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Theo

@earthowned.bsky.social
456 followers 714 following 297 posts

Scholarly Communications Manager in the award winning Library Research Support team at the University of Edinburgh. Will talk about Open Research/Science, running and whimsical fluff.

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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
It was hard to pick 9 games that shaped me, but here’s a few that clicked (in no particular order).
9 significant computer games that shaped me
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Astronomer Royal for Scotland | Catherine Heymans @astroroyalscot.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Help! Parton Community Council has 60 days to raise £70k to buy Parton Kirk (resting place of James Clerk Maxwell). They plan to turn it into a visitor centre celebrating our great hero! The other buyers could turn it into long-term storage 😬 Even £5 would help 🙏🧪⚛️ www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding...
justgiving.com
Help raise £70000 to Save Parton Kirk – JustGiving Crowdfunding
Iʼm raising money to Save Parton Kirk. Support this JustGiving Crowdfunding Page.
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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
What's most upsetting me as a journal editor is that many papers we receive where AI use is disclosed for editing and language refinement actually appear to have been ruined rather than improved by AI. We get what seem like promising underpinning studies, but totally obscured by over-complex text.
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
The new issue of Leviathan has landed! 38 articles discuss topics including hegemonic masculinity, gender and authoritarianism, collective mobilisation, public trust, and a lot more! journals.ed.ac.uk/leviathan/is...
Cover of Leviathan Volume 16 Issue 2, showing a broken chess piece and the title 'Against the Grain'. The text reads: “As a fully student-run undergraduate publication, we believe that students, at any point in their educational journey, are not simply passive recipients of long-held knowledge. Rather, we are a community of eager minds, actively contributing to the most important academic conversations.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.2218/hmva7e31
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BillieB @billie.bookstoreromanceday.org · 06/08/2026
Now is a great time to make the switch from Audible to Libro.fm Why? Because Libro will be adding e-books to their offerings & one of the features will be "LibroSync: When you own both formats, you can toggle between the ebook and the audiobook, or follow the text while you listen."
libro.fm
Buy audiobooks & support local bookstores
Libro.fm makes it possible for you to buy audiobooks directly through local bookstores.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
Christopher Nolan’s interpretation of The Odyssey was alright, but not a patch on the classic 1980s kids TV show Ulysses.
A DVD cover picture for the 1980s kids cartoon show Ulysses 31. The titular hero stands prominently holding a glowing sword, with his companions Telemachus, Yuma and Nono watching on.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
"...Secondary Publishing Right is a legislative response to the abusive practice of non-negotiated publishing agreements that require authors to sign away their rights in return for journal publication – and very little else." legalblogs.wolterskluwer.com/copyright-bl...
legalblogs.wolterskluwer.com
Misleading Claims about the Secondary Publication Right
In her recent post, Molly Stech of STM, the international association of scientific publishers, discusses Problems Presented by the Secondary Publication Right. According to its website, “STM advances...
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
Ban disposable BBQs. Burnt patches of grass in my local park wind me up far more than is objectively reasonable.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
I see the bus stop debating society are at it again in Edinburgh.
Tatty white stickers with graffiti stuck on scratches see through Perspex side of bus shelter with fuzzy road view behind. Graffiti says “Reform UK are Nazis”
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
We said goodbye to our 20 year old cat today. I wasn’t too fussed when we first got her but she stole my heart anyway. Absolutely gutted 😿
Ginger cat running on green grass
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Pessimists Archive @pessimistsarc.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
In 1908 the Lancet called for an 18+ age limit on reading in bed for U.K. children.
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Dr Beth @drbeth.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Very pleased we're able to support @ojcollective.bsky.social. If you're wondering what on earth to do with your Wellcome block grant now you can't charge back TAs to them - think about supporting some Diamond resources!
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
Westworld should have been canned after Season 1
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Simon is on strike ✊🏻 @simonxix.com · 10/06/2026
Here is the slide that was removed. I'll leave you to infer which private companies might have complained about the suggestion that you think twice about buying their products.
A slide with logos for Elsevier and Ex Libris covered with a red circle-backslash symbol like the Ghostbusters logo.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
A brand new article from @kjsanders.eurosky.social @alittleroad.bsky.social @scholtom.bsky.social @kirahopkins.bsky.social @anna-r-hughes.bsky.social has been published in the new(ish) Scottish Journal of Open Research: journals.gla.ac.uk/SJOR/article...
journals.gla.ac.uk
View of From mission to market: a case study and analysis of the commercialisation of institutional publishing
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Laura Woods @woodsiegirl.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
This week is Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week! Although the week is almost over, I thought I’d post a thread about my experience as I was diagnosed with MS last year. This will be a long thread, so please feel free to mute! I promise I won’t be offended :) 1/ #MSThinkAgain
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Katherine Heller @katherineh.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Another vanishingly rare post from me on here to say that my PhD thesis has now been uploaded to the Edinburgh Research Archive! Find it here: doi.org/10.7488/era/... Images of the manga/anime had to be redacted for copyright reasons, but hopefully there is still something to take from it!
doi.org
Fan culture and retranslation: the Sailor Moon franchise
This thesis considers the influence of fan audiences and fan translations on professional retranslations of Japanese manga and anime. As English-speaking manga and anime audiences have changed since t...
