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rc3 hacc preroll music
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Herald: Welcome to the hackrf channel.[br]Today under the title Patching Democracy.
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Today we're talking about the era of[br]digitalization, as well as about the
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understanding of the enormous importance[br]of digital tools in both private and
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public life, because we need it to reduce[br]the world's complexity to an amount that
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we can actually handle. This is something[br]that is very important, for example, in
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democracies. Especially when talking about[br]decision making, like for example, the
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voting advice application that we have in[br]Germany, the Wahl-o-mat is a very good
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example of making parties comparable to[br]common people all over the place. But
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those machines are like those Wahl-o-mats[br]are very expensive and thus they are only
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available for larger elections. And this[br]is a problem that is actually handleable.
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This is what Till Sander does with his[br]voting advice application that is
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called... wait a second
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with his open election compass[br]and he actually was approached by the
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small city of Lüdenscheid to develop[br]something that could actually do something
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that the Wahl-o-mat also does. And when he[br]found out that this is actually something
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that needs to be provided also for smaller[br]elections and that is actually affordable,
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he is actually a web designer, decided to[br]do it in a bigger way. So he wanted to
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make it open source and thus created this[br]platform that he now talks about in his
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lecture that we provide to you right now.[br]You can also ask questions that will be
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answered in the following Q&A and on[br]Twitter, as well as on the IRC. Under the
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hashtag rc3hacc and the channel rc3-hacc.[br]Now enjoy the talk.
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Till Sanders: Welcome to Patching[br]Democracy. This is a short introduction to
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applications like the German Wahl-o-mat[br]and why we might not need to hack
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democracy. In this talk, I will[br]demonstrate how we can improve elections
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and political education everywhere, thanks[br]to free and open source software.
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Researchers of the Friedrich-Ebert-[br]Foundation found that only a third of the
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population believes in a brighter future.[br]Less than half of our society is satisfied
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with how our democracy works. In parts of[br]Germany, this drops even further to about
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a third. Even worse, three out of four[br]Germans feel like politicians don't care
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about their concerns. And lastly, many[br]people even agree that it doesn't make a
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difference which parties form the[br]government. Studies like these question
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the state our democracy is in. Is our[br]democracy broken? Let's take a look at
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some other results of the same study. Only[br]1.3 % want an authoritative figure with
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extensive powers to make the law. With the[br]rise of the extreme right this is a good
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thing. While 88% of us think that[br]politicians make more promises than they
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can keep, the majority acknowledges that[br]politicians do have a difficult job. And
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out of several problems, a great majority[br]identified a lack of participation in
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elections as the biggest problem. Our[br]democracy generally fails to make everyone
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happy and to be fair, that's somewhat the[br]point. But while many people have issues
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with our democracy, they also seem to[br]believe that it is still the way to go.
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Democracy is not broken. It is just our[br]implementation of it that is experiencing
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technical difficulties. Hi, my name is[br]Till, and I'm here to fix this. Not alone,
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of course, but I'm happy to be, you know,[br]someone just doing what he knows best and
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I like all those numbers might suggest I'm[br]not even a political scientist. I'm, in
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fact a designer and web developer. And as[br]such what I enjoy most is the challenge of
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making complex concepts easily accessible,[br]preferably with beautiful user interfaces.
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I'd like to first introduce you to the[br]idea and short history of voting advice
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applications. We will then dig in a little[br]deeper and establish important principles
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that make VAAs successful. There's also[br]going to be a little hands on with the
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FOSS project I have developed in the last[br]year. Once I've shown you the tools, I'll
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talk about how you can run your own[br]election compass and what to consider when
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doing so. And off we go! Our story begins[br]in the Netherlands. In 1989, the Dutch
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Citizenship Foundation, the documentation[br]center of Dutch political parties and the
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faculty of Political Management of the[br]University of Twente start a collaboration
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to develop the Stemwijzer. A booklet[br]containing 60 statements found in the
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programs of political parties and a[br]diskette. Well, it's 1989. The idea proves
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popular and evolves to the first Internet[br]election compass for the Dutch
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parliamentary elections in 1998. Although[br]the project can only attract 6500 voters,
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subsequent implementations in 2002 and[br]2003 attract about 2 million voters, which
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quickly become 5 million voters in 2006,[br]which is about a third of the entire Dutch
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population. Success began spreading to[br]other countries, the first election
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compass I myself ever came across was the[br]German Wahl-o-mat, based on the StemWijzer
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itself, the Federal Agency for Civic[br]Education, the BPB, released the first
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Wahl-o-mat in 2002. It's fair to say that[br]the VAA concept is now well-established in
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Germany and other countries. Usage in[br]Germany has increased to 33% of cast votes
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in 2017. Think about that for a moment.[br]One in three voters has used the Wahl-o-
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mat at some point before going to the[br]ballot. As software projects of the German
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government go, this might well be the most[br]successful yet, doubly so if you consider
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the costs of some spectacular failures in[br]the past. So what did the first voting
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advice applications actually look like?[br]Let's take a look at the first Wahl-o-mat
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from nearly two decades ago. The Internet[br]was quite different back in those days.
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Many user interface patterns were yet to[br]be discovered or refined and users were
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less experienced. On a side note.[br]Technically, this website from 18 years
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ago still runs perfectly fine in a modern[br]day browser. Web technologies are amazing.
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Anyway, despite these slight difficulties[br]and the Wahl-o-mat being a new concept,
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there are very few instructions. This is[br]because the core concept was and still is
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incredibly simple. You are presented with[br]a sequence of statements or a thesis. You
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can choose to approve or reject or remain[br]neutral to a thesis. If you don't really
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understand the meaning or the issue behind[br]it, you can also skip a thesis. After
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about 30 statements, you can choose[br]categories that are more important to you,
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so they are counting double. The political[br]parties or candidates answer the same
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theses. At the end your answers are[br]compared to those of the parties showing
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you potential matches. Fast forward to[br]today. The idea is about 30 years old now.
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In this time it spread not only to Germany[br]but also to Belgium, Finland, Denmark,
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Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Austria,[br]Switzerland and many other countries,
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continents even. The teams behind[br]StemWijzer inspired most European
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countries and others around the world.
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Let's talk about VAAs in more depth. What
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are they actually good for? Why do people[br]use them? How do their mechanisms work and
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does their popularity make them dangerous?[br]So what do we actually want to achieve?
