GM: Charisma check. Mamdani: [rolls natural 20] GM: that’s a d6 how did you Mamdani: [direct to camera] Did you know you can check out board games at your local public library? 😊

I absolutely burst out laughing

1/ I'm seeking expressions of interest from nonprofit orgs to take over the Open Access Tracking Project ( #OATP, @oatp.fediscience.org.ap.brid.gy ) and the open-source software on which it runs. Details in this Google doc: bit.ly/TransferOATP #OpenAccess #OpenScience #OpenSource #ScholComm 🧵

Hello Bluesky. I am a cultural and media theorist working across the fields of (book) publishing and digital culture, researching the future of scholarly communications and experimental forms of knowledge production.

I was on a video call with a friend, walking around my house, but had forgotten I bought (just over) my height in panettone this year. I forgot that what I affectionately call "panettone mountain" is in fact a freak occurrence in most people's eyes 😅

Throw back to that one listserv email that had me wondering why we even bother with panels (and if literacy is dead).

Between being a nerd who reads the occasional manga and following Formula 1 since my partner is a fan, my Instagram algorithm has decided I must be an F1 fujoshi which feels deeply humiliating - despite this /not/ being the case. If anything, I'm confused as to what's going on.

"China’s citation impact is now also well above the world average." Sinophobia is about to do more to de-emphasize focus on citation impact metrics than all 13 years of SF DORA combined... newsletter.journalology.com/p/journalolo...

Can't believe that in the space of a season I've gone from not caring about F1 to "I can't believe Verstappen needs to rely on a Ferrari driver to have a chance at the championship".

We're hiring! We have 2 jobs advertised: Library Engagement Lead and Operations Manager, deadline Tues 6 January 2026. Links: openjournalscollective.org/static/engag... openjournalscollective.org/static/opera... Come work for a major new international organisation funding #openaccess publishing!

I've got a new piece at @lseimpactblog.bsky.social today following on from my previous piece about the British Library cyberattack and arguing that, since the UK Government clearly doesn't care about the UK knowledge sector, we need to develop our own community-led tech and infrastructure solutions.

I'm not surprised, as it's the culmination of the undervaluing (and disrespect, even) of translation as a skill. The amount of shitty translations I've seen recently is starting to really anger me and it puts me off using services.

I'm glad to have signed this statement in support of queer and trans staff at the National Library of Scotland, who by the sounds of it are going through an awful time at the moment: docs.google.com/document/d/e...

#CollaborationNotCompetition! Toby Steiner and Zoe Wake Hyde (@radishpress.bsky.social) here at #Munin2025 talking about the ongoing collaborations between @thoth-metadata.bsky.social and @pkp.sfu.ca / #OpenMonographPress, showcasing the potential of open data workflows

I believe this is a first for the @resprofnews.bsky.social opinion section.

I would prefer it if Wes Streeting did not become Prime Minister

Opinion: Chaos is coming for scholarly publishing. Buckling of commercial models alongside maturing of community-led efforts promises major shifts, says Caroline Edwards (@theblochian.bsky.social). www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...

Every technology problem is three social problems in a trench coat

Librarians told 404 Media they're being inundated with new pitches for AI library tech and catalogs are being flooded with AI slop books. But more broadly, AI maximalism across society is supercharging the ideological war on libraries, schools, government workers, and academics.

Apologies to anyone expecting us to be at the Tales Of The Weird event at the British Library this weekend, but in support of the PCS industrial action, we’ve decided not to cross the picket line. Will and I are both former librarians, and want to show support to the striking staff.

Applications Open for 2026 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries Contact @libcomix.bsky.social with any questions! #libcomix 📚 www.ala.org/news/2025/10...

my workplace is recruiting for a Digitisation Officer to work in special collections if anyone wants to come and join us (full time, fixed term) jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Digitisa...

Don’t cross a picket line, folks. I know it’s super difficult and inconvenient so let’s hopes resolution can be agreed and planned action called off

We are excited to announce that Caroline Ball @heroicendeavour.bsky.social has joined as our new Community Engagement Lead. Hooray! 🥳 Caroline is a committed advocate for libraries, #OpenAccess & knowledge equity, a Trustee at @wikimediauk.bsky.social, & played a key role in the #EbookSOS campaign.