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor of Mankind had sat immobile on the Golden Throne….He is the Carrion Lord of the vast Imperium of Man for whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day so that He may never truly die”
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Registration is now open for Edinburgh Open Research Conference (@edopenresearch.bsky.social) 2026! 📆 Thursday 18 June, 2026 📍 50 George Square, Edinburgh & Online Register to attend in person: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-... Register to attend online: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/edinburgh-...
eventbrite.co.uk
Edinburgh Open Research Conference 2026 (in Person)
Good Research is Open Research - so what's stopping us from making research more open? Join the conversation at EORC26 person!
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Dermot Lynott @dermotlynott.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
“I am a leading academic, who publishes regularly in high impact journals, and I can assure you that the data are indeed available on request.”
Bob Mortimer holding up a card on game show Would I Lie to You?
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Open Book Publishers @openbookpublish.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
This scam seems to be becoming more prevalent -- some of our authors are being targeted by it. More information about how it works is available here: medium.com/@claude.whit...
medium.com
The New “Book Club” Scam Targeting Authors and How to Spot It
A Public Service Post for Writers
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Owen Blacker @owen.blacker.me.uk · 13/04/2026
Your Kindle's not obsolete, it just needs a jailbreak — and I'll show you how it's done You can transform your old Kindle — even a bricked device — into the ultimate open-source reader. Here's how. www.zdnet.com/article/your...
zdnet.com
Your Kindle's not obsolete, it just needs a jailbreak - and I'll show you how it's done
You can transform your old Kindle - even a bricked device - into the ultimate open-source reader. Here's how.
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Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
“Policy analysis reveals that only combined interventions such as review infrastructure investment paired with institutional quality standards can restore positive knowledge production” 👀
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ithinkwellhugh.bsky.social @ithinkwellhugh.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
Conference bullies. It's not on, for senior researchers to humiliate junior colleagues in public at conferences. The chairperson, other researchers or maybe even you need to step in. #PhDchat #ECRchat #postdoc #PhDforum
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Rebecca Wojturska @beckywojturska.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
Sadly my wee publishing company is closing next month. I’m clearing out my goffice and offering 66% off all our exceptionally talented author’s books. Sales and shares appreciated!
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Ginny Barbour @ginnybarbour.bsky.social · 11/04/2026
So many fantastic things from this mission but this timely quote stood out for me Hansen said "Our purpose on the planet as humans is to find joy, to find the joy in lifting each other up, by creating solutions together instead of destroying," www.cbc.ca/news/science...
cbc.ca
Artemis II astronauts prepare for experience of 'riding a fireball through the atmosphere' to get home | CBC News
The Artemis II crew woke to the sounds of Queen and David Bowie's classic Under Pressure as they continued their journey through space Wednesday. Now preparing for Friday's re-entry, the astronauts also reflected on watching the eclipse of the Earth, the camaraderie of the mission and humanity's purpose on Earth.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
I was honoured to join the @openingthefuture.bsky.social team on this panel. What a great bunch of folk working hard for a fair, just and open future for scholarly books!
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Jennie @unabridgedopinions.com · 01/04/2026
On this day of mean jokes, I would like to point out that @the-phoenix-comic.bsky.social consistently understands the assignment. This year it is soup, but my eldest is hoarding it, so for your enjoyment-last year’s incredible offer.
an april fool’s issue of The Phoenix Comic. That year’s was “Total Brick” magazine. Featuring things like “what’s for brickfast?” and “spherical bricks”. the back of the “brick” magazine is an advert for “brAIck” which is the “Ai brick you can mostly trust”. It says “why settle for the real thing?” and “just because I’d never live in a BrAIck house doesn’t mean you shouldn’t” from “Mark Zuckerbrick”
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Cancer Research UK is fed up of paying too much for open access publishing so they are completely stopping funding this activity: news.cancerresearchuk.org/2026/04/01/w...
news.cancerresearchuk.org
Why we won’t be funding open access publishing any more - Cancer Research UK - Cancer News
The open access movement was bold and promising, but ultimately disappointing. Now is the time to stop and call for a new way to make publishing work…
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Simon is on strike ✊🏻 @simonxix.com · 31/03/2026
I mentioned my work on Edinburgh Diamond during this presentation but I am on strike as a @ucuedinburgh.bsky.social member, Edinburgh didn't pay for me to be at #UKSG2026, and I replaced my slides with this. Please donate to our fighting fund if you're able. www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/hff-fundrais...
QR code for https://www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/hff-fundraiser-campaign and text saying "This slide would have been information about my work at University of Edinburgh but UCU Edinburgh is on strike this week because of senior management’s refusal to rule out compulsory redundancies.

