Yesterday I got an email from a member of a committee that I chaired, thanking me for my "horrific leadership." The person writing it is not a native English speaker, and the tone of the rest of the email, and the whole thread, was positive. I'm pretty sure the person meant "terrific." The more I think about it, how should anyone be able to remember that "terror" turns into a positive thing in one of its adjective forms, but "horror" doesn't? #AcademicChatter #Linguistics

Yesterday I got an email from a member of a committee that I chaired, thanking me for my "horrific leadership." The person writing it is not a native English speaker, and the tone of the rest of the email, and the whole thread, was positive. I'm pretty sure the person meant "terrific." The more I think about it, how should anyone be able to remember that "terror" turns into a positive thing in one of its adjective forms, but "horror" doesn't? #AcademicChatter #Linguistics

"Former Stanford professor Nathan Wolfe ’92 planned sexual behavior research, described interns with Epstein"

"Wolfe made his plans for a research study explicit in May 2013, writing to Epstein about testing “[their] horny virus hypothesis” with an experiment he believed would interest Epstein. A “real-time study in undergrads,” which he devised..."

https://stanforddaily.com/2026/02/03/former-stanford-professor-nathan-wolfe-92-planned-sexual-behavior-research-described-interns-with-epstein/ #RapeCulture #Sexism #Eugenics #AcademicChatter

"Former Stanford professor Nathan Wolfe ’92 planned sexual behavior research, described interns with Epstein"

"Wolfe made his plans for a research study explicit in May 2013, writing to Epstein about testing “[their] horny virus hypothesis” with an experiment he believed would interest Epstein. A “real-time study in undergrads,” which he devised..."

https://stanforddaily.com/2026/02/03/former-stanford-professor-nathan-wolfe-92-planned-sexual-behavior-research-described-interns-with-epstein/ #RapeCulture #Sexism #Eugenics #AcademicChatter

Second guessing myself bc Powerpoint is red-underlining the word "Linguistics" I mean thanks for digging into our known insecurities I guess? #lingusitics #linguistics #academicChatter

Pleased to announce that my book, Move Slowly and Build Bridges: Mastodon, the Fediverse, and the Struggle for Democratic Social Media, is now available online, and will be out in print in a couple weeks!
https://moveslowlybuildbridges.com
That site has more stuff, too -- links to related articles, some notes about how I researched it, and a contact form in case you want to talk about the fediverse with me! (I'd be happy to chat with journalists about it!)
#academicChatter #bookstodon #fediverse #mastodon

Early career researchers tend to think that an editor's rejection (or a revision request they can't accommodate), means they have to give up and submit elsewhere. In my experience, explaining your side to the editor (in a polite and reasonable tone) can sometimes make them reconsider. It's often worth the try, if nothing else for the catharsis.

#EarlyCareerResearchers #AcademicPublishing #AcademicChatter

I very briefly feared that the number of printed exams wouldn’t suffice 😱 But it turns out German students are reliable when it comes to not showing up for exams phew
And only 1 copy printed in vain! 🌱 #academicchatter

"I’m going to halve my publication output. You should consider slow science, too"

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-04061-w

#academicchatter #academia #science

I just received this email that notified me that a paper I am coauthor on was just published. It is, I checked! However, this email is 100% a fishing email, which luckily Thunderbird notified me when I clicked on the DOI it provided. Has anyone else had something like this happen?

I will discuss this paper more soon.

#AcademicChatter

I just received this email that notified me that a paper I am coauthor on was just published. It is, I checked! However, this email is 100% a fishing email, which luckily Thunderbird notified me when I clicked on the DOI it provided. Has anyone else had something like this happen?

I will discuss this paper more soon.

#AcademicChatter

Seeking advice. I frequently teach a #HigherEd #AcademicChatter class in the US on Social Informatics which includes a module on #OpenGovernment and #CivicTech to give students an overview of the sector (international, national, state/provincial, local) as a public good, driver of economic health, and locus for potential careers. Obviously there have been changes in US federal policies with deleterious trends in the past year, and I have those covered.

I am seeking help covering emerging #DigitalSovereignty trends. Especially those which involve non-US entities leaving or planning departures from US-based tech because of any combination of tariff demands, copyright/surveillance policies, or other concerns about corporate and/or political power. I already cover the UK transition to Open Document Format in 2014. So I'm not presenting this as something new, but the speed and urgency is definitely picking up (see example links of EU moves to promote FOSS alternatives to US tech, France dropping Teams and Zoom).

1. Examples and links are definitely welcome

2. Thoughts from folks about how to explain this emergent scenario to US-based #ComputerScience and #Informatics and other college students, and its impacts on their futures. Thoughts from outside and inside the US are very welcome.

3. Same as no.2 but where do you see this trend in 5 years? 10 years?

You read this far? Thank you! Wow!

e.g. EU https://www.opensourceforu.com/2026/01/eu-plans-to-scale-open-source-into-commercial-rivals-to-us-technology/

e.g. France https://www.zdnet.com/article/france-dumps-teams-zoom-digital-sovereignty-replacement/

Seeking advice. I frequently teach a #HigherEd #AcademicChatter class in the US on Social Informatics which includes a module on #OpenGovernment and #CivicTech to give students an overview of the sector (international, national, state/provincial, local) as a public good, driver of economic health, and locus for potential careers. Obviously there have been changes in US federal policies with deleterious trends in the past year, and I have those covered.

I am seeking help covering emerging #DigitalSovereignty trends. Especially those which involve non-US entities leaving or planning departures from US-based tech because of any combination of tariff demands, copyright/surveillance policies, or other concerns about corporate and/or political power. I already cover the UK transition to Open Document Format in 2014. So I'm not presenting this as something new, but the speed and urgency is definitely picking up (see example links of EU moves to promote FOSS alternatives to US tech, France dropping Teams and Zoom).

1. Examples and links are definitely welcome

2. Thoughts from folks about how to explain this emergent scenario to US-based #ComputerScience and #Informatics and other college students, and its impacts on their futures. Thoughts from outside and inside the US are very welcome.

3. Same as no.2 but where do you see this trend in 5 years? 10 years?

You read this far? Thank you! Wow!

e.g. EU https://www.opensourceforu.com/2026/01/eu-plans-to-scale-open-source-into-commercial-rivals-to-us-technology/

e.g. France https://www.zdnet.com/article/france-dumps-teams-zoom-digital-sovereignty-replacement/

My university wasn’t listed in @ResearchOrgs and guess what, proposing the addition was simple. If an org you know has a mistake or is missing take the 5 minutes to suggest a change.
And hello to ROR id 01y7y4033 — the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
#AcademicChatter #RADA

Https://ror.org/01y7y4033

I was trained to write the Abstract last when preparing an academic paper: finish up the paper first and then summarize it. Over the years I've reversed this: I now write the Abstract as early as possible. This forces me to focus on a few key points, and gives structure to the rest of the writing process.

#AcademicWriting #AcademicChatter

My university wasn’t listed in @ResearchOrgs and guess what, proposing the addition was simple. If an org you know has a mistake or is missing take the 5 minutes to suggest a change.
And hello to ROR id 01y7y4033 — the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
#AcademicChatter #RADA

Https://ror.org/01y7y4033

Together with Mario Birkholz of @neuSoM fame, I have written an article about Mastodon and the Fediverse in the journal of the German Physical Society: https://pro-physik.de/zeitschriften/download/23119

It's free to read but in German. Let's hope that @DPGPhysik's move to the Fediverse will inspire other scientific societies and universities to follow!

#physics #mastodon #fediverse #academicchatter #wisskomm #physik