We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]

I am at FACT in Liverpool giving a talk about…

Blogs of course!

Moblog

noun. A blog maintained via mobile hardware, typically a mobile phone (‘cell phone’) with a built-in digital camera. Moblogs are usually ‘photo journals’ rather than text intensive (though this varies).

Whilst moblogs are general run from a phone, it can also be run from a laptop, palmtop or web enabled PDA as the defining element of a moblog is it is used to ‘blog away from the desk’.

Ping

1. noun. A ping is a system administrator tool that is an automated packet of information (64 bytes) sent through a network to another to establish the status of a target system.

2. verb. To ping another site is to send a small automated packet of data to actuate some expected function, such as a Trackback (qv).

PING is an acronym for ‘Packet INternet Grouper’

Trackback

1. noun. A system by which a ping (qv) is sent to another trackback-aware website (usually another blog) to notify that site that a link to them has been made (usually within an article being posted). The objective is to notify the subject of an article that they have been mentioned in another article elsewhere.

2. verb. To follow a trackback ping from the target weblog to the source weblog.

XML

noun. XML is a web language used for (amongst other things) syndication formats used on blogs. Acronym for eXtensible Markup Language

Progblog

noun. A ‘Progressive Weblog’. A blog expressing various left wing political views.

(coined by Madeleine Begun)

Thread

noun. A series of remarks posted by people in a public comment section of a blog that follow a conversational and topic related sequence.

Whilst used on blogs to describe related comments under a single blog article, this term is more specifically and accurately associated with on-line forums, many of which use a ‘threaded’ format that indents related digressions from the main ‘conversation’ in a branching manner, making it more clear to which previous comment a person it replying. Although some blog-forum hybrids also use this ‘threaded’ format within their public comments section, the term is more commonly associated with forums rather than blogs.

usage: “A blog article by Mike over on Cold Fury has sparked off an interesting thread with people arguing about the merits of private firearms ownership”

Flame

verb. To ‘flame’ someone is to make a hostile intemperate remark, usually of a personal nature. Also see: Flame War

Usage: “Andrew has seriously flamed Brian over his views on abortion again”

Flame war

noun. A hostile exchange of views via the Internet characterised by highly intemperate language.

(This term is by no means exclusive to blogs and is found in wide use throughout the Internet)

Clog Blog

noun. A Dutch language blog.

D-Day remembered

6 June 1944… the start of the Anglosphere’s armed liberation of western Europe from National Socialism.

It never hurts to keep reminding some people of that.

A conference suggestion

A quick suggestion – given the differences within the libertarian section of the political jungle about the case for or against armed intervention in other states, what do fellow contributors and commenters think about us setting up a one-day conference or suchlike on this topic?

I’m really interested to set something up, probably here in London. (But of course I would hope some non-Brit folk could be persuaded into coming).

Blogging is fantastic but sometimes there is still a place for face-to-face debate. And you get to hold the event right next to a pub!