The Ubuntu hackers' perception and use of computers

FieldworkProposal.AndreasLloyd.January2006.

Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................................2 Research questions...............................................................................................................................3 Significance of the study......................................................................................................................3 Setting/background...............................................................................................................................4 Design and methods.............................................................................................................................5 Analytical elements of the study..........................................................................................................6 Practical considerations........................................................................................................................8 Ethical considerations...........................................................................................................................8 Appendix A Glossary.........................................................................................................................9 Appendix B Time plan for preparation and fieldwork.....................................................................11 Appendix C Budget for fieldwork...................................................................................................12 References cited..................................................................................................................................13

Introduction Withinthepast30years,thecomputerhasbecomeametonymyfortechnologysuchanintegral partofbasicallyanynewtechnologicaldevelopmentproducedthatmostuserstakethepossibilities offeredbythecomputerforgranted,yettheyrarelyunderstandhowthecomputerworks.Working asauniversitycomputersupporterforseveralyears,Ihaveoftenfoundmyselfconfrontedwiththe bafflementorfrustrationthatmostcomputerusersexperiencewiththeirmachines,andhowthey oftenmindlesslyanthropomorphisizetheresponsesofthecomputer(cf.Turkle1984,1990, Pfaffenberger1988,Nass&Moon2000,Jackson2002,Miller2002). Theseexperienceshaveawakenedmycuriosityregardingtheexpertcomputerusersthe programmersandengineerswhoarecaughtupwithanintenseneedtocontinuouslyunderstandand masterthecomplexityofthecomputer(Turkle1984:207225).Theseenthusiastsoftenreferto themselvesashackers,1thoughnotinthesenseoftenusedbythepresstodescribemalicious meddlerswhobreakintocomputersystems.Rather,ahacker,intheoriginalcomputerjargon,isA personwhoenjoysexploringthedetailsofprogrammablesystemsandhowtostretchtheir capabilities,asopposedtomostusers,whoprefertolearnonlytheminimumnecessary. ButasStevenLevystatesitiscentraltothehackerethictoshareknowledgetoallowallinterested individualstolearnasmuchaspossible(Levy1984:3949).WiththeadventoftheInternet,this hasbeenmadepossibleonalargescale,andithasmadeitpossibleforhackerswithsimilar intereststocoordinatecommunalsoftwareprojectsandvolunteerlabourtowriteandsharethe computercodeinordertograduallyandorganicallyhelpimprovethesoftwareinanoften meritocraticfashion(cf.O'Mahoney2002,Weber2004,Coleman2005).ThisFreeandOpen SourceSoftware(F/OSS)modeofdevelopmenthasanativeappealtohackersseekingtosharetheir masteryofthecomputerduetoitsopenlyaccessible,reciprocalandsemiegalitariannature.Itis thesehackers'relationshipswithandthroughthecomputeraspartofthesocialworkingsofan F/OSSsoftwareprojectcalledUbuntuthatIwishtoexamine. Therefore,theaimofthisstudyistwofold:Firstly,toexaminehowtheUbuntuhackersuseand relatetothecomputerintheirworkandeverydaylifeasameansofintellectualpursuit;secondlyto examinehowtheymaintainsocialrelationsandcoordinatetheirworkandwhatpartthecomputer, especiallyprogramminglanguagesandtechnicaljargon,playinthisexchange.
1Throughoutthisproposal,Iuseemictermsfromthehighlyselfreflexivehackercommunity.Allofthesetermswill beitalicisedinthetextandaredefinedintheglossaryinAppendixA.Manyoftheseterms,includingthisquotewas takenfromtheJargonFileanonlinedictionaryofhackertermsandjargonthathasbeencompiledbyvarioushackers sincetheearly80's.ItiscurrentlyundertheeditorshipofprolifichackerEricS.Raymond.TheJargonFilehasbeen publishedbyMITPressunderthenameTheNewHacker'sDictionary(1996).

