I had occasion recently to look up local registered associations (was interested in this some years ago and even blogged about it). ROS now provides the list in PDF form:

https://www.polis.gov.bn/ROS/SENARAI%20PERTUBUHAN%20BERDAFTAR.pdf

I'm always interested to see all the different types of persatuan registered.

Lots of sports ones. Lots of occupation-based ones, even those you might not expect. And of course those related to welfare, locations (district/kampong), hobbies.

There are 545 listed in the PDF - have a look if interested!

The document seems to be last updated Nov 2022. Thanks to @mfirdaus for looking that up! [Screenshot: His; Markup: Mine]


Some societies that I spotted:

Ref 1416, Persatuan Apresiasi Felin / Feline Appreciation Society (FAS) 🐈‍⬛
Ref 1602, Persatuan Gerakan Ibu Tunggal (PGIT)
Ref 990, Persatuan Bekas Kakitangan Kerajaan / Ex-Government Employees Association (PEKIRA)*

* lol should I join

If you'd like more info about ROS, this seems to be their site for now. It includes their history & downloadable forms:

https://www.polis.gov.bn/ROS/PENDAFTAR%20PERTUBUHAN%20(ROS).aspx

There used to be a website for this, circa 2013. You could submit ROS applications through the site! Had an unfinished draft on there, never got sent.

I don't know if I've saved any screenshots. The Wayback Machine has a plain archive of the site here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20130422102334/https://ros.police.gov.bn/orbeon/society-home/welcome/

2022 PDF List of Associations Registered with Brunei's ROS

Having self-esteem is about how comfortable you feel taking up space. That can be read in many ways:
- physical space (being present at an event)
- digital space (sending someone a text)
- time & company (talking to someone for 5 mins)
- expressing yourself (sharing an opinion)

And you take up space in:
- other people's lives (family, friends, clients or customers, colleauges, neighbours, on and on)
- public (a public social media account; being a public figure; creating media or art or organising an event for public consumption)

When I was growing up: if you were dealing with a lack of self-esteem and confidence, there'd be adults and school programs, and later maybe, books and workshops, seemingly centred around helping you become.. more. More confident. More self-assured. More assertive.

I'm a more assertive, confident person than I was at 17. I can remember many times in my life where I learned to be more assertive.

Making small changes in my personal life to assert boundaries. Learning to find my voice in a workplace. Stepping up to causes that I believe in.

Contrast to giving in to low self-esteem:

Having no boundaries, not asserting your personal needs. Feeling unseen or unheard at work. Not feeling confident enough to join new communities, even when you want to be involved in a cause.

But can't self-esteem fluctuate throughout your life? Or be an ongoing matter?

I've achieved more since my young adult years. I've done harder things than send a text. And yet this week, I have done just that. Struggled to send a text.

That is me feeling doubt abt taking up space. For the person I was trying to text, I didn't want to take up that space in their inbox and their time, if I wasn't prepared for it.

If I couldn't be at my best, assured abt what I was going to say. And so, I didn't. Not until then.

(The last tweet is also about my perfectionist tendencies. Have tweeted a lot about that before:
https://twitter.com/search?q=from%3Apossiblyzebra%20perfectionist&src=typed_query&f=live)

Does anyone do the thing where you hesitate to participate socially bc low self-esteem?

You don't join in the conversation in a group chat? You don't want to call up a friend, bc what if you're intruding on their personal time; then the call just never happens? I still do that.

I also write, over and over again, in these public digital spaces. On Twitter, on my sites. Believing that what I'm saying is worth expressing.

But many times I've *not* posted a tweet or a blog post, feeling doubtful about taking space with what I'm expressing or sharing.

I'm sure there are people who have never felt this way before. I can't imagine trying to explain this to others who don't ever worry about the way they take up space.

I guess, like, be kind?

(What works to dig you out of a low self-esteem hole? Thoughts?)

How does this tie into my previous thoughts on self-esteem as combination of self-perception and others' perception?

Well, this is not a fully-formed idea haha, just a couple of tweets. It probably won't be the last time I think about it.

Lol and even now, I hesitate to post this. I've not been active this year in expressing myself in my public digital spaces. I'm rusty.

I've run through, in my mind, the people I know, still using X/Twitter, who are going to read this.

But I'll do it. Hitting that post button.

I think this was the last time I had a longer conversation about this on here. It doesn't really tie into the themes of this current thread?


https://twitter.com/possiblyzebra/status/835767897754484736?s=20

Taking Up Space: Self-Esteem and Expression

Power back on, phew.

What happened for me: A flurry of texts when the power went out, from those in affected areas. A number of forwarded screenshots.

🧵 Some observations follow

https://twitter.com/faiqairudin/status/1714139365025427881?s=20

The screenshots were from yesterday's IG posts by DES Brunei. I didn't think they explained today's outage. (Here they are with correct date context)

When there's an incident (esp. with a public utility) affecting a lot of people/areas at once, people want to know what's happening. Where to get answers?

Maybe start with word of mouth? Ask neighbours, family, colleagues, friends. Confirm that there are outages

Then what next?

I'd guess that few will check for official sources. DES Brunei (IG), govbn or td123bn (IG/Telegram/FB).

