changed terminology: from sections to tracks

content/Track 2 - Harm in Computational Infrastructures/1-introduction.md

@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 Title: Introduction: Harm in Computational Infrastructures
 Slug: 01-s2-introduction
 Date: 2020-11-01 12:00
-Summary:
+Summary: Previously we have become acquainted with a view on *digital infrastructures* that highlights their reparative and connective characteristics. In this track we will trace the term *computational infrastructures,* which forefronts how infrastructures are made from material elements and how they move said elements in the world.
 
-Previously we have become acquainted with a view on *digital infrastructures* that highlights their reparative and connective characteristics. In this section we will trace the term *computational infrastructures,* which forefronts how infrastructures are made from material elements and how they move said elements in the world.
+Previously we have become acquainted with a view on *digital infrastructures* that highlights their reparative and connective characteristics. In this track we will trace the term *computational infrastructures,* which forefronts how infrastructures are made from material elements and how they move said elements in the world.
 
 Seda Gürses' work on computational infrastructures which was developed in collaboration with Martha Poon and Roel Dobbe provides us with handles to study them.[^programmableinfrastructures]
 

content/Track 3 - Introduction to Bots/1-introduction.md

@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ Bots are an interface between digital infrastructures and human users. They are
 
 Andreas Hepp terms *communicative robots*[^hepp] as "autonomously operating systems designed for the purpose of quasi-communication  with human beings to enable further algorithmic-based functionalities – often but not always on the basis of artificial intelligence" (1410).
 
-In this section, we will introduce Andreas Hepp, professor of media and communications at the ZeMKI, University of Bremen.
+In this track, we will introduce Andreas Hepp, professor of media and communications at the ZeMKI, University of Bremen.
 
 <br>
 

content/Track 4 - Bot Logic/1-introduction.md

@@ -5,11 +5,11 @@ Summary: Bots as computational infrapunctures.
 
 *Infrapuncture* is a helpful term at a time when there is a lot of discussion around the political roles of bots in communication platforms, e.g. their undue influence in political elections. Making a bot can be a way to probe and understand potential forms of interventions, create new imaginaries or attempt to deflate existing hegemonic structures.
 
-Bots rely on the technical restrictions and possibilities of interaction defined by the infrastructure on which they are operating. In order to run a bot, a technical understanding of this infrastructure is therefore required. The API (Application Programming Interface) is an important entry point here. This technical framework provides a programming interface to communicate with a system. The API can be understood as a set of agreements that is designed by the engineers of an infrastructure for two applications to communicate with one another, which eventually defines the technical imaginary of a platform. (*We dive a bit deeper into API's in Section 6, [click here](/02-s6-step-2.html#APIs) to go there directly.*)
+Bots rely on the technical restrictions and possibilities of interaction defined by the infrastructure on which they are operating. In order to run a bot, a technical understanding of this infrastructure is therefore required. The API (Application Programming Interface) is an important entry point here. This technical framework provides a programming interface to communicate with a system. The API can be understood as a set of agreements that is designed by the engineers of an infrastructure for two applications to communicate with one another, which eventually defines the technical imaginary of a platform. (*We dive a bit deeper into API's in track 6, [click here](/02-s6-step-2.html#APIs) to go there directly.*)
 
 Before launching a bot into a digital environment, the bot maker does not only need to find a technical entry point, but also a social one. Writing a bot also implies a thorough understanding of what determines the possibilities of interaction and the social norms established within a social environment.
 
-By introducing what we call *bot logic*, the aim of this section is to highlight the sociality that shapes (or is shaped by) bots.
+By introducing what we call *bot logic*, the aim of this track is to highlight the sociality that shapes (or is shaped by) bots.
 
 <!-- The editor community of English Wikipedia consists, for example, of both humans and bots. The interactions between them go beyond the maintenance of Wikipedia. Instead, affective relations are formed wherein the bots are anthropomorphised. In the case of Wikipedia, it means that a bot maker needs to develop an understanding of the social dynamics of the community of editors and users of Wikipedia, in order to make a bot that is embedded well into the community. The understanding of Wikipedia's social dynamics are crucial in order to make a bot that can interact with the work of multiple individuals that edit Wikipedia, ranging from first-time editors, dedicated editors, groups coming together during edit-a-thon or different kind of trolls. And that's of course just one example. Bots act differently depending on the platform on which they are running. -->
 

content/Track 4 - Bot Logic/4-bot-behaviour.md

@@ -3,11 +3,11 @@ Slug: 04-s4-bot-behaviour
 Date: 2020-11-01 12:04
 Summary: As programmable objects bots have particular action modes.
 
