Group as User: Flaming and the Design of Social Software is Clay Shirky's latest essay on social software. It describes some interesting experiments and avenues for experimentation in reducing flaming in social discourse software. A prime example is Bumplist.
posted by turbodog on Nov 8, 2004 - 7 comments

Software projects are notorious for time and budget overruns (examples that come to mind include Mozilla and the Denver Airport baggage system). There are a large number of design methods, development processes, and programming methodologies that claim or hint at objective estimation of development schedules, project complexity, and programmer productivity. Unfortunately, they're all bunk.

"The creation of genuinely new software has far more in common with developing a new theory of physics than it does with producing cars or watches on an assembly line."

Programmers, try telling that one to your next customer.
posted by lagado on Nov 21, 2001 - 21 comments