Librarians' workshops, writings on preserving online privacy a big hit with patrons

by Ben Reilly Tue Sep 16, 2014 5:49 pm

In addition to installing a number of privacy-protecting tools on public PCs at the Watertown library, Alison has been teaching patron computer classes about online privacy and organized a series of workshops for Massachusetts librarians to get up to speed on the ins and outs of digital surveillance.

It all started with a zine Alison and some cohorts from Radical Reference made as a quick and dirty introduction to basic privacy and security tools. These zines were distributed at two conferences for information professionals: Urban Librarians Unite and Radical Archives.

The zines were a huge hit, and from there, Alison was inspired. She contacted the ACLU of Massachusetts, and invited them to join her in teaching privacy workshops to other librarians all over the state. It was an obvious choice: the ACLU of Massachusetts' Technology for Liberty project has done ground-breaking work on privacy, and the privacysos.org website and blog (run by Kade Crockford) is an incredible resource for privacy news, legislation, and advocacy.

Jessie Rossman, ACLU staff attorney, and Kade Crockford, Director of the Technology for Liberty Project at the ACLU of Mass., worked with Alison to create a three-hour workshop. Offering a broad outline of digital surveillance issues, the legal rights and responsibilities of librarians in Massachusetts, and an online privacy toolkit of software that can be installed on library PCs or taught to patrons in computer classes, the workshop has now been replicated multiple times and more have been scheduled across the state.

http://boingboing.net/2014/09/13/radical-librarianship-how-nin.html

by Lone Wolf Tue Sep 16, 2014 6:14 pm

A genuine and professional "Librarian" should know better than to so blatantly misuse and abuse the term "workshop" to describe and promote her classes and programmes !!!

A WORKSHOP is a place where things are physically made, built, repaired, modified or manufactured ~ it is NOT a class, course, programme or talkfest.. :-:bravo:-:

AND also, the word "workshop" is a noun ! It is NOT a verb, nor an adjective..
Yet another all-too-common example of the increasing misuse, misapropriation and misapplication of so many words in the English language, seen in too many of our modern lazy and ignorant societies... ::resmahauth::

by Original Quill Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:11 pm

Learned what a 'zine' is.

So privacy. As most know, I am involved with a local public transportation agency. I found out recently that where we sold passes, people were being asked all kinds of untoward questions and told they must answer or not get their passes. It's a civic entity...you know it was all data going to the CIA and NSA.

I started a mini-campaign: You don't need to reveal the size of your knickers to get a ticket. They soon stopped.

by Ben Reilly Tue Sep 16, 2014 7:18 pm

Good for you, Quill. I get tired of being asked the myriad of personal questions -- but I seem to encounter it more at businesses. I've gotten to where when a clerk asks for my phone number or e-mail, I can politely reply, "Sorry, I'd rather not share that." Look 'em in the eye and they back off, but it's tough for me, I don't like confrontations Smile

LW, I've been workshopping some material on being a grumpy fart about the evolution of language use ... if you like, you could attend a workshop that I've done on it -- it's located at a web site, we chat-room the whole thing and participators say they've been quite perspectivized.

by veya_victaous Tue Sep 16, 2014 11:32 pm

Lone Wolf wrote:

A genuine and professional "Librarian" should know better than to so blatantly misuse and abuse the term "workshop" to describe and promote her classes and programmes !!!

A WORKSHOP is a place where things are physically made, built, repaired, modified or manufactured ~ it is NOT a class, course, programme or talkfest.. :-:bravo:-:

AND also, the word "workshop" is a noun ! It is NOT a verb, nor an adjective..
Yet another all-too-common example of the increasing misuse, misapropriation and misapplication of so many words in the English language, seen in too many of our modern lazy and ignorant societies... ::resmahauth::

sorry Wolf have to disagree it depends on the industry
In IT they get called Workshops particularly security... and it sort of means the opposite to a computer techie. someone holds a 'course' or 'tutorial' if they have actual practical information that will give you a skill at the end... and some one holds a workshop to convey basic information that many people would have though is common sense but you need to get the 'piece of paper'/'tick the box' at the end of it. Neutral

by veya_victaous Tue Sep 16, 2014 11:35 pm

Also....
Workshopping is a thing, like when you tell your Non-tech Boss
"I'm workshopping Ideas"
Means: pretending this conversation about the latest Video game or Gadget release is work related Cool

by Cass Wed Sep 17, 2014 4:31 am

no comment.........

by Original Quill Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:26 am

veya_victaous wrote:Also....
Workshopping is a thing, like when you tell your Non-tech Boss
"I'm workshopping Ideas"
Means: pretending this conversation about the latest Video game or Gadget release is work related

Meh, originally Bee would be correct. But workship is a metaphor, and the language is evolving.

The word I find repulsive is closure, to mean some sort of psychological state of mind for a victim. 'Closure' is what you do with a file...close it. How callous that some police agencies borrowed the term to mean (what is essentially) revenge.

by veya_victaous Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:44 am

Original Quill wrote:
veya_victaous wrote:Also....
Workshopping is a thing, like when you tell your Non-tech Boss
"I'm workshopping Ideas"
Means: pretending this conversation about the latest Video game or Gadget release is work related 8)8)8)

Meh, originally Bee would be correct. But workship is a metaphor, and the language is evolving.

The word I find repulsive is closure, to mean some sort of psychological state of mind for a victim. 'Closure' is what you do with a file...close it. How callous that some police agencies borrowed the term to mean (what is essentially) revenge.

interesting point never really thought of the closure/revenge thing. I guess it is a grey area what point does it move from Justice served and closure given to enabling revenge.
I do generally agree the law has moved away from justice and into the realms of revenge.

by Ben Reilly Wed Sep 17, 2014 7:11 am

But "closure" can also mean settling something, laying it to rest, ???

If there are any words we should be fretting about re: changed definition, I'd say "freedom" must top the list ...

by Lone Wolf Wed Sep 17, 2014 11:16 am

AND NOT forgetting that the more that both our governments and big businesses alike spout off about offering more "openness" and "transparency" and "accountability" in what they do and how they operate, the more secretive, quite and introspective they are becoming...

USING such weak and pathetic nonsensical excuses as "privacy", "confidentiality", and "matters of national/homeland security", to cover up their true intentions, bad governance, arrogant attitudes and their sheer laziness, in turns.. Razz

by Original Quill Wed Sep 17, 2014 5:50 pm

Ben_Reilly wrote:But "closure" can also mean settling something, laying it to rest, ???

If there are any words we should be fretting about re: changed definition, I'd say "freedom" must top the list ...

Yes Ben, but follow your own logic. Closure = laying something to rest...is simply a way of giving antiseptic meaning to the ugly monster: revenge.

"Freedom" is a beautiful one. Nowhere was it treated to the twist more than during the administration of GWB. We went to war to give Iraqis freedom. The Neo-Cons wanted to spread freedom and democracy to the Muslim world. That is because freedom and democracy are the zenith of the modern political condition. It was the basis of American Exceptionalism.

As a part of that effort we shut down all freedoms known to man in the US. Indeed, al-Qaeda saw their opportunity and made terrorist response a new weapon in the arsenal of asymmetrical war.

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Librarians' workshops, writings on preserving online privacy a big hit with patrons

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