View source for ChattyPub: A hybrid publishing infrastructure

== ChattyPub: A hybrid publishing infrastructure ==
<span class="author">Hackers & Designers</span>

ChattyPub is a design software, a workshop, a platform for discussion, a publishing experiment, and a tool for collective organizing. ChattyPub encompasses all these characteristics and has played an instrumental role in the way H&D's collective practice has and continues to evolve.

=== How ChattyPub came to be ===
ChattyPub was inspired by the workshop [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Summer_Academy_2020/p/Experimental_Chatroom Experimental Chatroom] facilitated by designers and educators [https://xin-xin.info/ XinXin] and [https://larkvcr.com/ Lark VCR] during the [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Summer_Academy_2020 2020 edition of the H&D summer academy] (HDSA). The subject of the workshop, that of designing and building experimental chat rooms, sparked the idea to co-design a publication that utilized a chat environment as a central editing and design tool. This tool would allow for several people to participate in the design and editing process at the same time.

In the next iteration of the [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Summer_Academy_2021 HDSA in 2021], which was organized as a hybrid format on and offline and in four different locations, we started using an open-source chat platform called [https://zulip.com/ Zulip] to streamline communication with workshop participants and co-hosts. The Zulip software combines real-time chat functions with an email thread model.

[[File:radio-pub.png|thumb|Screenshot from ChattyPub zine designed by HDSA participants Petra Eros, Deniz Kurt, Loes Bogers and Jordi de Vetten]]

=== What is Chatty Pub? ===
ChattyPub is built on top of the chat platform Zulip. The publication can be designed collectively by sending messages, reacting with emoji, and writing CSS rules. Different CSS styles (font-families, font-sizes, font-styles, margins, text alignment, and colors) can be applied through Emoji reactions. Discussions in Zulip are organized in ''streams'' and ''topics''. In ChattyPub ''streams'' correspond with publications and ''topics'' represent chapters. To add content to a publication you can go to the corresponding stream, pick or create a topic, and write your message. Thus, ChattyPub is a website that acts as a different interface to the Zulip service. ChattyPub takes a stream from Zulip, combines messages into long-form articles, and uses a design system combining Emojis and CSS syntax to style the messages, which effectively turns the stream into a (printable) webpage.

[[File:Network-Imaginaries-CSS-glossary.jpg|thumb|CSS glossary, in: "Network Imaginaries," H&D, 2021]]
[[File:Network_Imaginaries3.jpeg|thumb|Workshop script by XinXin and Lark VCR in "Network Imaginaries," H&D, 2022.]]

=== ChattyPub in action ===
In autumn of 2021, H&D self-published the book [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/p/Network_Imaginaries_Publication Network Imaginaries], which was designed with ChattyPub.

ChattyPub has been explored and challenged during various workshops and open work sessions, opening up its making process, its possibilities, and its limitations.

For instance, it was tested at [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Activities/p/Digit_GfZK_Leipzig a walk-in style workshop at GfZK Leipzig] in August 2021, followed by a work session during the symposium Open* – Tools for Collective Organizing” in Amsterdam, November 2021. Another iteration of the walk-in workshop has been tried on the occasion of the workshop sequel [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Activities/p/Figuring_Things_Out_Together_%E2%80%94_Exploring_the_%E2%80%98Workshop%E2%80%99_as_a_concept_and_format_for_collective_learning_and_publishing "Figuring Things Out Together"] at Page Not Found in The Hague, June 2022.

[[File:PNF_hackers and designers-24.jpg|thumb| ChattyPub at Page Not Found, The Hague, 2022]] 

In August 2022, H&D was invited by Jatiwangi art Factory to host [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Activities/p/Making_Matters_Workshop_Documenta_15 a two-day walk-in workshop at documenta fifteen] on the occasion of the [https://hackersanddesigners.nl/s/Activities/p/Book_Launch%3A_%27Making_Matters._A_Vocabulary_of_Collective_Arts%27'|launch of the book Making Matters. A Vocabulary of Collective Arts] together with Elaine W. Ho (Display Distribute) and Florian Cramer.

[[File:Documenta-1.jpg|thumb|ChattyPub workshop at Documenta Fifteen]]

The ChattyPub workshop invited visitors to documenta fifteen to join the publishing process at any moment. Participants could join ChattyPub with their own devices (computers/tablets/phones) or use one of the computers available at the location. We installed two thermal printers on which zines could be printed out instantly. The workshop accommodated different levels of engagement. Participants could get involved in every aspect of the publishing workflow—writing content, designing the publication with ChattyPub, coding the CSS styles that determine the design—or choose to focus on just one part. Our prompt: Add a term to the growing vocabulary of "collective material practices" (the subtitle of the Making Matters book). The simplicity of the prompt along with offering of a concrete tool that could be learned together sparked fruitful conversations, both verbally and in writing.

In addition to serving as a publishing tool and workshop, ChattyPub became a discussion platform that facilitated conversations about the controversies of the fifteenth edition of documenta. Over two days, a several meter long publication came into being.


{{ClippyAnt|advice=Traces of the different workshops and publications that were produced can be found on the growing archive of ChattyPub publicationsof|external=https://chatty-pub.hackersanddesigners.nl/}}
{{ClippyAnt|advice=All about Chatty Pub and how to use it yourself|external=https://chatty-pub.hackersanddesigners.nl/docs/Chattypub}}
{{ClippyAnt|advice=Installation Manual on Github|external=https://github.com/hackersanddesigners/chatty-pub/tree/master/front/}}

=== Credits ===
<small>With thanks to Xin Xin and Lark VCR whose Experimental Chat Room workshop has inspired ChattyPub. Creative Industries Fund NL which has supported H&D's activities since 2015. HDSA Workshop participants who used and tested ChattyPub for the first time. GFZK Leipzig, Bergen Art Book Fair, Page Not Found, Jatiwangi art Factory, ERG and Lacambre who let us host ChattyPub workshops.</small>