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What is the purpose of voting advice[br]applications? Since their inception, the
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target group are actually young, even[br]first-time voters. I guess the reasoning
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behind this is that the older people get[br]the more experienced they are with the
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political landscape, or at least they[br]should be. The term voting advice
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application suggests that the purpose is[br]to advise users on who to vote for. Now, I
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must say, I've been struggling with this[br]name. I find it counterintuitive because
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from what I've seen, this is actually not[br]the purpose of these projects. And that's
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good because imagine for a second what[br]this would mean. Many VAAs are designed
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and controlled by government agencies. So[br]who would want to live in a democracy
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where the government gives you advice on[br]who to vote for in the election? So
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although it's called a voting advice[br]application, the Wahl-o-mat does not
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actually want to give you advice. It's[br]even written there on the very first page,
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right above the start button. The Wahl-o-[br]mat is not voting advice, but an offer of
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information about elections and politics.[br]I found this disclaimer in every VAA I
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have come across so far. OK, so the[br]purpose of VAAs is, despite their name,
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not to give voting advice. Good. Except,[br]they kind of do, don't they? We don't give
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you any advice well, we do, but don't take[br]our word for it. We've warned you not to
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take this as an advice. Now go ahead and[br]get not-an-advice. Maybe it's just me, but
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I think this is quite german. VAAs have a[br]positive impact on political education.
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This might be the main aspect, they have[br]originally been designed for. VAAs want to
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have a positive impact on political[br]education. As I understand it, this topic
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sadly needs more research. But with the[br]research done so far, we can assume that
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this is indeed the case. It appears to be[br]uncertain to what extent exactly, and this
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will also depend on the individual VAA.[br]But there is a positive impact. VAAs do
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not improve the knowledge about political[br]structures like how the ballot works, how
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the allotment of seats in parliament[br]works, etc. But they can improve knowledge
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about the policy issues, what the upcoming[br]election is about, what parties there are,
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and where the parties stand. VAAs also[br]lead to discussions about these issues and
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parties which can also improve political[br]knowledge in peer groups. So as far as we
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know today, this claim is true and it is[br]an important benefit of election compasses
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or VAAs, because as research shows, most[br]people in Germany are able to place
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parties on the spectrum of left and right[br]correctly. But at the same time, many
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people are unable to place parties[br]correctly when it comes to policy issues.
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So missing political knowledge and[br]misinformation can actually lead to people
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voting against their own interests. VAAs[br]promote electoral participation. What
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makes people vote? To answer this[br]question, we can take a look at the
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reasons why some people don't. And one of[br]the main reasons why some people don't
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vote is because they don't feel like their[br]position is reflected by any of the
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existing parties. Our political system is[br]complex and our political landscape, our
0:13:35.352,0:13:41.320
parties and their programs doubly so.[br]People that have a better understanding
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and more knowledge of the choices they[br]have… are more likely to cast a vote. Just
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imagine you're helping a friend who has no[br]clue about computers decide on a graphics
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card. They either get confused as hell[br]very quickly or they be like, well, I
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don't know, do I even need one? My laptop[br]runs fine and it doesn't have one. Can we
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get pizza now? You see, being able to make[br]an informed decision can make a huge
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difference. And VAAs can help with that.[br]And research tells us that VAA users can
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be 2% to 12% more likely to go to the[br]ballot. The last important background
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topic I would like to touch on is the[br]matching algorithm. These algorithms are
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still subject to debate and some are[br]frequently criticized. I'll spare you the
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history, and instead will jump right in[br]because, one, this topic deserves a talk
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of its own. And two, that talk should not[br]be held by me. But I'll share with you
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what I know. The matching algorithm is[br]responsible for calculating your result.
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After you answered all the theses, your[br]answers are compared to those of the
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parties. The parties get more points the[br]more you agree with them. Sounds simple?
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But how do you calculate this exactly? Say[br]we have an agreement scale of 10 to -10. I
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reply to a different thesis with an[br]agreement of 3. Party A is even more into
0:15:23.402,0:15:33.216
this and goes for 9. Party B is not a fan[br]of this thesis and answers with -3. How
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many points will Party A and B get for[br]this thesis? There are two approaches to
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this. The first has been coined the[br]proximity model, and as the term suggests,
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it focuses on the distance between two[br]points. In this case, Party A and Party B
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are the same distance to my answer, so[br]they will get the same amount of points.
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Seems logical at first, but is this really[br]the best approach to this? I might not
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fully agree with Party A, but I am on the[br]same side, whereas party B is on the other
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side. Wouldn't it be safe to assume that[br]party A is a better match for me? Well,
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probably, yes. The idea is called the[br]directional model. It awards more points
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if the voter and the party go in the same[br]direction. In our scenario, party A will
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receive more points than party B because[br]it is on the same side as I am. Following
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these models, one can easily create a[br]matching algorithm. Why not all VAAs make
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their algorithm's public, there are a few[br]well known ones. The first is the famous
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city block algorithm. It belongs to the[br]proximity model and is still used by the
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Wahl-o-mat albeit with only three options,[br]which has been criticized in the past. In
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this chart, you can see the users answer[br]in the rows and the party's answer in the
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columns. In this area where they meet,[br]you'll find the score for this thesis. For
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example, if I choose to strongly approve[br]the thesis, I'm in the first row. If the
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party agrees with that we meet in the[br]first cell and the party gets the maximum
0:17:32.200,0:17:39.820
score of 1 for this thesis. If the party,[br]however, rejects the thesis, 1st row, 4th
0:17:39.820,0:17:48.110
column, it will only get a score of -5.[br]You see, the city block algorithm strictly
0:17:48.110,0:17:54.159
follows the proximity model: the closer[br]user and party become, the higher the
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score. The classic example of the[br]direction and what is the scalar
0:18:02.360,0:18:07.590
algorithm, the direction or side is far[br]more important here and a party cannot
0:18:07.590,0:18:13.600
receive a positive score as long as it is[br]on the other side of the user's opinion.
