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diff --git a/services/gemma/README.markdown b/services/gemma/README.markdown deleted file mode 100644 index 064742c0091f..000000000000 --- a/services/gemma/README.markdown +++ /dev/null @@ -1,96 +0,0 @@ -# Gemma - -Gemma is a simple application to track *recurring* tasks, named after Gemma -Hartley who [wrote an article][] about task distribution issues in households. - -## Background - -(Skip this if you just want the technical bits) - -Gemma's article launched a discussion in my friend circle about what causes an -uneven distribution of household workload. I theorised that this is not so much -a gender issue, but mostly a discoverability issue. - -Usually one person in a household is aware of what needs to be done, but in many -cases the "overhead" of delegating the tasks would actually take more time than -simply doing the task. - -I theorise further that the person (or people) who do a smaller share of the -household work would often do the work if they had a convenient way to become -aware of what needs to be done. Many times the "household manager" has the -function of tracking non-obvious tasks like when bedsheets were last changed - -shouldn't it be possible to actually distribute this information somehow? - -## The Project - -This project is an initial attempt at sketching out a little application that -aids with reminding users of recurring tasks. Some basic ideas: - -* The system should be blame-free. -* There should be as little usage overhead as possible so that people actually - do use it. -* It should work mostly passively without much user interaction. - -I believe that the basic (*very* simple) idea behind Gemma solves these issues. -Unfortunately my living situation changed before I actually got to test this out -in a real-life situation involving multiple people, but feedback from other -potential test subjects would be welcome! :) - -## Overview - -Gemma is a Common Lisp application in which a list of recurring tasks is -declared, together with the *maximum interval* at which they should be completed -(in days). Example: - -```lisp -;; Bathroom tasks -(deftask bathroom/wipe-mirror 7) -(deftask bathroom/wipe-counter 7) - -;; Bedroom tasks -(deftask bedroom/change-sheets 7) -(deftask bedroom/vacuum 10) - -;; Kitchen tasks -(deftask kitchen/trash 3) -(deftask kitchen/wipe-counters 3) -(deftask kitchen/vacuum 5 "Kitchen has more crumbs and such!") - -;; Entire place -(deftask clean-windows 60) -``` - -These tasks are marked with their last completion time and tracked by Gemma. A -simple Elm-based frontend application displays the tasks sorted by their -"urgency" and features a button to mark a task as completed: - - - -Marking a task as completed resets its counter and moves it to the bottom of the -task list. - -In theory this *should be it*, the frontend is made available to household -members in some easily accessible place (e.g. an old phone glued to the fridge!) -and people should attempt to develop a habit of checking what needs to be done -occasionally. - -The "household manager" still exists as a role of the household because someone -is entering the tasks into the application, but if my theory about people not -actually being actively *unwilling* to do tasks is correct this could help a -lot. - -## Usage - -(*Note*: Gemma is alpha software so the below is clearly not the final goal) - -Right now using this is non-trivial, but I'll eventually make a better -distribution. Basically you need to know Common Lisp (in which case you'll know -how to get the backend running) and have `elm-reactor` installed to run the -development version of the frontend application. - -Gemma is configured via a configuration file that should be located either at -`/etc/gemma/config.lisp` or at a custom location specified via the environment -variable `GEMMA_CONFIG`. Have a look at the `config.lisp` file in the repository -root for an example. - -[wrote an article]: http://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a12063822/emotional-labor-gender-equality/ |