-We have traced the orientations of *digital infrastructures* and *computational infrastructures* in previous sections. However, bots are often contextualised as acting on *platforms*. What is the difference between these terms and where do they overlap?
+We have traced the orientations of *digital infrastructures* and *computational infrastructures* in previous tracks. However, bots are often contextualised as acting on *platforms*. What is the difference between these terms and where do they overlap?
 
 In many ways infrastructures and platforms overlap in their invisibility, broad public usage, or extensibility. According to Plantin et al (2016), both ways of framing offer helpful elements for their analysis. We are witnessing a platformisation of infrastructure in tandem with an infrastructuralisation of platforms through information technologies. Here we find, on the one hand, infrastructures start to splinter into services taken over by private enterprises, and on the other hand, platforms start taking on more responsibilities which were previously managed by the government[^platin].
 
-For the purposes of this online module, we are interested in the programmability (what can be build on top of the offered functionalities) mentioned in the previous section and affordances (what is made possible through a design) of platforms combined with the valorisation of public interest and accountability systems that are characteristic of infrastructures (through standards and public funding). However, in order to highlight the importance of optimization practices for a public interest, and not for corporate profit, we will from now on refer to *digital infrastructures*. Doing so avoids the ambiguity of describing the activity of repair for different kinds of interest, which could include corporate interest. We are interested in the potential of bots to repair in the benefit of one or multiple public interests. However, as we stay close to Deb Verhoeven's terminology, we will not forget the shaping forces described by Seda Gürses.
+For the purposes of this online module, we are interested in the programmability (what can be build on top of the offered functionalities) mentioned in the previous track and affordances (what is made possible through a design) of platforms combined with the valorisation of public interest and accountability systems that are characteristic of infrastructures (through standards and public funding). However, in order to highlight the importance of optimization practices for a public interest, and not for corporate profit, we will from now on refer to *digital infrastructures*. Doing so avoids the ambiguity of describing the activity of repair for different kinds of interest, which could include corporate interest. We are interested in the potential of bots to repair in the benefit of one or multiple public interests. However, as we stay close to Deb Verhoeven's terminology, we will not forget the shaping forces described by Seda Gürses.
 
 As programmable objects bots have particular *action modes*.
 

content/Track 5 - Infrapunctural Imaginaries (exercise)/1-introduction.md

@@ -1,21 +1,20 @@
 Title: Infrapunctural imaginaries (exercise)
 Slug: 01-s5-introduction
 Date: 2020-11-01 12:00
-Summary: In this section we will use the practice of script writing to imagine a bot as a potential digital infrapuncture. 
+Summary: In this track we will use the practice of script writing to imagine a bot as a potential digital infrapuncture.
 
 We have discussed how bots can be entry points for studying infrastructures, as they require the familiarity with their material and social conditions. An intimate knowledge of how an infrastructure operates can be helpful in identifying the power hierarchies in place or the embedded values in the design of an infrastructure. This is needed to be able to identify stress and pressure points.
 
-We have encountered different computational infrastructures throughout this module. In this section we will get hands on with *communication infrastructures*, which include for example micro-blogging platforms, groupchats, discussion forums, or mailinglists; places where people come together for discussion and to organise themselves.
+We have encountered different computational infrastructures throughout this module. In this track we will get hands on with *communication infrastructures*, which include for example micro-blogging platforms, groupchats, discussion forums, or mailinglists; places where people come together for discussion and to organise themselves.
 
 We will now do an exercise to apply the term *digital infrapunctures* to a (more or less) fictional setting, allowing us to imagine possible bot interventions or infrapunctural actions.
 
 # What is the exercise?
 
-During this exercise we will use the practice of script writing to imagine a bot as a potential digital infrapuncture. To do this, we will write a script made up of a fictional series of posts, staged on a communication infrastructure of your choice. The script will simulate the way in which your proposed bot operates within its context. 
+During this exercise we will use the practice of script writing to imagine a bot as a potential digital infrapuncture. To do this, we will write a script made up of a fictional series of posts, staged on a communication infrastructure of your choice. The script will simulate the way in which your proposed bot operates within its context.
 
 When using the word *script*, we wish to evoke the double meaning of the word. Script as it is understood in programming practices, where a task is written in code as a series of steps and script as it is used in theatre plays, where a text is written in order to be performed.
 
