Remixable German documentary about me and Internet freedom

Metropolis, a German/French documentary series from Arte.tv, shot a short documentary with me about online freedom and surveillance, and science fiction. They've put the episode online as a free, remixable, Creative Commons licensed download. Link

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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elsmiley

As a long-time Boinger, I express full support of Cory’s hawking his wares here (I also support the streetwalker lifting up her skirt to promote what she is selling). It’s always been that way and there is nothing wrong with it.
Happy

Congratz Gory! It is always good to see fellow netcitizens do well. Is you book available in English? It sounds interesting.
Aaron

BlackAndy

Thanks for the clarification regarding the disemvowellings, TNH. I think that it’s a good thing to tell someone why their post has had the vowels taken out, even if it’s just because it’s unwise to help people feed the trolls.

Like ME, I had also caught that post and wondered about why it had been removed, although I assumed it was just because the article it was about was slightly dated (but still fascinating to me). I’ve seen posts removed for what I assumed was a similar reason and figured this was more of the same. That’s not why I bring it up though, it’s because I notice that the link he included was also disemvowelled. Since that doesn’t simply make what he wrote harder to read but in essence creates a broken link with no hope of repairing it (I tried and failed), wouldn’t it be better to cut it out and say something like “(Link Removed)” in this situation?

Lizzle

That has to be the Platonic Boing Boing headline.

funeralpudding

“I write for magazines — if you’d like to commission me to write to your spec, you can found a magazine and approach me with a contract.”

Not with that grammar!

Just kidding dude, keep up the good work.

Antinous

I’m experimentally trying this unfamiliar new business of explaining why people got disemvowelled.

I kind of enjoyed the random bolt from heaven, but then I haven’t been hit by lightning yet.

Cory Doctorow

Morbius@1: Apparently, you’ve hallucinated some editorial guidelines directing the editors here as to what we may and may not post. Unfortunately, we are not actually working for you. Boing Boing has ALWAYS featured its’ editors’ personal projects — and it always will. If that bugs you, you’re reading the wrong site.

Now, as weird as it is for you to show up and complain that you don’t like the flavor of the free ice-cream — and to make ridiculous, unsupported and untrue statements about the proportion of my posting that concerns my projects (it’s less than one percent, something that you can easily verify) — is that you think that this would be MORE acceptable if I disguised posts about myself by getting my co-editors to write about ti.

Where on earth did you get the impression that Boing Boing was a place that didn’t include its editors’ personal projects? These have been a feature of Boing Boing since the print days. If that bugs you, go somewhere else.

elNico

Nice feature…

JohnEats

#3 – I agree! Sometimes BoingBoingers also post about Amy Crehore and Coop.

Sensoz

Are there any plans to have French or English subtitles?

Nixar

Those assholes didn’t put the French language version online.
It’s only available from their craptacular Windows DRM-encumbered Piece of Shit VOD site. Which, on top of being technically repugnant, is extremely expensive: I was checking out one specific episode of “Le Dessous des Cartes”, a 10 min long show, and it was priced at 3.99â‚¬. Plus DRM.

/ one pissed-off French taxpayer

crayzieman

I don’t get what there is to complain about anyway, the weekends are usually boring on here (not any fault of any of the editors, I’m sure they’re just busy on the weekends). It’s nice to see someone posting loads on the weekend for once. That might be another reason why it seems so one sided, no one else has really been posting so it kind of looks like Cory is post whoring when he really isn’t. It’s the same frequency of posts just no one else posting to break things up between his posts.

Besides, Cory, Xeni, Joel, Mark, etc are all awesome people and any one of them could turn this into their own personal blog and I’d still read it religiously.

Irene Delse

#8 : I concur, it would have been nice… But since the docu is remixable, it’s possible they are leaving that to the Internet community.

Cory Doctorow

dotSUB is a great site for collaborative subtitling.

Jeff

Elsmiley, are you saying Doctorow is like a sex worker? If so, when is he going to lift up his skirt and show it off? Image: Doctorow standing with utility kilt pulled up to show off new copy of a book–like a fig leaf. Now that would be a funny picture.