Research questions 0)HowdotheparticipantsdefinetheUbuntuonlinecommunity? 0a)Forwhatreasonsintellectually,sociallyandintermsofproficiencydohackersjoin theUbuntucommunity? 0b)Whatgoals,commitmentsandideasaresharedintheUbuntucommunity? 1)Inwhatwaysdothehackersrelatetoandperceivethecomputeritself? 1a)Howdohackersuseprogramminglanguagesasatoolandasanelementofinteraction andreciprocitywiththecomputer? 1b)Whatcriteriaandelementsdohackersvalueindesigningandprogrammingacomputer program? 2)HowdohackerscoordinatetheirindividualeffortsinanOpenSourcesoftwareproject suchasUbuntu? 2a)Whatpartdoprogramminglanguages,specialisedcomputerjargonandmetaphorsplay inthesocialrelationsbetweenhackers? 2b)Howdohackerscometoshareethics,socialityandreciprocitythroughthecomputer? Significance of the study Thestudyoftheinterplaybetweenhumanandcomputerhasgrownexplosivelyinthepast30years. Butduetothecleardisjuncturebetweenordinaryandexpertusers'experienceofacomputer,most oftheanthropologicalorsociologicalattentionhasbeenfocusedonordinaryusers(seereferences above),whilepsychologistsandcomputerscientistshavefocusedontheexpertusers(Weinberg 1971,Turkle1984,Brooks1995,Orr1996,Raymond1997,1998,Graham2004,Fogel2005, Lethbridge,Sim&Singer2005).Onlyinthepastfewyearshavethefirstcomprehensive anthropologicalstudiesbeguntoappear,inspiredbytheemergenceoftheOpenSourcemovement inthe1990's(Coleman2004,2005,Kelty2002,2004,2005,Leach2005,Risan2005).Theyfocus ontheethical,ideologicalandmotivationalelementsofthesocialprocessofOpenSource development,andIwillseektotaketheserecentstudiesasthebasisformyfieldwork.ButIwill seektofocusonthehackers'perception,languageandsocialuseofcomputersinordertogaina betteranalyticalperspectiveonthecomputer'sroleasatool,andontheroleoftechnicaljargonand programmingcodeasmeansofsocialexchange.Thismayoffernewperspectivesonexactlyhow thisdisjunctureismaintained,andhowthehackers'encodingofvaluesandideasintothecomputing technologymaybeshapingtheordinaryusers'experienceofthecomputer.

Setting/background ThefocusofmyfieldworkisthesoftwaredevelopmentcommunitysurroundingtheUbuntuLinux distribution(www.ubuntulinux.org),firstreleasedinOctober2004.Theprojectisayoung,yet alreadyprolificattempttomakeafree,userfriendlycomputeroperatingsystembasedonaregular releasescheduleeverysixmonthsinordertokeepupwiththerapiddevelopmentsoftheF/OSS community.LikemanyotherF/OSSprojects,Ubuntuisconceivedandledbyasinglepersonin thiscasetheSouthAfricanITentrepreneuranddot.commillionaireMarkShuttleworth.Butunlike mostotherF/OSSprojects,itissponsoredbyShuttleworth'scompany,Canonical,byemploying20 coredevelopersfromtheF/OSSprojectsonwhichUbuntuisbasedsothattheycanworkfulltime onUbuntu.Evenso,Ubuntuisstillcentredontheopenandpubliccommunityeffortmadebymore than150volunteerdevelopers(almostsolelymale)andmorethan60.000activeregisteredusers worldwide(thoughmainlyinEuropeandNorthAmerica).2 Thus,thereisnosingleplaceformetodofieldwork.ItisthroughtheInternetanditsnewmeans ofcommunicationandknowledgeexchangesuchasblogs,wikis,bugtrackers,revisioncontrol systems,mailinglists,newsgroupsandIRCchannelsthatthesehackerscommunicate,anditwould bethroughthesevirtualmediathatIwillseektogathermostofmydata.Iwillcombinethisonline fieldworkwithinpersonfieldworkatdeveloperconferences,whichmaytakeonevengreatersocial importanceasthecreationofpersonalconnectionswhichthevirtualservetoaugment.Also,Iwill seektovisitthedevelopersandspendafewdayswitheachofthem,participatingintheirdailywork routinesandstudyingtheiractualcomputeruse. Thiskindofcombinedonlineandmultisitedfieldworkhasalreadybeensuccessfullyperformedby GabriellaColeman(2005),MetteTerpHybye(2002)andseveralothers(cf.Hine2005)andIwill seektobuildontheirexperienceswithonlinefieldwork.Therearemanymisgivingssurrounding onlinefieldwork,forexamplethatitisanonymizinginistextuality,thatitdoesnotallowfor physicalrapport3betweeninformantandethnographer.Butthesearebasiccircumstanceswhich affecteverybodywhointeractsthroughtheInternet.Itisexactlystudiesofhowpeoplewhohave littledaytodaycontactotherthanthroughtheInternetsocializeandmanagetocreateasortof virtualrapportthatIwilluseasabasisformyfieldwork.Evenso,itisessentialthatIdonotletmy fieldworkbedichotomizedbetweentheonlinepersonaandtheinpersoninformantsImeet,as manyonlineinformantsdonotattributemuchsignificancetothisdistinctionthemselves(cf.
2 Estimatesarebasedonthenumberofregistereddevelopersandthenumberofmembersoftheonlineforums.The developersclaimthatmillionsofusersareusingUbuntu(UbuntuPressAnnouncement28thofNovember2005). 3 Havingrapportwithsomeoneistobeateasewithoneanotherandwherecommunicationisoccurringeasily.The termcomesfromNeuroLinguisticProgramming(cf.VadumDahl1993).