 Depending on the type of bot you are making, the format of the script may challenge you to think about the bot's attitude, what it posts and what kind of possible responses or reactions the bot triggers.
 
-While keeping in mind that different groups use infrastructures in different ways, it is important to work with a specific context in mind. In the next page we will take a moment to formulate this context first. 
-
+While keeping in mind that different groups use infrastructures in different ways, it is important to work with a specific context in mind. In the next page we will take a moment to formulate this context first.

content/Track 6 - Critical Interventions Through Bots (exercise)/1-introduction.md

@@ -3,9 +3,7 @@ Slug: 01-s6-step-1
 Date: 2020-11-01 12:00
 Summary: Start of the bot-making excercise.
 
-In this last section of the module we will make a bot in order to get hands on with the language from which bots are made: code. 🤖
-
-We will use the script we wrote in the previous section and translate it into a bot ([in case you haven't done it yet, it is recommended to go through this section first](/category/section-5-infrapunctural-imaginaries-exercise.html)).
+In this last track of the module we will make a bot in order to get hands on with the language from which bots are made: code. 🤖
 
 Before we dive into bot making, we will first look into the **materiality of bots**: How do they operate? What code is needed to make a bot? And how does a bot connect to an infrastructure, both in a technical and dialogical way?
 

content/Track 6 - Critical Interventions Through Bots (exercise)/3-programming-logic.md

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Summary: Variables, data objects, loops and if/else statements.
 
 As bots are written in code, they are based on the features and constraints of certain logics of programming.
 
-At the end of this section, we will be working on a bot example written in the Python programming language. Even though we will not be able to provide a programming primer here, we would like to introduce some general elements that are used in programming practices. We will look at how the following elements are operating in Python:
+At the end of this track, we will be working on a bot example written in the Python programming language. Even though we will not be able to provide a programming primer here, we would like to introduce some general elements that are used in programming practices. We will look at how the following elements are operating in Python:
 
 * variables
 * data objects

content/Track 6 - Critical Interventions Through Bots (exercise)/4-situated-bot-code.md

@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ Slug: 04-s6-step-4
 Date: 2020-11-01 12:04
 Summary: How to make a bot?
 
-For this exercise we will make use of Mastodon instances in the Fediverse. We briefly unpacked what the Fediverse is in section 4: Bot Logic ([*Read this section again by clicking here*](02-s4-bot-logic.html)).
+For this exercise we will make use of Mastodon instances in the Fediverse. We briefly unpacked what the Fediverse is in track 4: Bot Logic ([*Read this track again by clicking here*](02-s4-bot-logic.html)).
 
 To dive into bot making, we will go through a simple bot template that is specially prepared for this module. It is written in the programming language *Python* and is saved as a *Jupyter Notebook*. The latter makes it possible to run this code from the web! These Jupyter Notebooks furthermore allow the combination of text and executable code into one document.
 
@@ -11,11 +11,11 @@ We registered an account on botsin.space that can be used in this example script
 
 > This instance exists for people who want to run Mastodon bots, but you are welcome to join if you are a human. Both bots and humans are expected to follow this Code of Conduct. You can learn more about ways to support the costs of this instance.
 
-With this exercise the module will end. We would like to use this opportunity to send you off to another infrastructure, a community-led, public hosting service called *MyBinder*, where you are invited to work with the example script of a Mastodon bot. 
+With this exercise the module will end. We would like to use this opportunity to send you off to another infrastructure, a community-led, public hosting service called *MyBinder*, where you are invited to work with the example script of a Mastodon bot.
 
 ---------------------------
 
-Please follow the link to proceed: 
+Please follow the link to proceed:
 
 <https://mybinder.org/v2/git/https%3A%2F%2Fgit.vvvvvvaria.org%2Fmb%2Fbots-as-digital-infrapunctures/master?filepath=content%2Fbot-example%2Fmastodon-bot.ipynb>
 
@@ -24,4 +24,4 @@ Please follow the link to proceed:
 # Footnotes
 
 [^botsinspace]: <https://botsin.space/about>. Accessed on 30th October 2020.
-[^muffinista]: Colin Mitchell's profile on botsin.space: <https://botsin.space/@muffinista>. Accessed on 30th October 2020.
+[^muffinista]: Colin Mitchell's profile on botsin.space: <https://botsin.space/@muffinista>. Accessed on 30th October 2020.