Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026I have a half-baked hot-take, based on generally feeling kinda ghosted from too many angles lately to be coincidental. I think people interacting with any kind of AI chat interface are expending more social energy than they realize, even if they are just using it for work purposes. 121
Reposted by Austin ToombsC·CI Lab @c-cilab.bsky.social · 16/07/2026Casper ter Kuile, author of "The Power of Ritual" and co-host of the podcast "Harry Potter and the Sacred Text", wrote about our Implicit Care research on his substack open.substack.com/pub/joyfulbe...open.substack.comA well-designed table doesn’t love the people around it, but it makes lingering possibleLearning from Austin Toombs and the concept of 'implicit care' 001
Reposted by Austin ToombsKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 02/07/2026Two years ago, my colleagues and I were sued by Stephen Miller's America First Legal. The Hines v Stamos case — built atop a number of false allegations — was a central element of the "censorship industrial complex" myth. Today, that case was dismissed (by a Trump judge in LA). We won. 16270631657
Reposted by Austin ToombsC·CI Lab @c-cilab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026Very proud of this paper at Design Research Society, "Patterns of everyday care: Translating cultural practices for online communities" doi.org/10.21606/drs... We also just launched our website related to these patterns, though we are still adding some of the materials: c-cilab.com/care-patterns/c-cilab.comPatterns of Everyday Care — C·CI LabA toolkit of 23 design patterns naming the subtle, everyday forms of care that hold online communities together. From the C·CI Lab at Indiana University. 001
Reposted by Austin ToombsThe Onion @theonion.com · 17/06/2026Woman Dives Headfirst Into Thrilling Adventure By Blindly Purchasing Different Apple Variety theonion.com/woman-dives-headfirst-… 32120997
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 20/04/2026(Soon-to-be Dr.) Suchismita Naik just successfully defended her PhD dissertation, "Multi-Agent Design Patterns for Fostering Sense of Belonging in Online Communities: Insights from Fandom Communities and AI Practitioners". 221
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 13/04/2026#chi2026 if you’re a session chair, don’t make off-hand comments about a speaker’s methods as their q&a is ending. Even if you think you’re a B&C expert (who, by the way, that author might not have cited because B&C aren’t the only thematic analysis experts!) It’s not cool to use your role that way. 030
Reposted by Austin Toombsalix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 03/01/2026okay i am sorry to be that bitch but the one word you can't use to describe this is "unprecedented." 324533929
Reposted by Austin ToombsCongressman Bill Keating @keating.house.gov · 03/01/2026Donald Trump is no more the legitimate president of Venezuela than was Nicholas Maduro. 158724
Reposted by Austin ToombsBen Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 03/01/2026Just woke up even angrier. Impeach, convict, remove. Draft articles now. Either we have a representative government or we don’t. Do not shut up about this until there’s a vote. 739397749391
Reposted by Austin Toombsmattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · 03/01/2026if you are talking today about how bad maduro was and were alive, at all, during the run-up to the iraq war you are potentially the dumbest person to ever live 16183383896
Reposted by Austin ToombsEmily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑 @emilylhauser.bsky.social · 19/10/2025I didn't get a picture of the best sign I saw today, but I remember what it said: Somewhere in America A little Hispanic girl Is hiding in an attic And keeping a diary. #NoKings 563440883
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 26/08/2025Happy first day of the 2025-26 school year! (I didn’t teach yesterday so today counts) 050
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 13/08/2025Academic friends prepping for the CHI deadline: I am happy to give some big-picture pre-review feedback if you could use it! I can probably do this for three-ish papers (maybe two papers where I would be considered an expert of some kind and one paper on a topic I'd just be an everyday reader) 130
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025Trump has tried quite a few things to try to distract us, but none of them are working. Some things he should try next, which could totally work: universal healthcare, pro-earth climate change policies, federal decriminalization + legalization of certain substances, prison reform… I’d be distracted! 000
Reposted by Austin ToombsElizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 01/08/2025Me three months ago: 432163843729
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 30/07/2025Our #educhi2025 papers are available now! Also, the conference has just started (today is the pedagogy workshop educhi2025.educhi.org). I'm excited about my paper, which is about using amoeba drawings to encourage sketching and prototyping within ambiguous problem spaces dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...dl.acm.orgThe Ambiguity Amoeba and other Metaphors: Teaching Students to Sketch and Prototype Through Uncertainty | Proceedings of the 7th Annual Symposium on HCI Education 151
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 28/07/2025You can tell I turned 37 today because I watched a full ad about a nonstick pan, followed the link to the website, and got really excited to read about how it works because I’m tired of my eggs sticking. I bought it. When it comes it will be like my birthday all over again! 040
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025Wondering if your team could work with our HCI/d students? In this thread I'll list some project types that have worked well in past semesters to spark ideas. 110
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 07/07/2025Let’s all remember that our conferences are attended by people who speak many languages. Your presentation is a chance to explain your research as clearly as possible. It is not the time to try to show off your vocabulary, which is likely inaccessible to many in the room. 062
