The Garden of Computational Delights

Beneath the utilitarian purpose of computation, computing is also a source of delight and wonder. Software is not just databases and mail merges or SaaS and spreadsheets; it's creative coding and simulated cities, code poetry and bulletin board systems. It's websites that dazzle and iPhone apps that make the heart sing. And it's sometimes even spreadsheets, coerced to dance and do all manner of weirdness. All of these approaches to computing are what am collecting here, and bundling under the term "garden of computational delights." This is a list of places that collect or catalyze sources for being enraptured by the web, programming, and the wider world of computing. Or, as per Tim Hwang and Omar Rizwan, this is a garden of all the different places you might discover where "the computer is a feeling."

Collections and Communities

Naive Weekly

Weekly collection of online delights.

The HTML Review

Magazine for highlighting playfulness on the web.

Future of Coding

Community for those reinventing programming and computing.

Malleable Systems Collective

Community focused on malleable software.

Rhizome

Hub for digital art and culture.

School for Poetic Computation

School and community related to art and code and society.

tiny internets

A web that is "more natural and human-first"

OpenProcessing

Community for generative art and creative coding

HTML Energy

Hub that channels the wonder of HTML

Awesome Creative Coding

Sprawling list of resources and information related to creative coding

Let's Get Creative

A collection of playful online creative tools

neal.fun

A collection of web-based delights

The Whimsical Web

A list of fun and weird websites

List of Web Publications

A collection of places on the web that publish computational delights, from Kristoffer Tjalve

Futures of Computing

A collection of ideas from Spencer Chang

Gatherings, Conferences, and Awards

!!Con

Conference for delight in computing.

Strange Loop

Conference with lots of programming weirdness. Last one is in fall 2023.

Naive Yearly

A gathering for a "quiet, odd & poetic web."

Tiny Awards

Supporting a smaller web.

Recurse Center

Retreat and fellowship program for programmers.

Tools and Learning

Computer Utopias

Course on computing weirdness and delight

Digital Gardening Tools and Resources

Building your own digital garden

mmm

Easily build playful websites

Kinopio

Platform for creating "lively freeform spaces"

Processing

Programming language and sketchbook for easily making programs

HTML

HyperText Markup Language

The Garden of Computational Delights is a continuing and idiosyncratic project. If you would like something to be included in it, please contact Samuel Arbesman (please note that I am focusing on including collections, hubs, and tools in this list, rather than individual creators).