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Note also that this must mean that if[br]either the user or the party choose a
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neutral position, the score will always be[br]zero. So why both algorithms have their
0:18:27.758,0:18:34.559
strengths, our goal is to find a model,[br]thats prediction is as close as possible
0:18:34.559,0:18:40.929
to what the user votes for in the end. And[br]there's another group of algorithms that
0:18:40.929,0:18:50.460
tend to yield better results. I'm talking[br]about hybrid algorithms that try to
0:18:50.460,0:18:56.180
combine the approaches of the proximity[br]and directional model. As you can see,
0:18:56.180,0:19:02.771
proximity as well as direction play a role[br]in the scoring. Looking at the colors, you
0:19:02.771,0:19:08.311
can see that this now looks a bit like the[br]first algorithm, the city block algorithm,
0:19:08.311,0:19:14.230
but the green line fades a little in the[br]center. This is the influence of the
0:19:14.230,0:19:25.945
scalar algorithm focusing on the[br]direction. So which one is best? I'm
0:19:25.945,0:19:32.549
afraid we don't know for sure. As always,[br]data will tell. It also depends on your
0:19:32.549,0:19:38.649
intentions and design choices. What we do[br]know is that algorithms based on the
0:19:38.649,0:19:43.720
proximity model tend to favor temperate[br]parties, while those based on their
0:19:43.720,0:19:51.206
directional model gently pushes users to[br]the extreme ends. Considering this, hybrid
0:19:51.206,0:19:58.299
algorithms should yield more balanced[br]results. We must not forget, though, that
0:19:58.299,0:20:04.129
at the end of the day they are still only[br]models, so don't expect any of them to be
0:20:04.129,0:20:14.590
incredibly accurate. The OpenElectionCompass[br]is a free and open source software
0:20:14.590,0:20:20.899
with a simple mission: making voting[br]advice applications available to every
0:20:20.899,0:20:28.218
election to support political education[br]and democracy everywhere. Running your own
0:20:28.218,0:20:34.680
election compass can be a costly endeavor.[br]No more. With the OpenElectionCompass, we
0:20:34.680,0:20:41.080
have a system that is free, transparent,[br]user friendly and accessible. Unlike
0:20:41.080,0:20:46.440
agencies who only run an election compass[br]every few years, a project like this can
0:20:46.440,0:20:53.200
focus on continuous improvement. But[br]enough promises. Let's take a look at the
0:20:53.200,0:21:00.072
features. The OpenElectionCompass was[br]designed to be easy to use and accessible.
0:21:00.072,0:21:06.872
The design is minimalistic, so users are[br]not distracted. Unlike solutions like the
0:21:06.872,0:21:14.241
Wahl-o-mat, it makes use of the available[br]screen size with big theses and buttons.
0:21:14.241,0:21:19.489
Clear color coding provides visual[br]feedback, and as you can see, the
0:21:19.489,0:21:26.128
navigation is not based on previous next[br]buttons, but scrolling. This is quicker
0:21:26.128,0:21:31.730
and far more intuitive, especially on[br]mobile devices. To make this experience
0:21:31.730,0:21:37.159
even smoother, a big, friendly green[br]button helps guide the user through the
0:21:37.159,0:21:43.330
entire process. Whenever it's time to move[br]on, it just pops up ready to take you to
0:21:43.330,0:21:50.159
the next step. The OpenElectionCompass is[br]the first VAA software to pioneer this
0:21:50.159,0:21:57.369
navigation concept. With great success, I[br]might add. Everything you're seeing here
0:21:57.369,0:22:01.650
is also screen reader and keyboard[br]friendly. These things get easily
0:22:01.650,0:22:06.999
overlooked. But as I said, being a[br]continuous project, we can focus on
0:22:06.999,0:22:14.820
important details like these. After we[br]have finished with the thesis, we are
0:22:14.820,0:22:20.611
guided to the selection of the parties.[br]Notice that unlike most VAA's, there's no
0:22:20.611,0:22:25.559
additional step here where we would be[br]asked to select some theses that are more
0:22:25.559,0:22:30.779
important to us. This is another way[br]OpenElectionCompass is improving and
0:22:30.779,0:22:35.799
speeding up the process. We are removing[br]the cognitive overhead of going through
0:22:35.799,0:22:43.519
all these theses again. Instead, you can[br]mark the thesis as important, right while
0:22:43.519,0:22:49.986
you're answering. Usability wise, this[br]makes a lot more sense. But back to the
0:22:49.986,0:22:56.020
parties. We simply select the parties we[br]would like to compare. Again, keyboard and
0:22:56.020,0:23:03.059
screen reader friendly, and proceed to the[br]results. Here we have the classic
0:23:03.059,0:23:11.037
percentage based result view. With most[br]VAAs, this is pretty much it. Usually you
0:23:11.037,0:23:17.068
can go into the thesis one by one and see[br]the statements of the parties, but I
0:23:17.068,0:23:23.559
believe this is the most important part[br]and should not be hidden away. Showing
0:23:23.559,0:23:31.749
these statements should be the default. So[br]I made it the default, when we scroll
0:23:31.749,0:23:38.030
further, we can read the answers of all[br]selected parties in an easy, color coded,
0:23:38.030,0:23:49.129
chat like format. And that's it. A simple[br]to use, accessible, beautiful state of the
0:23:49.129,0:24:02.185
art and free voting advice application.[br]Now comes my favorite part. How do you get
0:24:02.185,0:24:08.540
all this content, theses, the parties, the[br]statements into the OpenElectionCompass?
0:24:08.540,0:24:14.220
Well, of course, by using a big JSON[br]configuration file, that's hardly
0:24:14.220,0:24:21.131
exciting, but you know what, JSON is[br]simple, but for a non-programmer, this is
0:24:21.131,0:24:26.720
a pretty daunting task. And even for[br]programmers working with big JSON files to
0:24:26.720,0:24:33.868
manage content in multiple languages is[br]not something particularly fun. Especially
0:24:33.868,0:24:40.399
if it involves countless emails back and[br]forth to incorporate small changes. So
0:24:40.399,0:24:48.321
guess what? There's a tool for that. Now[br]everyone can read and write the JSON
0:24:48.321,0:24:52.326
configuration files using a friendly[br]visual editor called the configuration
0:24:52.326,0:25:00.073
editor. It makes adding parties, thesis,[br]and statements a breeze. Simply fill in
0:25:00.073,0:25:05.077
the forms and download your ready to go[br]configuration file. It even supports
0:25:05.077,0:25:11.789
adding every content in multiple languages[br]and handles images for you. There is 100%
0:25:11.789,0:25:17.609
feature parity between the configuration[br]files and the editor. And while this is
0:25:17.609,0:25:23.789
only the first step in making the creation[br]of VAAs more accessible, it is a big step
0:25:23.789,0:25:33.850
up from any other tool. And there's more.[br]Let me introduce some of the smaller
0:25:33.850,0:25:40.799
features that make the OpenElectionCompass[br]special. I really want to make
0:25:40.799,0:25:46.470
this technology accessible for everyone,[br]so I took the time to create a single file
0:25:46.470,0:25:51.990
deployment solution that would fit the[br]software, your content and images, all in
0:25:51.990,0:25:59.014
a single HTML file. Is that the most[br]performant solution? No, but let's be
0:25:59.014,0:26:08.820
reasonable. It's perfectly fine for a[br]small town – Definitions: Theses must be
0:26:08.820,0:26:14.629
short and precise. Sometimes this makes it[br]difficult for users to understand them
0:26:14.629,0:26:20.179
because of words or abbreviations they[br]might not know. To help with this, you can
0:26:20.179,0:26:29.210
easily provide small helpers – Solid[br]navigation: As we have seen, the one page
0:26:29.210,0:26:34.989
design approach comes with lots of[br]benefits. To make sure no one gets annoyed
0:26:34.989,0:26:40.569
by too much scrolling around, an[br]intelligent menu is always right at hand.
