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Austin Toombs

@altoombs.bsky.social
394 followers 260 following 223 posts

🎮🎲🧶🏳️‍🌈🏃‍♂️📚💻 I play video and board games. I knit, crochet, and sew. I’m gay. I run marathons. I’m an Associate Professor at IU. I study technology-mediated relationships and communities through HCI, CSCW, and Social Computing approaches.

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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Y’all, it might be slower and it might seem like a burden, but please share your thoughts and the things you need feedback on with your human friends. Only your human friends can participate in social reciprocity. Each message to an agent is one fewer message you send to a friend.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
That expended social energy is likely not resulting in an equivalent social benefit, especially if it’s based on work related interactions. So people are going home from work, still feeling isolated, but have already drained their social batteries.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I 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.
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LLLwry @lglly.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
💯
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C·CI Lab @c-cilab.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Casper 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.com
A well-designed table doesn’t love the people around it, but it makes lingering possible
Learning from Austin Toombs and the concept of 'implicit care'
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Kate Starbird @katestarbird.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Two 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.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
MONROE DIVISION
JILL HINES ET AL — CASE NO. 3:23-CV-00571
VERSUS — JUDGE TERRY A. DOUGHTY
ALEX STAMOS ET AL — MAG. JUDGE KAYLA D. MCCLUSKY
MEMORANDUM RULING
Before the Court is a Renewed Joint Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter and Personal Jurisdiction [Doc. No. 191] filed by Defendants, Alex Stamos, Renée DiResta, the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, the Leland Stanford Junior University, Kate Starbird, Graphika, Camille François, the Atlantic Council, and Graham Brookie (collectively, "Defendants"). Plaintiffs, Jill Hines ("Hines") and Jim Hoft ("Hoft") (collectively, "Plaintiffs"), filed an Opposition [Doc. No. 207]. Defendants then filed a Reply [Doc. No. 209].
For the reasons set forth, Defendants' Motion is GRANTED.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
It’s so shortsighted to want someone to run on their identity like that. Because if they make literally any mistake, opponents will blame the identity as a category.
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Earthling @ziyatong.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
🎯
@nluewmist / I’m finally reading Dune. This quote which in the first few pages hit hard; “once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only let other men with machines to enslave them.”
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C·CI Lab @c-cilab.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Very 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.com
Patterns of Everyday Care — C·CI Lab
A 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.
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The Onion @theonion.com · 17/06/2026
Woman Dives Headfirst Into Thrilling Adventure By Blindly Purchasing Different Apple Variety theonion.com/woman-dives-headfirst-…
Woman Dives Headfirst Into Thrilling Adventure By Blindly Purchasing Different Apple Variety
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
But do you even need to digitize it? I found some old digital files the other day and kept them even though I knew it was hoarder behavior and I would never use them or look at them again.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Okay… I’m too embarrassed to tell you what I incorrectly thought “Luddites” meant before just now. I knew it was something we say to refer to anti-tech sentiment sometimes, but I was way off on the context lol. Thank you for this video!
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Bsky is probably suspicious about how many people are refreshing your page in such a concentrated time frame haha
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
I saw it and thought “we’re all just here together trying to see if we need to get out of bed” lol
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
I can’t figure out what you’re trying to say.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
I'm also excited about the contributions her dissertation makes to HCI scholarship. Congratulations, Suchi! I can't wait to see you graduate in a few weeks 🥳
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
The finish line is now just around the corner, and I'm so so so proud of her, the work she has done, and the way she overcame some uncharacteristically difficult challenges (COVID-delays, her advisor (me) leaving Purdue, getting a job, moving to California, and dissertating at the same time).
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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".
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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.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 12/04/2026
Still true for #chi2026
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alix e. harrow @alixeharrow.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
okay i am sorry to be that bitch but the one word you can't use to describe this is "unprecedented."
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Congressman Bill Keating @keating.house.gov · 03/01/2026
Donald Trump is no more the legitimate president of Venezuela than was Nicholas Maduro.
Make no mistake, this is one of the most eye opening days in US political history. 

President Trump has just announced that he is taking control of the sovereign country of Venezuela until he feels fit to return it. He will install his Secretary of Defense, his Secretary of State, his and his Joint Chiefs Chairman to run the day to day operations. Additionally he is ordering US oil companies to enter Venezuela and take control of their energy industry. He personally will control billions of dollars that he has no right to access.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Just 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.
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mattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · 03/01/2026
if 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
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Emily L. Hauser (she/her) ❌👑 @emilylhauser.bsky.social · 19/10/2025
I 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
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 04/10/2025
I don’t know what’s normal. I think, according to PCS, I did 41 reviews over the last 12 months. It’s hard to know for sure.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Happy first day of the 2025-26 school year! (I didn’t teach yesterday so today counts)
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Since I'll be an AC, you don't have to worry about spoiling your potential reviewer pool
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 13/08/2025
Academic 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)
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 03/08/2025
Trump 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!
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Elizabeth Spiers @espiers.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Me three months ago:
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Thankful for my co-authors, Paul Parsons, Colin Gray (@graydesign.bsky.social), Jenny El-Shamy, and Anastasia Ostrowski <3
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
Our #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.org
The Ambiguity Amoeba and other Metaphors: Teaching Students to Sketch and Prototype Through Uncertainty | Proceedings of the 7th Annual Symposium on HCI Education
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 28/07/2025
You 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!
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Have a wild idea? A messy problem? Or just something you’ve been meaning to get to? Let’s see if our students can help. Reach out anytime!
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Examples: - Students generated design ideas for consolidating and improving a chatbot ecosystem. - A local candle company reimagined their e-commerce experience, allowing customers to shop based on scent profiles.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
3. You’re seeking design inspiration. Sometimes, all you need is a fresh perspective. Students can help explore “what if” scenarios and provide design concepts to spark new directions.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Examples: - A language learning researcher worked with students to turn study findings into an educational game about making sushi and learning Japanese. - Multiple companies worked with student teams to streamline clunky internal dashboards that had evolved without coordinated design oversight.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
2. You’ve got back-burner projects that need attention. Our students can help you push forward those “nice-to-have” projects that never make it to the top of your list.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Examples: - A startup drone company working with fire departments partnered with our students to explore interface designs to help drone operators collaborate with first responders. - Students helped a travel company explore how influencers and content creators could help drive customer engagement.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
1. You’re facing a UX challenge, but don’t know where to start. Maybe you’ve spotted an opportunity to improve the user experience of a product or service, but aren’t sure how to move forward. Our students can help reframe the problem, design interventions, and clarify tradeoffs between solutions.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Wondering 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.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 07/07/2025
Let’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.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Heyyyyy, 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. #DIS2025
media.tenor.com
a 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 .
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
I 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
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Natasha @nastynatasha--1.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Don’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.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 30/06/2025
What. A. Nerd.
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
Project types and sponsor involvement is flexible. If you have some research or design back-burner problems at work that could use a push, those tend to make great projects! Feel free to reach out with any questions #hci #ux #interactiondesign #design #experientiallearning #hcieducation
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Austin Toombs @altoombs.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
I’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/gqUshj6C
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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