Markham1998).Ihopetousethisawarenesstomyadvantagebyusingbothmyunaccostumedness withtheonlinecommunicationandtheinherentdistanceofthemultisitedfieldworktoleveragemy attentiontowardstheunusualandthuscontinuouslyexotizethefield. Design and methods Iwillfollowthevariousdistinctphasesofasingledevelopmentcycleofthesoftwarediachronically inordertoexaminehowthehackers'socialinteraction,commitmentandcomputerusemaychange inthecourseofsucha6monthprocess(cf.myproposedtimeplaninAppendixB).Iwillseekto positionmyselfwithintheprojectbothasanapprenticehacker,somewhatproficientwithmachine, andasanamazedanduninitiatedenduser.Byalternatingbetweentheseopposingpositions,Ihope toleverageamazementandunderstandinginsuchawaytogainwiderperspectiveonhowhackers perceive,speakofandusecomputers.Fromthisposition,Iwilluseawiderangeofanthropological methodstoseekoutanswerstotheresearchquestionsofferedabove. Firstly,inordertodemarcatetheUbuntucommunityasafield,Iwillseektouseaquantitative surveytogainanoverviewandanideaofthebasicstatisticsoftheUbuntucommunity,including howmanydevelopersareinvolvedandforhowlongandhowthelevelofeducation,age, profession,gender,locationandethnicity(Q.0).Iwillseektocomplementthesurveydatawith narrativeinterviewsonhowandwhythememberscametojointheUbuntucommunity(Q.0a). Furthermore,itwouldbeessentialtostudyofficialprojectdocumentssuchastheCodeofConduct, DeveloperGuidelinesandtherhetoricoftheUbuntuwebsitesoastofindthestatedcommongoals andideasoftheproject(Q.0b). Secondly,inordertostudyhowhackersdiscussandsocializethroughthecomputer(Q.22b),Iwill useparticipantobservationasmymainmethodofdatacollectionintheonlinecommunity,through meansofcommunicationareexpressedtextuallywhich,tomosthackers,offerafamiliarandsecure domainwheretheyinteractempathicallyandconfidentlyonadaytodaybasis(cf.Hybye2002, Coleman2005).Throughparticipationintheonlinedaytodayexchange,andatthefewinperson communityconferences,Ihopetogainabasicframeofreferenceonhowhackerspresentand discusstechnicalandsocialissuesrelatingtothecomputer. Thirdly,Iwillseektocombinethiskindofgeneralparticipantobservationwithinperson participantobservationandspecificinterviewsatconferencesandintheirownworking environmentbythecomputerinordertoexaminethewaytheindividualhackerusesandperceives hiscomputer(Q.11b).IwillseektouseThinkaloudprotocolstolettheinformantworkasusual, whiledescribinghisactionsatthecomputerindetailonebyone;aswellasShadowingan 5