0:26:40.569,0:26:47.780
That and the big green button helps[br]getting around and no time at all.
0:26:49.350,0:26:54.470
Multilingual: The OpenElectionCompass has[br]been multilingual since the very
0:26:54.470,0:27:00.744
beginning, and not just the interface, no.[br]You can easily provide theses and answers,
0:27:00.744,0:27:06.029
everything in multiple languages, even[br]though this is not a big issue in Germany,
0:27:06.029,0:27:10.900
I was thinking about countries like[br]Switzerland where this can be essentially
0:27:10.900,0:27:18.239
really – Kiosk mode: You can set up a[br]terminal in a public place and put your
0:27:18.239,0:27:23.039
election compass in kiosk mode, this mode[br]will ask users nicely to reset the
0:27:23.039,0:27:27.039
application once they are done or will do[br]so automatically after a period of
0:27:27.039,0:27:34.377
inactivity. Algorithms: The [br]OpenElectionCompass has a flexible
0:27:34.377,0:27:38.161
matching implementation that allows it to [br]support different answer styles and
0:27:38.161,0:27:46.659
algorithms. Because we don't know what[br]might be the best fit for you. Privacy first
0:27:46.659,0:27:52.649
statistics: The OpenElectionCompass now[br]comes with an integrated tool to collect
0:27:52.649,0:27:59.659
statistics in a privacy first design.[br]Users can opt in to submit their answers
0:27:59.659,0:28:05.020
anonymously for research. They can also[br]help to improve the quality of the data
0:28:05.020,0:28:10.970
set by answering more questions regarding[br]their age, gender, education and more.
0:28:10.970,0:28:14.958
I know that this is a difficult topic,[br]so I am taking extra care to get this
0:28:14.958,0:28:20.671
right. We certainly don't want to become a[br]privacy nightmare. We want to help people
0:28:20.671,0:28:31.213
support science in the most privacy caring[br]way possible. By now, you probably want
0:28:31.213,0:28:39.080
to get started building your own election[br]compass. Next up, DIY. There are a number
0:28:39.080,0:28:45.120
of principles when creating a VAA, written[br]down in the Lausanne declaration. If you
0:28:45.120,0:28:49.196
want to run your own election compass, I[br]encourage you to read it. It's not even
0:28:49.196,0:28:56.452
long. Let's go over the most important[br]points quickly. In order to contribute
0:28:56.452,0:29:01.740
sustainably to the good functioning of[br]democracy, VAAs should be open,
0:29:01.740,0:29:08.862
transparent, impartial and[br]methodologically sound. This is important
0:29:08.862,0:29:14.220
because if you're not transparent, there's[br]a good chance that some people or even
0:29:14.220,0:29:20.299
parties try to deny your legitimacy or[br]impartiality. You should really follow the
0:29:20.299,0:29:27.350
approach: We have nothing to fear because[br]we have nothing to hide. A VAA should be
0:29:27.350,0:29:35.380
freely accessible to all citizens. This is[br]fairly obvious, but anyway, make sure that
0:29:35.380,0:29:41.330
your VAA does not require any form of[br]payment. This could be the paywall of a
0:29:41.330,0:29:46.399
media outlet you've partnered with for a[br]promotion. But this could also be less
0:29:46.399,0:29:51.610
obvious, a mandatory collection of[br]statistics. And lastly, keep in mind that
0:29:51.610,0:29:57.289
there are probably more people with[br]disabilities that you might be aware of.
0:29:57.289,0:30:01.619
The OpenElectionCompass helps you with[br]that as it provides decent screen reader
0:30:01.619,0:30:05.968
support and generally follows[br]accessibility guidelines. But you should
0:30:05.968,0:30:12.289
also apply these design principles for any[br]other content you might create around your
0:30:12.289,0:30:20.169
VAA. A VAA should aim at the inclusion of[br]as many parties or candidates that are on
0:30:20.169,0:30:25.759
the ballot as possible. The criteria for[br]the exclusion of parties and candidates
0:30:25.759,0:30:31.929
should be publicly available and[br]justified, and also parties and candidates
0:30:31.929,0:30:38.899
should not be excluded from the tour for[br]ideological reasons. I think this might be
0:30:38.899,0:30:44.850
the most obvious rule, but also the most[br]important. We want to help voters make
0:30:44.850,0:30:50.459
informed choices. So we need as many[br]parties to participate as possible. This
0:30:50.459,0:30:56.369
might at times be a little difficult when[br]parties don't want to partake. But more on
0:30:56.369,0:31:03.549
that later. VAAs should be designed in a[br]simple and intuitively understandable
0:31:03.549,0:31:11.115
manner. OpenElectionCompass, this [br]is the reason why the design of the
0:31:11.115,0:31:17.327
OpenElectionCompass is not fancy at all,[br]a bit boring even. Because I genuinely
0:31:17.327,0:31:22.949
believe that it's how it's supposed to be.[br]Many designers observe that web interfaces
0:31:22.949,0:31:28.892
are starting to look alike too much. And[br]there's some truth to that. But this is
0:31:28.892,0:31:33.620
mainly because we have established a[br]number of patterns that just work and are
0:31:33.620,0:31:40.460
well known to users. So with[br]OpenElectionCompass, I'm in fact building
0:31:40.460,0:31:45.228
upon that. If you want an interface that[br]is usable by as many people as possible.
0:31:45.228,0:31:53.606
Boring is better than fancy. This is not art.[br]This is design. The Lausanne declaration
0:31:53.606,0:31:58.394
holds ourselves to a high standard,[br]but as the original authors stated, it is
0:31:58.394,0:32:03.042
meant as a starting point for discussion.[br]There are a few points I would like
0:32:03.042,0:32:11.630
to add. VAAs should collect user data only[br]on an unobtrusive opt in basis, you might
0:32:11.630,0:32:18.410
want to collect user data such as visitor[br]statistics, answers and polls. There are
0:32:18.410,0:32:23.816
good reasons to do so, but it's only ever[br]happened with a clear opt in solution,
0:32:23.816,0:32:29.269
preferably near the end of the election[br]compass. A project like this should not
0:32:29.269,0:32:39.006
appear greedy. VAAs should collect user[br]data for science, not for profit. The
0:32:39.006,0:32:45.691
collected data should be made publicly[br]available. If you collect statistics in
0:32:45.691,0:32:52.561
your VAA, do it for science. Let political[br]scientists handle the methodology and
0:32:52.561,0:32:58.090
interpretation, not some newspaper. And[br]after the election is done, make the data
0:32:58.090,0:33:08.320
you collected and if possible, your[br]research available for free. VAAs should
0:33:08.320,0:33:13.789
collect user data in a way that is not[br]possible, that it is not possible to trace
0:33:13.789,0:33:19.529
political opinions back to an individual.[br]If you do collect statistics, make it
0:33:19.529,0:33:25.161
impossible to connect answers to a name.[br]Not only for everyone else, but for
0:33:25.161,0:33:30.639
yourself. If you want to collect contact[br]information for further research, save it
0:33:30.639,0:33:43.340
separately from the user's answers. Users[br]trust the VAA, so be trustworthy. OK, so
0:33:43.340,0:33:52.669
where to begin? I prepared instructions[br]how to run your own election compass
0:33:52.669,0:34:02.759
consisting of 10 phases. Phase number one:[br]Preparing. Organization, planning and
0:34:02.759,0:34:08.810
communication are paramount. Before you do[br]anything else, make sure you're all on the
0:34:08.810,0:34:14.460
same page. Do you really want to run an[br]election compass? Who is going to manage
0:34:14.460,0:34:19.840
everything? This person doesn't have to,[br]and in fact shouldn't do everything alone.
