that readily conducts heat, electricity, sound"._
Looking into the bots [examples](https://git.vvvvvvaria.org/ccl/bots-of-conduct)
* from your own experiences working in collaboration, or with a collective, or having read a CoC, try to recall a specific moment which can define an action mode;
* in relation to the situation, does your bot act as conductor or as conductive?
* what are your "action modes" (for eg.: sitting; dancing; witnessing; listening; gathering; greeting; sparking; whispering; reminders is a specific kind of action); action modes that create (or perform within specific) situations (for eg.:conversation is unbalanced);
* how can bots be embodied / physically enacted? what gestures would it perform?
* what apart from language can be used as a way of conducting? what other modes of expression (non-linguistic)?
* will your bot perform in other space extensions? speaking to other (chat)rooms? to other spatial formats (file systems, like the glossary and the txt file);
**Link to reference's [pad](https://pad.vvvvvvaria.org/Bots_of_Conduct_References) — further references and materials assembled by Joana and Cristina - feel free to add your owns!**