informantthroughhisworkdaytogainanideaofhisworkroutinesinconjunctionwithinformant writtenworkdiaries(cf.Lethbridgeetal.2005).Inthiscontext,Iwillalsotrytodevelopwhat Markussencallsthehumanlymediatedcomputerinterview:Anattempttointerviewthe computerthroughitsownerbyexploringtheintangible,abstractdigitalspaceofmetaphorical logic,filehierarchy,socialcontactsandlinkscontainedwithinthecomputer,withthehacker himselfasguide,explainingthereasonswhyhehasorganizedhisdatainsuchamannernot unlikethewayinwhichBourdieuexaminedhowtheKabylesfurnishedtheirhouses(cf.Markussen 2002,Bourdieu1977).Finally,Iwillattempttostudytheartifactscode,computers,documents themselvesandthewaythatthehackersusethemsymbolically,spatiallyandaestheticallytosee howtheirvalueandpresenceasobjectsmayaffectthewaytheyareperceived. Analytical elements of the study Ihaveconstructedmyanalyticalframeworksoastolettheindividualelementsoverlaptosome degree,Ihopethatthatwilllessenanytendencytowardsseekingpredefinedanswersandinstead bringnewissuesandquestionsintoplaybasedonthecurrentbodyofworkonthesubject. Firstly,inordertounderstandtherelationshipsthatworktobindtheUbuntucommunitytogether (Q.00b,Q.2b),IwillusewhatMarshallSahlinscallsgeneralizedreciprocitywherethereturn favourisnotdeterminedbytime,quantityorquality:theexpectationofreciprocityisindefiniteas abasisforcomparisonwiththehackers'exchangeofcodeandideas(Sahlins1972).Sahlins' definitiondependsonsocialproximity,butasChristopherKeltyargues,withdigitaltechnologyand itsinherentpossibilityofendlesscopiesatzerocost,theF/OSScommunityhassucceededtoscale thissystemofexchangefromalocalleveltoaglobalonethroughlicencesincorporatedintothe softwareitselfthatmorallyandlegallyobligateallpersonsusingthesoftwaretodosoonequaland thusgeneralizedterms(Kelty2002).Developingthis,JamesLeachstatesthatwhenhackers collaborateonsourcecode,eachcontributor'sworkisindividuallyownedandannotatedwiththe coder'sname.Yetthecodeisonlyvaluableasacombinedwholemultiplyownedbyallcontributors (Leach2005).Thisideaofmultipleownershipmayprovecentraltounderstandingnotonlythe individualhackers'workingresponsibilitiesandinterestsbutalsotheirsocialstatuswithinthe project. Secondly,inordertoexaminetheroleofthecodeitselfandtherelatedjargonwithintheUbuntu project(Q.1a,Q.2a),itwillbenecessarytounderstandthewaythesoftwareisdeveloped.AsKelty pointsout,theF/OSSdevelopmentmodeldoesnotcreatesoftware,itonlyperfectsit.Creating softwarestillrequiressomesustained,concertedefforttobethebasisforacommunityeffort(Kelty 6

2002).Thus,LarsRisanarguesthattheexchangedcodeissacramentalinGregoryBateson's understandingoftheterm:Theannotatedcodeisasacramentofthecoder'sskillandcharisma,but notjustasymbol,itisthehacker'scharismavisibleintheircode.Therefore,havingwrittenthe coreofapopularprogramissuresignofstatusintheF/OSScommunity(Risan2005). Asmanycomputerscientists(Ershov1972,Brooks1995,Knuth1992,Graham2004)andeven literarycritics(Black2002)haveargued,programmingandmasteringthecomputercanbean aestheticallypleasingartforminitsownright.PatriceRiemenssumsitupwell:thehackerethic runsstrikinglyparalleltotheformula"l'artpourl'art."(Riemens2002).Thisartthe sophisticated,aestheticofthecodeitself,theknowledgeinherentinitswritingandtheoverall usefulnessofbothismoreimportantthananypolitical,economicalorethicalmotivesthatany individualhackermayattributetoit(cf.Coleman2004).Iexpectthattheseideasofaestheticsand charismainherentwithinthecodemayoffertoanswerquestionsregardingthecollaborativewriting andcritiqueofcode(Q.1b&Q.2)andmayevenofferperspectivesonhowthisaestheticismis prioritizedinrelationtootherissues. Thirdly,IwilluseClaudeLviStrauss'termBricolage(LviStrauss1994:28)tounderstandthe egalitarianpiecingtogetherofethics,goals,codeandideaswithintheUbuntuproject(Q.00b, Q.2b)whichresemblesthesamemannerofdecentralisedintellectualexpressionthrough heterogeneousandlimitedmeansasoriginallysuggestedbyLviStraussinhisapplicationofthe termtomythicalthought.Inthisframe,thehackerwilltaketheroleofthebricoleur,assuggested bybothTurkle(1990)andOrr(1996):Exploring,connectingandrepairingbitsandpiecestobring themtonewusefulnessbothbyhimselfandinthecommunity.Thesebitsandpiecesareoften scientificfactsortechnologicalobjectsconsistingofuntoldlayersofsetideasandworkwhat BrunoLatourcallsblackboxes(Latour1987:131).Iexpectthatthisconceptcanhelpopennew pathsofinvestigation,astheUbuntuhackersopensomeoftheseblackboxeswhenhacking technologiesandabstractconceptsintonew,frayedformsanduses;whileclosingothersby acceptingthebasicformofthecomputer,withitsinherentideasandpresumptions,inordertouseit effectivelyasatool(Q.11a). Fourthly,IwilltouseHeidegger'stermsreadytohandandunreadytohandasusedinrelationto technologybybothIngold(1997,2000)andWinograd&Flores(1990)toexaminethecomputeras atool(Q.11a).Iexpectthathackers,constantlyseekingmasteryoverthecomputerandexploring itslimits,haveaveryconsciousperceptionofthecomputerasreadytohandduetothecontinuous riskofthebreakdownandforcedreflectionofthecomputer'ssuddenunreadinesstohand. 7