0:34:19.840,0:34:25.439
But it is very beneficial to have a single[br]person feeling responsible that everyone
0:34:25.439,0:34:32.310
else completes their assignments on time.[br]Write down your own timeline, get a tool
0:34:32.310,0:34:41.582
to organize your team like Kanban board or[br]a To-do-app. Phase number two: your team.
0:34:41.582,0:34:47.240
You should never run a VAA all on your[br]own, not just because it's an awful lot of
0:34:47.240,0:34:52.620
work and responsibility and requires an[br]extensive skill set, but because it is
0:34:52.620,0:34:57.540
nearly impossible to do it in a legitimate[br]way. You want to support the democratic
0:34:57.540,0:35:03.742
process, so get a team of experts,[br]advisers and supporters working together.
0:35:03.742,0:35:09.760
Start with a list of people. This might[br]include political scientists for advice
0:35:09.760,0:35:15.300
and possibly in charge of the theses, the[br]marketing specialists managing your
0:35:15.300,0:35:22.310
marketing channels, social media, email,[br]etc. A web developer with technical skills
0:35:22.310,0:35:28.977
to get the election Compass online. A[br]media designer, enthusiastic citizens,
0:35:28.977,0:35:33.366
people with good connections to the[br]administration, newspapers and other
0:35:33.366,0:35:42.667
institutions. Someone with great language[br]skills for wording and spelling. Think of
0:35:42.667,0:35:48.090
people that might fit into these positions[br]and contact them. Organize the kickoff
0:35:48.090,0:35:53.127
meeting for your entire team to present[br]your project. The plan, the structure, the
0:35:53.127,0:35:59.230
timeline. Establish your organization[br]tools and communication channel, get
0:35:59.230,0:36:07.059
everyone to work, gather to-dos and assign[br]them and set deadlines. Phase number
0:36:07.059,0:36:15.155
three: The parties. It is important to get[br]the parties on board. Normally, one party
0:36:15.155,0:36:21.061
alone has no choice but to participate.[br]You wouldn't want to be the only party
0:36:21.061,0:36:26.270
missing. But if multiple parties aren't[br]interested, you have a serious problem.
0:36:26.270,0:36:32.273
You should not run an election compass[br]with some parties missing. One or two
0:36:32.273,0:36:38.130
small parties might be tolerable. You can[br]simply ask for a gathering and give them a
0:36:38.130,0:36:42.480
rough idea of what you are planning. At[br]this point, it can be very helpful to
0:36:42.480,0:36:48.994
belong to a reputable institution whose[br]invitation cannot easily be refused. Most
0:36:48.994,0:36:55.400
of the time, parties should welcome your[br]idea, but be prepared for some persuading
0:36:55.400,0:37:03.873
anyways. Phase number four: Preparing the[br]workshop. The theses for your election
0:37:03.873,0:37:09.220
compass obviously cannot be written all by[br]yourself. They need to represent the
0:37:09.220,0:37:15.828
society as a whole. The choice of theses[br]decides over the quality of your election
0:37:15.828,0:37:22.000
compass, you need to get this right. Your[br]theses need to cover the most important
0:37:22.000,0:37:28.839
matters for the next legislature. They[br]need to be objective and impartial. The
0:37:28.839,0:37:34.585
wording of the thesis has to be simple[br]enough to be understood and to the point.
0:37:34.585,0:37:40.042
Take this task seriously, it's the most[br]important and the most difficult. To
0:37:40.042,0:37:45.570
achieve theses of good quality you should[br]run a workshop with a sample of your
0:37:45.570,0:37:52.329
audience. Gather a group of young,[br]probably first time voters, but if you
0:37:52.329,0:37:58.180
like, you can also gather voters of all[br]ages. Make sure the group is representable
0:37:58.180,0:38:05.126
for your audience. No gender, race or[br]religion should be excluded obviously. Set
0:38:05.126,0:38:10.990
a date and find a large enough room with a[br]projector, send out invitations and gather
0:38:10.990,0:38:18.403
replies. Your groups should have about 20[br]to 30 members. Get the political programs
0:38:18.403,0:38:24.040
of all participating parties with the help[br]of your experts, gather topics of
0:38:24.040,0:38:30.350
political interest from the programs and[br]newspapers, and sort them into categories
0:38:30.350,0:38:37.321
like social environment, work, traffic,[br]infrastructure, energy, economy, finance,
0:38:37.321,0:38:45.340
tax, security. You get the gist. This is[br]your workshop material. Now plan the
0:38:45.340,0:38:51.914
workshop. Help your group of voters[br]discover the topics and create the theses.
0:38:51.914,0:38:57.432
What methods are you going to use?[br]Teachers can be very helpful here. What
0:38:57.432,0:39:05.273
materials will you need? Whiteboards,[br]pens, paper, etc. Phase number five: The
0:39:05.273,0:39:12.879
theses. Use the topics and information you[br]gathered to conduct your workshop. With
0:39:12.879,0:39:18.260
your team and your group of voters. In[br]this workshop, you will create a number of
0:39:18.260,0:39:26.080
theses. Most election compasses gather[br]around 50 to even 100 theses for whole
0:39:26.080,0:39:31.879
countries at this stage. It will take you[br]a few hours at least. Take care of your
0:39:31.879,0:39:36.883
guests with, you know, pauses, lunch,[br]snacks and coffee. Collect all theses in a
0:39:36.883,0:39:43.590
list, and don't forget to work on the[br]wording. Now, regarding the theses, there
0:39:43.590,0:39:48.714
are some simple rules and some more[br]advanced rules. The simpler ones are
0:39:48.714,0:39:58.670
these: Can the thesis be easily understood[br]by everyone? Are there words that
0:39:58.670,0:40:02.820
not everyone will know? The[br]OpenElectionCompass can provide hints
0:40:02.820,0:40:12.344
on those, for those. Might the wording be[br]biased? Does the wording match your style?
