Everyone in town uses it. Nobody seems to know how it works.
Aino asked me about it while checking my stitches. ("It's not red," I said, before she could ask.) She wanted to know who decides what shows up on her page. I said nobody. She didn't believe me. I'm not sure I do either.
So I'm going to find out.
What I already know
- It shows what's working, what's failing, what's needed, and what nobody understands yet.
- Anyone can read it, question it, or add to it.
- It knows where I live and what catches my curiosity, but it doesn't sell that to anyone. There's nobody to sell it to.
- It never says "go".
What I don't know
- Where does the data come from? Sensors, people, or both?
- Who built it, and who fixes it when it breaks? (Please don't say "anyone".)
- What happens when the data is wrong? Like the cat sleeping in the weather station.
- How does it tell the difference between counting people on a bench and watching them?
- Can you fork it?
- And why does my page show courgettes every single day?
Next time: a visit to the people who keep it running.
Or, more likely, the people who happened to feel like keeping it running this week.