Words being printed and bound into book format doesn't convey sacredness upon them. Some books are devoid of value and it would be fine if every last copy disappeared from the earth. Weed your little free libraries. Toss that shit in the trash.

The best part about being a non-native speaker of English is that I can show up to all the classic plays and productions of classic literature with 0 idea of what's about to hit me. Experiencing theatre the way God intended.

Trying to fix a particularly nasty corrupt system file without my external hard drive on hand for an easy back-up + reinstall is reminding me why I decided a career in IT is not for me. One mental breakdown away from rage-installing Linux and calling it a day.

The ability to gather and report information without authorization from the government is pretty much the definition of a free press

The solution is clearly to double the number of testicles per young man through Dr Brinkley patented xenotransplantation of goat testes! Improves virility, hardiness and balance!

What might seem like a small announcement—it’s just one institution—actually carries substantial weight and has a strong symbolic meaning. @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social, has taken another bold step: it won't renew its Web of Science license. www.uu.nl/en/news/acce...

So, who is taking bets that the pause of the REF is for an AI-ification implementation or an AI-related policy change?

Today in "AI made me do it" ...

Four Al Jazeera staff, including reporter Anas Al Sharif, were killed in an Israeli attack on a tent for journalists outside the main gate of Gaza's al-Shifa hospital aje.io/onll19

Fantasy as an assembly-line commodity leaves me cold.

Dismay as north of England universities miss out on share of £54m talent fund. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

The hardest thing about being bilingual is that in English I only have access to one, default accent. No more posho accent I can put on, and more critically: no more chav accent that makes everyone *just* a little bit anxious and worried about what you may be unleashing.

The real struggle of adulthood is eating regular, balanced meals when there's no one else around who also needs to eat. Nothing stopping me from eating some berries, watermelon, and pickles from the jar and calling it a day.

📢 Applications open for the 2026 Software Sustainability Institute Fellowship on 11 August, just a couple of weeks away, closing 6 October! 🚀 You don't have to be writing software yourself, just interested in promoting good research software practice. It's UK-based but there are 3 places […]

The new journal is published by... @openlibhums.bsky.social. This rarely gets mentioned in these press releases, but if you ever subscribed to Journal of Political Philosophy and appreciate the move away from for-profit publishers to an OA model, then your institution should support OLH.

My real beef with commercial publishing-based infrastructure is the absolute tonnes of labour we have to pour into work that will go absolutely nowhere because SMT and academic colleagues have bought into it 💀

Something about not being allowed to be very wrong, very confidently and very publicly from a young age may have something to do with it 🤷‍♀️ (Though when we talk about actual ML as opposed the genAI, there will be the 'traditional' tech gender imbalance.)

🎉 Excited to see our project 'CRediTs for Students? – Promoting Student Authorships in Psychology' recognized alongside so many other inspiring initiatives! If you're interested in implementing something similar, reach out! Or check out our OSF page: osf.io/tygsp/.

hey do you think i could hire a dude on fiverr to go lick the chernobyl elephants foot real quick just real quick need someone to lick the foot

Have now made a Freedom of Information Request, so let's see if we find out how much the University of Warwick paid Vogue Singapore to advertise one of their senior leadership team with photos of his wardrobe ('talent's own'). www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/cost...

Self-inflicted embarrassment for the University of Warwick — first it rebrands hyper-generically, then someone totally unhinged decides the *front page of the uni website* should say ‘Learn more about our Brand’.

Someone took issue with me saying that American male Protestants are unique in how they've removed themselves from aesthetics. I thought it was obvs that I'm talking about fashion and interior decor, which today are coded as "gay interests," not paintings or architecture. But let me elaborate. 🧵

“I’m plainly convinced that my situation in this ICE jail is direct retaliation for my coverage,” Mario Guevara told @ajc.com in an exclusive interview from the Folkston, Georgia ICE detention center where he is currently detained, despite a judge's bail order. “I haven’t committed any crimes.”

UKHE in 2025

🧵 1/? It is time for my birthday tradition once more: what loyalty programmes/cards give me the best birthday freebies and discounts? I may have limited family, but luckily the companies taking my money 364 days a year have my back 😌 Last year's favourites: * Neuhaus chocolate * Lindt * Booths