ME

Whl fnd th slf-prmtn n Bng Bng t b t n ccptbl lvl, ws prtty prtrbd t fnd n flsh pst t b flshd dwn th mmry hl. Thnk gdnss fr Ggl’s cch:

http://64.233.169.104/srch?q=cch:1hq2nV4hkJ:www.bngbng.nt/2008/02/23/pntgn-t-bsh-cl.html+pntgn&hl=n&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=s

pblctn’s dtrl ntgrty s dcrsd whn t trs t rs t’s mstks, rthr thn wnng p t thm. Bng Bng rrly ddrsss ts rrrs. Lnks r ftn pstd ndscrmntly, s lng s th prty ln s spprtd. f th stry ltr trns t t b rrnsly ctd, th mttr jst gts swpt ndr th rg.

Gd lck nd ll, bt yr crdblty tks ht frm sch ctns.
Takuan

`I found the moderation entirely too lax on this site. Far too much insolence and malicious irrelevance is tolerated. I vote for an immediate 500% increase in use of the delete button.
nex

arte makes very cool things, but as Nixar (#9) said, they are rather restricrtive when it comes to putting their videos on the web. I’m in Austria and can receive the German version of arte, but their web site locks me out of much content that is free to view for Germans. Most of the restrictions are probably not because arte themselves suck that much, but because of licensing agreements they more or less have to make. Still, I would find it better if their policy was to either provide a VOD to everyone or no one, instead of just to Windows users. Using tax-payer money to help cementing a near-monopoly is an extremely bad idea.

Secondly, I’m more than comfortable with translating between English and German. Would anyone like to make English subtitles? I don’t have the time to do this by myself, but I’d like to help … if someone has ambitions, maybe set up a project wiki and post a link here?

Lastly, Me’s post #13 above is off topic, but, yeah, indeed, what’s up with that vanished story? Is there some benign explanation? I don’t believe the bbers are too cool for apologising for mistakes … or are they?
Takuan

see what I mean? Who gives a shit? Sheesh! I know if I had to put up with this petty sniping I’d be pretty goddamned cranky. It’s like being surrounded by Trekkies calling you out on Episode 37.c para h line 7.
Antinous

I would like to say, with respect to the other BBers, that it was duller here when Cory was holed up with his new pouchling. Not only does he contribute a huge chunk of content, he contributes interesting and controversial content that gets these comment threads humming.
Takuan

yes, he is a trouble-maker – but a useful trouble-maker
zenhammond

Cry,
Mrbs wsn’t ddn’t sy t ws mr ccptbl, jst tht t wld b lss bvs. thnk h/sh ws nt rlly srsly sggstng ths, s vr-rctd lttl.

S y dn’t wrk fr s? Wh d y wrk fr? Why s Bng Bng hr, f nt t ntrtn th bllns f ppl wh vst hr vrydy? Th nswr s bvs, t s hr fr yr slf-prmtn (whch hv n prblm wth, vn f thr r fw hrs nd drt n th fr c crm smtms).

My frst ttrctn t Bng Bng ws tht t ws jst cl ppl shrng cl lnks. Nw y r cllng ppl hllcngnc whn thy cmpln (ddn’t y jst wrt n ssy bt hw flks shld cmpln?).

Tllng ppl t g wy f thy dn’t lk t hr? Jst nt th nc gy mg hv lwys hd f y. Dltng psts tht wr mbrrssng? Why nt jst mk n thr pst pntng t wht slly mstk y md?

Snc thr r ngtv cmmnts, shr smrt fllws wrds (slghtly dtd)…Y rnâ€™t fv-yr-lds brngng hs fngrpntngs hm frm kndrgrtn. W dnâ€™t hv t pt n brv sml nd cmmnt, â€œthtâ€™s jst lvly dr”.