Practical considerations AsEnglishisthedefactolanguageofUbuntumymainchallengewillbetounderstandthe technicaljargon.BasedontheadviceofColemanIwilltakeaprogrammingclassinordertofurther developmyownframeofreferencetocomputerandprogramarchitecture(basedonmyknowledge asacomputersupporter)(Coleman,personalcommunication2005).Iwillseekdevelopthisframe ofreferencethroughareflexivedistanceandanalyticalfocusinordertostudythebasicsofthe nativelanguagewhilebuildingasafeminimumwithwhichtobasemyenquiries. Also,becauseofthemultisitednatureofmyfieldwork,mytravelexpenseswillbegreaterthanthe averagefieldworkinspiteofthefactthatIwillhavelesstimeabroadinthefield.Ihopetobe abletocoordinatemeetingswithinformantssoastominimizeexpenditures,butevenso,Iwillstill needtoraisemorefundsfromvariousgrants(cf.myproposedbudgetinappendixC). Ethical considerations Sincealmostallofthediscussion,mailexchangesandmeetingsconcerningUbuntuareopenand publiclyavailabletoeverybody,itisinfactpossibletofollowandreadallofthisdatacompletely anonymously.Yet,asHybyearguesconvincingly,asanthropologistswehaveanethicalobligation tomakeourpresence,andthusthefactthatwearerecordingdata,known(Hybye2002).Further, asColemanshows,hackersoftentakeanactiveandreflectiveinterestinstudiesoftheirculturaland socialdoings,evenworkingthemintotheirownselfrepresentation(Coleman2005).The communityIwillbestudyingconsistsofwelleducated,vocalindividualswiththeirownstrong ideasandidentityatstake,andasSinger&Vinsonsuggests,itwillbenecessarytopositionmyself clearlyinrelationtotheexpectationsofmyinformants(Singer&Vinson2002).Yet,asthesoonas Iintroducemyprojecttothecommunity,Iwillhaveinitiatedmyfieldwork,asitisonlybyactively participatingintheonlinecommunitythatIcanenterthefield.Alongwithanintroductiontomy project,Iplantoprovidealinktomyweblog[www.alligevel.blogspot.com](acommonwayof introducingoneselfinonlinecircles).Iexpectthatmyinformants'generalandpragmaticinterestin theirowncommunitywillextendtomyproject,also.

Appendix A Glossary Blog

Blogisshortforweblog,atypeoffrequentlyupdatedwebsiteconsistingofdatedentriesarrangedinreverse chronologicalordersothemostrecentpostappearsfirst.Typically,weblogsarepublishedbyindividualsandtheir styleispersonalandinformal.ManyUbuntudevelopershavetheirownblogs,discussingawiderangeoftopics, butespeciallysoftwaredevelopment.

BugTracker
Asystemforreceivingandfilingbugs(programmingerrors,designflawsetc.)reportedagainstasoftwareproject, andtrackingthosebugsuntiltheyarefixed.Thesereportscanbecommentedbyotherdevelopers,andthestatus ofthebugscanbeupdated.UbuntuusesacentralBugTrackingSystemcalledMalone.