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 04/07/2025Heyyyyy, so when we pick destinations with low flight connectivity for our conferences, any kind of travel delay snowballs. All the Newark stuff from last night has me getting to the conference 36 hours later than planned. I’ll be missing the workshop I was going to be a full day early for. #DIS2025media.tenor.coma woman says maybe this is a nightmare nope , can 't fly away . this is real life .ALT: a woman says maybe this is a nightmare nope , can 't fly away . this is real life . 010
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 03/07/2025I know I’m a bit biased, since @graydesign.bsky.social is an author, but I’m legitimately excited to read this. I’m talking myself out of bringing it to DIS with me, but I’m going to try to tackle this before EduCHI. studioproperties.org #studioProperties #studioPedagogy #prettyBooks 010
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 02/07/2025Don’t tell the republicans, but I used part of my sick day to turn this Totally Straight* SuperDry tank top into a SuperGay one. *I don’t get all the credit. Tank tops are already pretty gay. It didn’t take much convincing. 010
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 20/06/2025I’m teaching the “HCI/d Studio Practice” course next semester. We pair industry partners with student groups that include first and second year Master’s HCI/d students. If you know someone interested in working with a group of students next semester, let me know! More details: lnkd.in/gqUshj6Clnkd.inLinkedInThis link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn 121
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 13/06/2025When a person becomes a billionaire, every cent over 1B should go to a world fund. Not for the specific nation, but for the Earth. They literally can't spend that much money anyway. #voteAustinForEmperor 010
Reposted by Austin ToombsPeter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 31/05/2025There are 2 previous historical cases of countries destroying their science and universities, crippling them for decades: Lysenkoism in the USSR and Nazi Germany. The Trump administration will be the 3rd. It's not just budgets but research, institutions, expertise, and training the next generation. 449151557830
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 08/05/2025Looks professional. But has Pokémon cards (gifts for students). May this always be true haha. Congratulations to the IU Bloomington HCI/d Master’s students!!! ❤️❤️❤️ 190
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 05/05/2025Reposting to remember this analogy with exercise, since that’s basically how I explain it to my students already. 060
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 04/05/2025Our hotel room number is 2319. Hopefully we don’t encounter any unexpected human artifacts.media.tenor.coma picture of a monster and a green alien with the number 2319ALT: a picture of a monster and a green alien with the number 2319 060
Reposted by Austin ToombsCarla Griggio @carlagriggio.bsky.social · 01/05/2025Masako Wakamiya's keynote is a beautiful love letter to technology appropriation. Loved her stories about turning "Office" into a playground #chi2025 0156
Reposted by Austin ToombsPhoebe Toups Dugas 🏳️⚧️ @snapdragoness.itch.io · 01/05/2025I hope I can be half as awesome as the #chi2025 keynote speaker, Wakamiyu Masako, when I grow up. She’s a technology legend at 90! 2307
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 01/05/2025Congratulations to the team who made the KaraokAI interactivity exhibit for winning the popular vote!!! dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/... @annarlcarter.bsky.social #chi2025 #interactivity 2234
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 30/04/2025I did end up getting some new glasses from Jins after learning from @mayworms.info that they could make them in 30 minutes. These ones are dragon ball themed!!! “Supreme Kai” is a bit on the nose for glasses I got at CHI #chi2025 but it was not intentional lol us.jins.com/products/jin... 180
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 29/04/2025#chi2025 questions don’t have to be designed to embarrass students. You can ask the same question without trying to push the presenter off balance first. Especially if you want them to be able to answer your question. Thankfully the old dudes who tend to do this in our community are less common 180
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 29/04/2025ADHD+no adderall at CHI update, since people have said these are useful for them. I’m not as overwhelmed as I thought I’d be, and I attribute it to being much more aware now of how and when I get overstimulated. Knowing how a situation feels with and without ADHD medication is a key part of that. 0110
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 28/04/2025Thinking about how cool it was in CHI2022 to watch a keynote from a speaker who did a ton of background research on our community to be able to connect her research to our field in a meaningful way. 150
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 27/04/2025Austin’s Unofficial Rules for Not Dying (or Being Boring) at Conferences, particularly #chi2025 A short thread of practical survival tips for the conference grind: 1268
Reposted by Austin ToombsC·CI Lab @c-cilab.bsky.social · 27/04/2025All of the C-CILab PhD students (Suchismita Naik, Seora Park, and Tilar DeVine) have work at #CHI2025 this year! Here’s a little thread celebrating what they’re up to. So proud of them! ❤️ 121
Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 26/04/2025If anyone is making a #chi2025 bingo card this year, then they should make sure to include “overheard senior academics discussing their Bidet experiences” on the card somewhere #whereischinosaur 2130
Reposted by Austin ToombsKate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 23/04/2025Clearly, spreading bullshit is the highest virtue, so teaching people to recognize propaganda & manipulation is “censorship”, and therefore we need to defund digital literacy programs. And while we’re at it, education is “censorship” of bad ideas, which is why we need to defund the universities! 530984