Pattern Language
To start out the new year, I decided to rebuild our codebase from scratch. One of the things I wanted to improve in this iteration is to make the vocabulary within Rookery more consistent.
Community Basics
American Cyborg LLC — The company that built and maintains Rookery.
Rookery — A collection of bird nests; we want to emulate that communal protection of precious objects.
Collector — We refer to Rookery users as Collectors.
Art Object — We built Rookery for art objects in particular, but it can be useful for all sorts of things.
Index — An index is a pointer to things; in this case, items in a database.
Room — Rooms are the primary method of organizing Art Objects.
First Encounter
Word-of-Mouth — We hope for most people to hear about our software through friends, family, and colleagues.
Homesite — https://rookery.art/ — Here, people can read about and sign up for Rookery; payment is handled by Stripe.
Terms of Service — https://rookery.art/terms — American Cyborg agrees to keep user data private and secure. Users agree to respect the Rookery community and staff.
Technical Support — rookery@americancyb.org — Our team we will respond as quickly as possible.
Welcome Packet
Rookery Handbook — Reading this document is encouraged and appreciated.
Robin’s Directory — A sample directory with a dozen art objects can be downloaded at https://rookery.art/robin
Local Directory
Local Directory — A dedicated place on the hard drive to store all the data they upload to Rookery, ideally backed up to cloud storage.
Object Folders — Each object is given a dedicated folder in the Local Directory, containing all Contextual Files.
Infosheets — A plain-text file that summarizes everything known about the object.
Contextual Files — We encourage incorporating as many additional files as possible.
Infosheet
Title — An art object’s title is important for viewing collections as a list.
Artist — Please ensure the artist’s name is spelled correctly before entering it in the archive.
Year Created — Viewing art objects chronologically is very information-rich.
Year Acquired — Viewing art objects autobiographically is very information-rich.
Dimensions — Art dimensions are ordered Length x Width x Height.
Description — It’s good for both accessibility and machine-learning reasons to include detailed text about the appearance of the object.
Story — Here, we want the story of how and why this object was acquired. This includes anything known about why the artist made it.
Notes — This is where to include archival notes like medium, provenance, value, etc.
Contextual Files
Plain Text (.txt) — Additional text files beyond the Infosheet are encouraged as very efficient data vectors.
Portable (.pdf) — The PDF format allows for scans, press releases, certificates of authenticity, etc.
Image (.jpg) — Multiple images are encouraged, and often required to fully capture art.
Floating Image (.png) — The PNG format allows for images with transparent backgrounds.
Animated Image (.gif) — GIF, the most charming format, is strongly encouraged.
Audio (.mp3) — Voiced descriptions of the object, as well as recounted stories about it, are excellent archival material.
Video (.mp4) — For installation and time-based art, a video is often required to fully capture it.
Threshold
Login Screen — A starry portal into the Rookery web app.
Email Input — The email address used to register for Rookery.
Passphrase — A string of subtly-related words for authentication.
Validation — User credentials are matched against our system, with a password reset option.
Load Screen — A shimmery animation confirms entry.
First Visit — Users logging in for the first time will be offered a tour of the platform.
Lobby
Lobby — A welcoming entry room.
Lobby Center — This is the main interactive surface.
Lobby Left — This is a selection menu.
Lobby Right — This is a data monitor.
Lobby Color — A user-selected wall color, adjustable in Lobby Left
Indices
Room Index — A sortable list of all rooms.
Object Index — A sortable list of all objects.
Map — An editable selector for locating rooms.
Timeline — A side-scrolling, personal chronology or the collection.
Settings — A panel for adjusting user credentials.
Room
Room — The primary mode of organizing art in Rookery
Room Center — Where object images are curated.
Room Left — The navigation menu.
Room Bottom — The object selector.