CodeofConductandDeveloperGuidelines
ThesearetypicaldocumentsorsocialcontractswithinOpenSourcedevelopment.Ahackerinterestedinworking withtheprojecthastoverifyhisidentityandacceptthesebasicrulesinordertoparticipateintheprojectas propermembersofthecommunity.

FreeandOpenSourceSoftware(F/OSS)
ThetermF/OSSisoftenusedtobridgetheideologicaldividebetweenthefreesoftwareandopensourcesoftware movements.ThetermFreeSoftwareprecededthetermopensourcesoftware,andwasfirstusedbythehacker RichardStallmanandhisFreeSoftwareFoundationtodefinesoftwarethathasopenlyavailablesourcecodeandis freelymodifiable.ThetermOpenSourcewasintroducedbymembersofthefreesoftwarecommunitywhowere concernedthat'free'intheEnglishlanguageisambiguousandcanmeanbothgratisandlibre(Stallmancountered thatFreeSoftwareisfreeasinfreedom,notasinfreebeer).TheUbuntuwebsitestatesthattheprojectsupports bothdefinitions.

HackerEthic
AtermcreatedbyauthorStevenLevytodescribeacollectionofethicalnotionsthathackersseemtohavein common:Boundlesstechnicalcuriosity,desiretotakeapartandmasternewtechnologyandshareyourknowledge, beliefthatitispossibletocreateworksofartandbeautyonacomputer(andthatthesecanchangeyourlifeforthe better)andameritocraticnotionthathackersshouldbejudgedonlyonthequalityoftheirhacking,ratherthanany othercriteriasuchasage,academicdegreeorposition(Levy1984).Despiteitseticorigin,ithassincebecome partofhackerculturetosomedegree.

IRCChannel
InternetRelayChatisaprotocolthatallowsforchatmessagesovertheinternet.AnIRCchannelischatroomof sorts,where,afterjoiningthechannel,yourmessagesarebroadcasttoeveryonelisteningtothatchannel.The Ubuntuprojecthas25officialdevelopmentIRCchannels(allinEnglish)and29channelsforvariouslocalized languages.Thesearerealtimecommunitydiscussionandmeetingfora.

LinuxDistribution
ALinuxdistributionisacomputeroperatingsystemcomprisingvariousF/OSScomponents,suchastheLinux kernel,theOpenOfficesuiteandtheMozillaFirefoxbrowsertonamebutafewofthemostwellknown.Allof thesehavebeendevelopedinvariousF/OSSprojects,butareputtogetherintoaworkingoperatingsystembythe developersofthedistribution.UbuntuisbasedonanolderLinuxdistributioncalledDebian,andstillhavestrong tiestothatdevelopmentcommunity.

MailingList
Amailinglistisadiscussiongroupthatoccursviamassemaildistributionsandtowhichindividualscan subscribetoreceivealltheemailssenttothatlist.TheUbuntuprojecthas62mailinglists,aroundhalfofwhich arelocalizedlanguagelistsandtheotherhalfaredevelopmentlists.

Newsgroup
AnInternetdiscussiongroupthatisavailableeitherthroughanewsreaderprogramorthroughawebbrowserinterface. Therearemorethan20Ubuntuwebforaat[http://www.ubuntuforums.org]withmorethan60.000registeredusers.

ReleaseSchedule
Allcomputerprogramsarereleasedwithversionnumberingtomakeiteasytoseehowthesoftwarehaschanged fromversiontoversion.TheUbuntuprojecthasareleasescheduleforthereleaseofanewversionofUbuntu everysixmonths,inAprilandOctober.Maintainingsuchatightreleasescheduleisusuallynotagiventhingin F/OSSproduction.

RevisionControlSystem
Revisioncontrol(alsoknownasversioncontrol)isthemanagementofmultiplerevisionsofthesameunitof information,especiallysourcecode,totrackchangesmadetothisinformation.Italsoallowscommentingandreverting topreviousversionsofthecode.TheUbuntuprojectusesarevisioncontrolsystemnamedBazaar.

Wiki
Awikiisatypeofwebsitethatallowsuserstoaddandeditcontent,combinedwithasystemthatrecordseach individualchangethatoccursovertime,sothatatanytime,apagecanberevertedtoanyofitspreviousstates. TheUbuntuprojectuseitswiki[https://wiki.ubuntu.com]extensivelyincludingpersonalprofiles,goal specifications,documentation,conferenceandmeetinginfo.