Instead please scan for more information on the strike and to donate to the Hardship & Fighting Fund."
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 31/03/2026
In an Edinburgh Diamond triple whammy, @simonxix.com also presented at @uksg.bsky.social on the importance of opting for open source software instead of exploitative proprietary systems 💪 #UKSG2026
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Lucy Barnes @alittleroad.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
In the plenary session after this, it was notable that a lot of the questions focused on the affordability of library and experimental publishing in a crisis. I find myself thinking back to this quote -- if these types of publishing matter, how can we collectively create and sustain them? #UKSG2026
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Wonderful seeing our very own @earthowned.bsky.social at the @uksg.bsky.social plenary this morning, talking about the diversity of publishing models and how Edinburgh Diamond is approaching experimental publishing. Some wonderful shout outs for @oipassoc.bsky.social too! #UKSG2026
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 26/03/2026
Looking forwards to next week's UKSG conference in Glasgow where I'm part of a panel discussing what it means to be a University Press, and the future of scholarly books.
A promotional slide for the UKSG conference on 30th March 2026 for a panel session I am involved in entitled "A fox in the henhouse? University presses, corporate takeovers, and implications for the future of scholarly books".
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
Someone is having a bad day.
A bicycle cable lock cut in half lays forlornly on a cobble stone ground serving as a blunt reminder to the unwary to lock your bike properly.
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Frank Cogliano @frankcogliano.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
You're not exactly FDR.
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Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 26/02/2026
'For example, in Edinburgh, the university sector's contribution is reckoned to be equivalent to ten Commonwealth Games as the University generates £7.52 billion per year to the UK economy compared with £740 million over seven years by the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth games'.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Five women authors by whom I’ve read (and loved) at least five books: Anne Leckie Martha Wells Ursula Le Guin Naomi Novak Genevieve Cogman (I found this more difficult than expected and must do better. My new reading challenge for 2026 is to read only women authors)
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Richard Sever @richardsever.bsky.social · 22/02/2026
"For open infrastructure, the burden of AI harvesting is existential...a swarm of AI scrapers mirror entire collections, the cost of being open rises sharply...degraded performance for legitimate users, polluted metrics, staff time diverted to firefighting" www.digital-science.com/blog/2026/02...
digital-science.com
No shortcuts to research information citizenship - Digital Science
Being open isn't enough - true "research information citizenship" requires a robust, genuinely open research infrastructure.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
Academics write research papers, then give them to publishers for free. They them expect Libraries to buy subscriptions to read the content, to pay article processing charges, to buy access to citation databases and now AI tools? Absolutely not indeed!
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
I’ve not looked at any online socials for a while but checked in today to see what’s going on. First thing I see is someone mocking something I wrote online. No thanks, I think I’ll go back to watching the skiing.
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Simon is on strike ✊🏻 @simonxix.com · 15/02/2026
Just this week, I had to crank up the bot protection on some of our journal platforms. "AI" bots are putting huge stress on open infrastructure in ways that organisations simply can not afford.
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
This is me watching BingBot flood my #OpenAccess repository causing it to crash for the 1000th time in a few days.
media.tenor.com
a man in a white shirt is making a funny face and saying , `` khaaa ! ''
Alt: Captain Kirk shouting ` khaaaaaaaan ! '' From the best start trek movie - Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
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Data Education in Schools @dataschools.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
📚 We are proud to announce the release of "Teaching for Digital Futures": our guides and resources to help educators teach digital, data, and AI literacies in the classroom, in one Edinburgh Diamond-published book series ⬇️ @edfuturesinstitute.bsky.social @morayhouse.bsky.social
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
We are starting off 2026 with a brand new book series from @dataschools.bsky.social! Teaching for Digital Futures provides practical resources to help educators confidently teach digital, data & AI literacies. There are currently four books for you to read & share! books.ed.ac.uk/edinburgh-di...
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Theo @earthowned.bsky.social · 01/01/2026
People say Hogmanay in Edinburgh is the best, but I tend to prefer New Years Day where I was able to cycle round a park with an extinct volcano in the morning and mess around on a near deserted beach in the afternoon.
Man doing a star jump on an empty beachOrange bike propped on a kerb next to a road running through a green park with hills in the background
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 23/12/2025
That's a wrap! Edinburgh Diamond is officially out of office until 5th January 2026. We have had a wonderful year, working with incredible editors and authors from @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social and beyond! Here's to 2026 – may Diamond Open Access continue to strengthen! 💎
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Edinburgh Diamond @edinburghdiamond.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
A huge welcome to Simon Bowie (@simonxix.com) – the new technical developer working on Edinburgh Diamond & our External Open Hosting Service. We are big fans of the work Simon has done with Copim & other open access & open source communities, and very much look forward to our next chapter together!
media.tenor.com
a drawing of a laptop that says ' i love open source ' on it
ALT: a drawing of a laptop that says ' i love open source ' on it
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