0:40:12.344,0:40:18.218
Is this a good length? You know, [br]these kind of simple rules. Now, for
0:40:18.218,0:40:22.430
the more advanced rules. It can be [br]quite hard to follow these, but you
0:40:22.430,0:40:30.285
should at least try or maybe get some[br]help with these. Advanced rule number one:
0:40:30.285,0:40:37.162
Theses should not be about ideological[br]values, but actual political policies.
0:40:37.162,0:40:43.431
The first statement is completely vague.[br]Voters cannot get any political knowledge
0:40:43.431,0:40:48.854
from this because ideologically they most[br]likely already know where the parties are
0:40:48.854,0:40:55.342
standing. What's even worse, voters can [br]interpret this thesis very differently.
0:40:55.342,0:41:06.740
So be concrete. Number two: Theses should [br]not be double barreled. It is very easy to
0:41:06.740,0:41:13.900
accidentally merge two theses. And that[br]makes them hard to answer. Every thesis
0:41:13.900,0:41:21.222
should be about one policy and not mix two[br]or more policies. In this example. Voters
0:41:21.222,0:41:27.580
might be OK with soft but not hard drugs.[br]So how are they supposed to answer the
0:41:27.580,0:41:39.730
first statement? Focus your theses. Number[br]three: Theses should avoid
0:41:39.730,0:41:48.140
quantifications. At first, this thesis[br]looks fine, it's clear and short, but what
0:41:48.140,0:41:55.469
if you don't think there should be more[br]surveillance cameras? If I reject this
0:41:55.469,0:42:00.506
statement, what does it mean? It could[br]mean that I'm OK with the numbers of
0:42:00.506,0:42:05.820
cameras or it could mean that I'm[br]completely against them. It's not clear,
0:42:05.820,0:42:11.750
and this makes it hard to match partisan[br]voters. It's often difficult to avoid
0:42:11.750,0:42:19.924
quantification, but sometimes it can help[br]to get down to the real issue. And in case
0:42:19.924,0:42:27.734
of my hometown, this was that some people[br]don't feel safe in public places at night.
0:42:27.734,0:42:38.966
Now it's more of a boolean question, so[br]try to go for these. And number four:
0:42:38.966,0:42:45.816
Theses should avoid qualifications as[br]well. This is a bit like the third rule,
0:42:45.816,0:42:53.360
only this time we don't merge related[br]theses but add more depth to a thesis by
0:42:53.360,0:43:00.060
adding an example. This was taken from the[br]Wahl-o-mat of 2002 and while it was meant
0:43:00.060,0:43:06.510
to just be an example, it makes it more[br]difficult both for the voters as well as
0:43:06.510,0:43:13.070
the matching algorithm. Voters might[br]support gay marriages, but draw a line
0:43:13.070,0:43:20.910
when it comes to adoption. So what do they[br]choose? In this case, it might be helpful
0:43:20.910,0:43:30.906
to be more specific or even split this[br]into two separate theses. This brings us
0:43:30.906,0:43:38.390
to phase number six: The positions. Now[br]it's time to let the parties answer and
0:43:38.390,0:43:44.389
positions themselves. First, decide on the[br]algorithm you want to calculate the
0:43:44.389,0:43:51.309
matches with. This will also determine how[br]many possible answers there will be. Send
0:43:51.309,0:43:57.080
the theses to every party. You'll want to[br]use an online form or similar, as the task
0:43:57.080,0:44:02.840
of collecting all answers can get very[br]tedious. Make also sure to collect the
0:44:02.840,0:44:09.594
logos in appropriate quality and give the[br]parties two to three weeks to answer,
0:44:09.594,0:44:15.182
depending on your timeline. In the[br]meantime, prepare to publish the election
0:44:15.182,0:44:22.242
compass. Contact media outlets and tell[br]them about your story. Contact the
0:44:22.242,0:44:28.490
administration and ask them if they're[br]willing to put up a link on their website.
0:44:28.490,0:44:35.370
Contact schools, teachers, youth[br]organizations and sport clubs and ask them
0:44:35.370,0:44:40.231
if they are willing to share some graphics[br]and a link with their followers once
0:44:40.231,0:44:48.025
you're done. Phase number seven:[br]Evaluating the answers. You know, I have a
0:44:48.025,0:44:53.857
lot of theses and even more answers. The[br]next step is to select the most important
0:44:53.857,0:45:00.228
theses. You can do this in another[br]workshop or on your team. Go through every
0:45:00.228,0:45:05.592
thesis and decide whether it should become[br]part of the election compass. Ask
0:45:05.592,0:45:12.550
yourselves, is this thesis controversial[br]enough? Is it helpful in telling the
0:45:12.550,0:45:20.400
parties apart? At this stage, around 25 to[br]40 theses remain. Too few, and the results
0:45:20.400,0:45:26.824
lose accuracy. Too many, and it would take[br]too long for the voters to process them.
0:45:26.824,0:45:33.730
Phase number eight: Time for a test. By[br]now you should have everything you need.
0:45:33.730,0:45:39.290
Let's run a test, feed your theses,[br]answers and logos to the configuration
0:45:39.290,0:45:44.951
editor to create the configuration file.[br]Try it out, give it to your team and the
0:45:44.951,0:45:49.900
people that participated in the workshops.[br]Gather their feedback, make small
0:45:49.900,0:45:57.278
adjustments until everything is ready for[br]the big day. Phase number nine: Going
0:45:57.278,0:46:03.780
public. About 2 to 3 weeks before the[br]election, you should publish your election
0:46:03.780,0:46:08.940
compass. Tell your web developer in[br]advance, and when the election compass is
0:46:08.940,0:46:18.350
online, tell everyone. And lastly, Phase[br]number 10: Observe. Everything is up and
0:46:18.350,0:46:24.390
running? Good. The only thing left to do[br]now is get your election compass into as
0:46:24.390,0:46:30.090
many hands as possible. Be available for[br]questions and feedback from the public,
0:46:30.090,0:46:36.242
and then wait for the election. Don't[br]forget to vote yourselves. And when the
0:46:36.242,0:46:41.702
election is over, archive the election[br]compass. You can delete it, of course, but
0:46:41.702,0:46:47.220
if you can, just keep it online. It can[br]still be a valuable resource of
0:46:47.220,0:46:52.333
transparency. If you collected any data[br]for research, make sure to share it with
0:46:52.333,0:46:58.700
the word. And lastly, please give back to[br]the OpenElectionCompass, give feedback,
0:46:58.700,0:47:11.300
write about it or improve our funding. And[br]here we are, nearly done. Undoubtedly,
0:47:11.300,0:47:18.720
there are many issues with democracy. Its[br]implementations are incredibly complex and
0:47:18.720,0:47:25.112
nothing that comes out of it is ever[br]perfect. It can be frustratingly slow,
0:47:25.112,0:47:31.096
inefficient, intransparent and even[br]counterproductive. But it's also the only
0:47:31.096,0:47:37.430
form of government that the majority so[br]far managed to agree upon. And it's also
0:47:37.430,0:47:43.111
the only form of government that is[br]evolving continuously. We are right to
0:47:43.111,0:47:48.297
criticize the system when it appears to be[br]moving in the wrong direction. But we
0:47:48.297,0:47:54.590
should not be tempted to hack our[br]democracy. Hacking the system would mean
0:47:54.590,0:48:01.678
bending it to our will. We don't want that[br]and we don't need to. We don't need to
0:48:01.678,0:48:08.450
hack a system that has the inherent[br]ability to change. We can, however, try
0:48:08.450,0:48:14.510
and fix the flaws, and I believe voting[br]advice applications are a way to start
0:48:14.510,0:48:23.010
doing this. A way of patching democracy.[br]Thank you.