10

Appendix B Time plan for preparation and fieldwork. January to October 2006
Stage1 JanuaryMarch Weeks313 Preparation ProgrammingclassattheITUniversityofCopenhagen.Furtherresearchandgainingof expertiseregardingLinuxprogrammingandarchicture. Finalclearancefromcoredevelopersforthefieldwork. FundraisingamongrelevantfoundationsandITcompanieswithanactiveinterestin F/OSSsuchasIBM,HewlettPackardandSun. FollowingdevelopmentsandparticipatingindebatesintheUbuntucommunityasan ordinaryuser,readingblogs,mailinglistsandwikis(thiscontinuesthroughoutthe fieldwork). Enteringthefield NewversionofUbuntu,codenamedDapperDrake,isreleasedonApril20th.Anew developmentcyclebegins. Introducingthecommunitytotheproject.Beginningactiveandofficialfieldworkwithin thecommunitywithparticipationinonlinemeetingsonIRC,readingbugreportsand versionupdates(thiscontinuesthroughoutthefieldwork). SendingoutquantitativesurveytoUbuntudeveloperstogainoverviewofthebasic statisticsofthecommunityanddemarcatethefield. DetailedinvestigationofUbuntudocumentsandrhetoric. Fieldworkatconference ParticipationinexpectedtwoweekconferenceconcerningnewversionofUbuntu (locationstillundecided). Meetingthedevelopersinperson.Gettingfamiliarwiththeirmodeofworkandtheway theyphysicallyrelatetothecomputersasartifacts. Initialnarrativeinterviewsoninformants'relationshipstotheUbuntucommunity. VisitswithlocalUbuntudevelopersaftertheconference.Participantobservationand humanlymediatedcomputerinterviewsattheinformants'computer. Continuedonlinefieldworkandanalysis Analysisofquantitativedatafromsurveyinconjunctionwithdatagatheredat conference. Continuedonlinefieldwork,contactingthedeveloperstoarrangevisitswiththemwhere theywork. ConferencesandinpersonfieldworkinNorthAmerica ParticipationatthebigF/OSSconferencesOSCONandLinuxSymposiuminNorth America,combinedwithvisitstolocalUbuntudevelopers.Moreinterviewsand participantobservationofcomputeruse. InpersonfieldworkinEurope VisitstoUbuntudevelopersinEurope.Timeforalternativepathsorunforeseenchanges inanalyticalfocus. Conclusionoffieldwork NewversionofUbuntuisreleased.Releasepartymarkstheendofthefieldwork.

Stage2 April Weeks1416

Stage3 AprilMay Weeks1721

Stage4 MayJune Weeks2226

Stage5 JulyAugust Weeks2733 Stage6 AugustOctober Weeks3440 Stage7 October Week41

11

Appendix C Budget for fieldwork. April to October 2006

Lengthoffieldwork:6months.

Expenses
6monthslivingcostsinCopenhagen Rent(6*2025) Food,localinsuranceandother* Unexpectedexpenses Travelexpenses ReturnflighttickettoUbuntuconferencesite(yettobedecided)** ReturnflighttickettoSanFranciscoorSeattle LocaltransportationinNorthAmerica FlightticketsandlocaltransportationexpensesinEurope Fieldexpenses Giftsforhosts Staysathostels Conferencefees(studentdiscountincluded) Travelinsurance Equipmentcosts Laptop,digitalcamera,digitalrecorder,etc. Totalexpenses

DKK 12.150 13.550 2.500 1.2006.200 4.925 8.500 8.500 2.500 5.800 800 2.000 0*** 62.42567.425 DKK 24.966 14.000 38.966 DKK 23.45928.459 Detteunderskudsgesdkketaftilskudfralegaterogfonde.

Income
FederalStudySupport(SU)(6Monthsat4161dkk) StipendfromInstituteofAnthropology Totalincome

Deficit
Total

*
**

Detteinkludereromkostningertilmadifelten. Disserejseomkostningererafhngigaf,hvorkonferencenbliverafholdt.Hidtilerdetre frste konferencer blevet afholdt hhv. i Barcelona (Spanien), Sydney (Australien) og Montreal(Canada). Jegharingenomkostningertiludstyr,dajegalleredeharinvesteretidette. 12

***

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