TED Conversations

Juan Calderon

Bogohack, bogohack

TEDCRED 500+
TED AttendeeTEDx OrganizerAssociate

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Let's open source this conversation platform

I believe in the power of conversation. We need more conversation on the world, and why only use it here at ted.com. Lots of different portals on the internet would benefit from this great tool.
Forums on the internet are disorganized and conversations remain forever without taking any action.

Topics: collaborative conversation conversation open source
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Closing Statement from Juan Calderon

The conversation platform at TED has a strong respectful community that feeds and drives the conversations taking place. It also has a well designed 'tool' that makes conversations better than the typical forum. We need to have better conversations all around the Internet. The typical forums are not good for having a conversation. Having the tool open sourced would require that TED would not be affiliated with the tool, that is, since no one can tell what the tool would be used for. We can have both a big conversation at TED taking place, and small conversations around other places on the Internet. Opening the tool is possible, it has to not be affiliated with TED.

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    Krisztián Pintér 200+

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    TED Translator
    Mar 13 2012: you are very busy to tell other people what should they do with their product.
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      Spencer Ferri

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      Mar 14 2012: That seems to miss the point... I can't understand a way of organizing online discussion as a 'product'. Why can't we replace the forum format with this interesting Conversation format, and then alter it to be more relevant to different kinds of discussion?

      TED is about the free and open spread of ideas. I somehow doubt they'd be offended if this idea spread.
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        Krisztián Pintér 200+

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        TED Translator
        Mar 14 2012: the discussion itself is not something you can opensource. i certainly thought he means the platform (tool, as he says).
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          Spencer Ferri

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          Mar 14 2012: Ah, more miscommunication. Yes, the discussion isn't something you can opensource, as a discussion is nothing but a byproduct of human relations. I mean to say what you say, that the platform should be open-sourced. Which is why I say we should replace the old internet forum platform with this format, which I'm calling the Conversation Format (for lack of any other definition).

          And I make the claim that it's both a good idea and one which wouldn't offend the owners of TED.
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        Amrut Deshmukh

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        Mar 14 2012: Completely agree with you @spencer Ferri !
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        Krisztián Pintér 200+

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        TED Translator
        Mar 14 2012: spencer, i don't have the faintest clue what you are talking about.

        the platform is a program. it is a software written by some people. it is their product. so you can humbly suggest that it should be open source. in an email, for example. but discussing publicly what ted should do with their own software is ...
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          Spencer Ferri

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          Mar 14 2012: ... is just an idea dude. And we're here to discuss ideas. People tell me what to do all the time, with my life. And my life is far more personally mine then any of the fiction I've written or the things I've built. But I'm not offended, we live in a world of shared ideas and mutual agreement, and TED represents that spirit. Why is it offensive to suggest new ways of using their software?

          You're right about us suggesting they open-source their product, and indeed doing it humbly and not making a huff about it if they refuse. But where else do we discuss if it's a good thing to do, than here?

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