0:48:27.070,0:48:41.196
Herald: Thank you so much Till Sanders [br]not only for your lecture, but also for
0:48:41.196,0:48:47.216
the development of this very useful tool,[br]obviously. We still have some questions
0:48:47.216,0:48:52.664
that our community posed on our social[br]media platforms. And I would start with
0:48:52.664,0:48:58.478
the first one: Who would be moderating the[br]content in such apps? Like would it be
0:48:58.478,0:49:03.636
peer moderated? Would it be state election[br]agency or would it be something like what
0:49:03.636,0:49:11.130
kind of moderation would there be?[br]Till: That's a very important question,
0:49:11.130,0:49:19.946
actually. Um, so in Germany with the Wahl-[br]o-mat that's made by by the BPB, a
0:49:19.946,0:49:27.508
government agency. And they develop it in[br]a workshop like the one that I describe in
0:49:27.508,0:49:35.970
the talk together with young first time[br]voters. Because that's their target group.
0:49:35.970,0:49:41.430
But apart from that, they obviously have,[br]you know, political scientists, people
0:49:41.430,0:49:49.810
who've been doing this for two decades[br]now. And if you want to do it yourself,
0:49:49.810,0:50:02.150
you won't have access to these kind of[br]resources. So that can be a problem. And
0:50:02.150,0:50:13.463
so far it worked well. We did this in in[br]Münster, Cologne, Bielefeld, and Siegen.
0:50:13.463,0:50:20.203
We had a team of political scientists who[br]did this. So they had all the expertize.
0:50:20.203,0:50:26.940
And yeah, there's no perfect answer for[br]this. Um, not anyone, not everybody has
0:50:26.940,0:50:36.160
these resources. Just try to do it as good[br]as you can and maybe get some contacts who
0:50:36.160,0:50:43.661
can help you. And we must not forget it's[br]only for political education, not for
0:50:43.661,0:50:49.580
actual voting advice. So it will never be[br]perfect. But to a certain degree that's
0:50:49.580,0:50:52.070
OK.[br]Herald: But there is a question that is
0:50:52.070,0:50:58.550
kind of subsequently to the previous one:[br]This person is wondering, how do you or
0:50:58.550,0:51:04.247
how do we make sure that the data is not[br]corrupted? Like that it's not abused for
0:51:04.247,0:51:11.290
political promotion, for example, or[br]something like this. Like they refer to a
0:51:11.290,0:51:17.870
big removing of Twitter of 20K fake[br]accounts that did political propaganda in
0:51:17.870,0:51:22.190
kinds of millions of tweets. And those[br]were from a couple of countries, which was
0:51:22.190,0:51:28.067
discovered in April 2020. So how could one[br]prevent this in a way, or is it like the
0:51:28.067,0:51:33.524
same that you already stated concerning[br]the first question?
0:51:33.524,0:51:43.548
Till: Yeah, well that's also a problem. It[br]hasn't proven to be a problem so far. So
0:51:43.548,0:51:48.703
as far as I know, there has been no case[br]where this happened, but it could
0:51:48.703,0:51:58.180
obviously happen. And since my tool and a[br]few other tools are open source, there's
0:51:58.180,0:52:07.228
no way we can stop this. But actually, [br]that's the case for any projects out
0:52:07.228,0:52:16.786
there, not only in this field, so many[br]open source projects can be abused. Lets
0:52:16.786,0:52:21.151
look at curl, I think the developer of[br]curl is not allowed to enter the United
0:52:21.151,0:52:30.611
States, because they think he is a hacker.[br]The only thing we can really do is educate
0:52:30.611,0:52:39.294
people about this topic in general and[br]also improve education on VAAs themselves.
0:52:39.294,0:52:51.380
So don't take them too serious and[br]maybe take which ones are not honest.
0:52:51.380,0:52:57.460
Herald: Yeah, this is actually a question[br]that bothers or bugs the users a lot
0:52:57.460,0:53:02.419
because another question is like: How[br]could we ensure that there is no bias in
0:53:02.419,0:53:08.290
the questions which actually connects to [br]the previous questions as well. But they
0:53:08.290,0:53:12.076
were wondering, for example, if the [br]questions, the topic are not evenly
0:53:12.076,0:53:18.883
distributed, which, yeah, actually tends [br]to lead to some kind of bias in the
0:53:18.883,0:53:23.155
questions. But like, this is the same [br]problem, like with open source material,
0:53:23.155,0:53:28.099
obviously, isn't it?[br]Till: Yeah, yeah. That's a problem. So in
0:53:28.099,0:53:32.430
Münster this year, there was another [br]election compass based on the
0:53:32.430,0:53:37.840
OpenElectionCompass, [br]and it was from the BUND-Jugend.
0:53:37.840,0:53:46.450
So they focused on environmental issues[br]and it was a completely separate project
0:53:46.450,0:53:50.490
and it wasn't even the first time they[br]were doing this. In the past they did it
0:53:50.490,0:53:59.380
with like flyers and stuff. And I guess[br]that election compass probably was biased
0:53:59.380,0:54:06.576
because it was part of their campaign, you[br]could say. I mean, they're not a party but
0:54:06.576,0:54:16.560
still. And I think what's most important[br]is that it's transparent. Who is doing
0:54:16.560,0:54:24.540
this election compass. So in Lüdenscheid[br]it was a general youth organization not
0:54:24.540,0:54:34.400
affiliated with any parties, funded by the[br]government. And I think that's a different
0:54:34.400,0:54:43.690
stand really to do that. On the other[br]hand, the project in Münster wasn't that.