Crry n my wywrd sn,
Zn Hmmnd
Sparrow

I don’t mind the shameless self promotion, as long as it’s interesting, relevant or fun. And since I happen to like Cory Doctorow’s work, and I tend to like the ideas Cory expresses on Boing Boing enough to keep coming back, that’s most if not all of the time. My only problem with this post is the lack of a translation. But since the doc is remixable, I hope there are some multlingual fans out there who can come up with a sub.

#36 I can has unicorn chaser now plz.
ill lich

Addressing post #1:

Seems to me, if it’s Cory’s site (in part) then Cory can post whatever he damn well likes. Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t the vast majority of blogs all about self-promotion, although it’s often masked people talking about “things they like”– why should BoingBoing be any different?
kaosdevice

Cory,

No goggles or red cape? C’mon!
strider_mt2k

“How many of these guys are named Cory anyway?”
Stefan Jones

Wait, wasn’t there going to be free ice-cream?
Antinous

It’s being combed even as we speak.
Takuan

well, there WAS free ice cream, but SOMEBODY spilled it
Songe

#1 why don’t you express your disgust with a remix or mashup of the documentary? That would be creative and entertaining.
elsmiley

Re 36: C’mon, there are enough Photoshop geeks here–someone has to make that shit. (Sorry Prof. Doc)
Takuan

because that would be work
Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator

Zenhammond, if you’re going to be irritated at someone, be irritated at me. Cory’s much nicer than I am. For that matter, so is Joel.

A good part of the reason I’m here is to make it possible for Boing Boing to have lively, interesting, civil comment threads, without requiring any of the boingers to undergo a personality transplant.
Dustin Driver

Okay, I’ll give it a shot. The remixing, I mean. Should be fun . . .
Teresa Nielsen Hayden / Moderator

Whoops, I forgot: I’m experimentally trying this unfamiliar new business of explaining why people got disemvowelled. The experiment will run through the end of February, at which time it may or may not be renewed.

So:

Morbius (1) got disemvowelled for being a jerk.

ME (13) got disemvowelled because I can’t imagine he would react well if someone tried to countermand his editorial decisions concerning the content of his own site. I had nothing to do with removing that entry he’s fixated on, but I’ll defend to the death the boingers’ right to delete it from Boing Boing, if they think it’s the right thing to do.
jere7my

Yeah! Cory should promote himself on his own website!

Oh, wait…
Downpressor

Remixable as in the various component audio tracks are offered up to make a new mono/stereo mixdown or remixable as in the intardnet usage of editable?
Dustin Driver

I meant just a remix for remix’s sake. Not to bash Cory or anything. I mean, it’s Cory talking about sci-fi and the Interwebs with German overdubbing. Makes my little brain buzz with silly ideas.
Cory Doctorow

Zenhammond: Boing Boing exists as the place where the editors can write about the stuff they care about so that people who care about the same stuff can read it.

Boing Boing does not exist as a place where someone tries to figure out what stories will be popular among some notional audience and attempts to write to that audience.

The former is a blog. The latter is a magazine. I write for magazines — if you’d like to commission me to write to your spec, you can found a magazine and approach me with a contract. But on this blog, the editors get to choose which subjects they’ll post about, and what they’ll say about them.
Jeff

Good news for the man. I think maybe I’m just some kind of grown-up-fan-boy. That’s why I’m here: Because I discovered a writer and his pals that seem to attract a pretty smart group. Most of us realize the business side of this venture is legitimate. That’s a good thing in my book.

I happen to like when Cory promotes his stuff. I’d like it if he would talk more about his books, just to explain every idea. And that’s why I’d love to sit in a circle under the olive trees and listen to Plato speak.
Joel Johnson

If I had the high-output tenacity of Herr Doctorow, you can bet your ass I’d be promoting it on Boing Boing, too. Every time I see someone complain about Cory being rightfully proud that he’s made or said things people find interesting, my only irritation is that I haven’t done as much to show off.
morbius

ncrsngly, Bng Bng sms t b Drctry f Cry Dctrw Thngs. f y mst s th st t ndlssly prmt yrslf, dn’t y thnk t wld t lst ppr t b lttl lss slf-bsssd f y skd n f yr fllw Bng Bngrs t pst n yr bhlf?