0:54:43.690,0:54:48.438
It was biased, yes. But that doesn't make[br]it a bad project. Just people have to be
0:54:48.438,0:54:56.020
aware of that. And I hope we can tackle[br]all these problems in the future with
0:54:56.020,0:55:02.530
something that's more like a platform as a[br]service. Maybe we can build an institution
0:55:02.530,0:55:10.984
around this that can govern all these[br]projects and moderate them a little bit.
0:55:10.984,0:55:15.450
But maybe that's just a daydream. I don't[br]know. (chuckles)
0:55:15.450,0:55:20.340
Herald: OK, but another question that[br]popped up that I find quite interesting as
0:55:20.340,0:55:25.600
well is: Why VAAs can successfully[br]approximate a given user's political stand
0:55:25.600,0:55:30.108
in comparison to the party's answers to[br]the thesis. I thought... like the user
0:55:30.108,0:55:35.398
thought a lot about another issue. The[br]missing knowledge on a theses' actually
0:55:35.398,0:55:40.503
context, like they were wondering if you[br]have an idea how to solve that with a
0:55:40.503,0:55:46.850
similar technology driven tool or[br]something like that, actually.
0:55:46.850,0:55:52.460
Till: Yeah, that's a question I've had for[br]a while. When I first did the Wahl-o-mat,
0:55:52.460,0:55:58.520
that question popped up for me as well.[br]Because there were some questions I didn't
0:55:58.520,0:56:05.650
know anything about. And the idea is that[br]you just skip those questions and they
0:56:05.650,0:56:11.470
completely, they are not counted. That's[br]how they deal with it. But I always
0:56:11.470,0:56:18.804
thought, why don't they tell me more about[br]it, so I can make an informed choice? So
0:56:18.804,0:56:25.795
far, I haven't managed to find the[br]definite answer to this, but now I believe
0:56:25.795,0:56:31.640
they don't do it on purpose. So they do it[br]on purpose, but they don't do it, you
0:56:31.640,0:56:44.669
know? I think the risk would be too high[br]to influence users, because when the
0:56:44.669,0:56:48.870
Election Compass itself tells you[br]everything you need to know about this
0:56:48.870,0:56:56.960
topic, they decide what's true, what[br]information they give you about this
0:56:56.960,0:57:03.360
topic. And I think it's incredibly[br]difficult to be really objective when
0:57:03.360,0:57:10.451
creating such content. So I guess[br]that's the reason why they don't do it.
0:57:10.451,0:57:14.483
And I think it's a good reason, actually.[br]So people should get information somewhere
0:57:14.483,0:57:20.430
else, multiple sources.[br]Herald: So you would not lobby for some
0:57:20.430,0:57:24.680
kind of option that you could, you know,[br]expand like you are a open source project,
0:57:24.680,0:57:31.300
for example, to cover that one as well?[br]Till: No, I don't think so. Actually, if
0:57:31.300,0:57:38.108
you scroll down all the way, you can see[br]the party's answers. And I did it on
0:57:38.108,0:57:46.480
purpose that you can... it's more like a[br]chat. So they can actually discuss that in
0:57:46.480,0:57:52.820
a way and you can read their answers and[br]then decide what, who you believe.
0:57:52.820,0:57:59.320
Herald: Yeah. All right. And you are[br]actually doing this by yourself, you
0:57:59.320,0:58:06.920
founded this a year ago, some bit prior[br]because you saw the problems that were
0:58:06.920,0:58:12.914
there. But how could one join the party?[br]Like how could one help out? How could
0:58:12.914,0:58:20.770
somebody work with you on this project?[br]Till: Yeah, well so I have lots of ideas
0:58:20.770,0:58:27.340
how you could improve this project. And so[br]far I'm managing fine to do it on my own
0:58:27.340,0:58:35.411
in my free time. And I don't intend to do[br]it full time. It's a good side project,
0:58:35.411,0:58:45.855
but someday I think more people should get[br]involved. And there are several ways to do
0:58:45.855,0:58:55.410
so. So the project is based on Vue.js and[br]everyone who is familiar with that can
0:58:55.410,0:59:05.780
easily join. There are small and big todos[br]that could be done, and many ideas will
0:59:05.780,0:59:14.130
require a server side application. So[br]that's something I've been working on in
0:59:14.130,0:59:21.445
the past few weeks. So that's also[br]something that could attract
0:59:21.445,0:59:29.410
contributions.[br]Herald: OK, and another question I have
0:59:29.410,0:59:35.030
left would be: Will the slides be[br]available somewhere like do you have your
0:59:35.030,0:59:40.150
presentation somewhere online? So people[br]who are interested, who love the design
0:59:40.150,0:59:47.670
and content, like the user who posed this[br]question could still grab it somehow?
0:59:47.670,0:59:57.495
Till: Thanks, first. Yeah surely, the[br]project already has a website and many
0:59:57.495,1:00:04.033
things in the presentation are also on the[br]website. But everything, I will add them
1:00:04.033,1:00:13.070
in the next days, I think. And as far for[br]the slides, I can, I will upload them
1:00:13.070,1:00:21.780
somewhere unless I don't know you do that.[br]Um, I don't know. You have like this hack
1:00:21.780,1:00:29.560
media site where you, where you post some[br]videos. Herald: So we are allowed to put
1:00:29.560,1:00:35.830
them online for you.[br]Till: Yeah sure. They will definitely be
1:00:35.830,1:00:39.304
available somewhere.[br]Herald: OK. Amazing. Is there something
1:00:39.304,1:00:44.780
left for you to say to that. You just want[br]to get off your heart?
1:00:44.780,1:00:52.738
Till: Well, I really enjoyed doing this[br]and I myself learned a lot about VAAs in
1:00:52.738,1:01:01.390
the process, that was nice. And I'm just[br]happy that so many people listened to me.
1:01:01.390,1:01:06.165
Herald: Thank you very much for being[br]here. For your presentation, for your
1:01:06.165,1:01:13.282
work, of course. And for being here, for[br]joining us. We will go ahead on this
1:01:13.282,1:01:21.617
channel with air filters. It starts at 8[br]p.m., of course, and it will be some sort
1:01:21.617,1:01:28.180
of an instruction how to build your own[br]air filters that actually get your air
1:01:28.180,1:01:35.130
clean and virus free by using your 3D[br]printer. For now, we say thank you very
1:01:35.130,1:01:39.814
much and say: See you next time.
1:01:39.814,1:01:48.300
postroll music
1:01:48.300,1:01:59.520
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