Interestingly, the day-old DES statements get shared around, i.e. people believe in official sources when they exist (but do not check that they are current or relevant).

Some speculation & self-research happens. Info is compiled & corroborated. People are trying to find patterns. (I know I did!)

I saw a forwarded list of affected areas. This includes some details like "power went off briefly in Jerudong".

Lastly, perhaps some look to their social feeds or news feeds, when not directly asking others on social media

I don't have a conclusion. It was a mild case of disinformation. Less than 1 hour after the outage, DES had a new post acknowledging it. (Link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyfIeEpB1eJ/)

Power Outage Observations ⚡️

(a small criticism on our endemic phase, if I may 🇧🇳) 

endemic phase doesn't mean "Covid doesn't exist anymore".

it means "some ppl will get Covid, but most will not need hospitalization and it's not going to disrupt our lives".

✨ it's not going to disrupt our lives ✨

how do we achieve that?

so that means, we still need:

1. reminders on what happens if someone gets Covid

we're *still* out here scrambling at a +ve test, to find *CURRENT* references on:

- who's a close contact
- how strictly to test/isolate
- what it means for work/school

2. BCPs, i.e. backup plans, including consideration of giving access, such as hybrid events or having items delivered

cos some ppl will have to work/study/attend your thing from home! "endemic" means that ppl *WILL* get Covid from time to time. maybe have some things in place 🙃

and what still seems missing is *communications*. if someone at work/school gets Covid, then: 

- who to inform
- what info to convey
- what to do next

etc etc. the whole who, what, when, where, why, how

govt didn't tell you to sort it out? ok *you* sort it out in your org.

also smthg we've struggled with in the past 2 years:

*UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION* is so important and it needs to be EASY TO REACH.

it's ok if you don't follow the news daily. every day, there's a lot to take in.

but when you need info, there should be a reliable place to check.

so if i had to sum up
(and borrowing the SO's thoughts from our discussions):

it's ok to loosen restrictions nationally, if we also have things in place for what happens when ppl *do* get Covid, and they *WILL*.

my frustrations are not to any one party, but in general.

a small criticism on our endemic phase, if I may

Why & how to use a database, instead of keeping a text list in image/PDF/blog format 🧵  Part 1

~ Love, an IT person who completely understands why you chose the image/PDF/blog route, but just wants people to consider databases as an option and may not be *that* intimidating

It is also with love that I acknowledge the compulsion to list things should unite us. We can want the same thing (organise Brunei info & knowledge!) but have different approaches.

Read on if your heart is open. Just walk away if otherwise :(

(It's ok, we can still be friends)

To start with, there are advantages of images/PDFs:
- Easy to start and format (for images more than PDFs)
- Easy to share in Whatsapp (let's face it, a lot of stuff gets shared on WA)
- Easy to post screenshots on IG/Twitter/other social media

Pros of a text list on a blog:
- Easy to start, if you already have a blog
- Easy to add other elements (links, photos)
- Easy to update/remove information
- Easy to share (it's the same blog post, so you can just share the same blog post link over and over again)

If you notice:
1) Images/PDFs + Blogs: Easy to start. Does not mean it's easy to maintain!
2) Images/PDFs: Easy to share. The burden is on the person who makes the images/PDFs
3) Blog: Sounds easy enough for you as the blog owner? What problems could there be? 🤔 

Let me explain some of those points.

Let's say we're making a list of restaurants in Brunei that make a certain dish, say fish & chips. Banyak kan? And you know, maybe you're a 🐟 🥔 enthusiast.

You go both routes, Image + Blog.

"Easy to start" (minus research, which btw is still a lot of effort! and minus graphic design, also some effort):

* Gather your info, paste the text, which produces 3 IG/WA-friendly images.
* You already have a simple blog, so you paste the text into a new post, publish.

Yay your list is done! Nice.

(If anyone has ever made such a list, I would like to know as I like fish & chips hahaha)

Other 🐟 🥔 enthusiasts share your list on IG, Twitter, WA.

"Easy to share": Easy for others to look at your content, and easy for them to send it to other people to look at too

Image dumps on Whatsapp. IG stories. Screenshots on Twitter.

What's the "not easy to maintain" bit? Well, here's what happens next.

After a few days, you compile comments from 🐟 🥔 enthusiasts. 20 new restaurants were suggested to be added. You decide to update your images/blog.

Version 2: You now have 5 images. You update your blog. No biggie.

A few days later, you compile more comments, another 20 restaurants. Also, on your list, 2 restaurants need to be removed, they don't make fish & chips anymore. 1 restaurant had its name changed last month.

Version 3: You now have 7 images, and you've had to make some other changes too. You update your blog.

Somehow, in one of your WA group chats, Version 1 of your images gets reposted. You post Version 3 in your chat, you say guys stop sharing that one, this is the latest one.

This is a versioning problem. There are ways around this, but keep in mind:

- You become the custodian of multiple versions of your list (as images), and the burden is on you to manage them.
- As multiple versions of your list get shared, it's likely people also become confused.

Ah, but you had a blog, right? You call it a day with the IG/WA images, and decide to just update your blog. ("Good choice!" - me, a web developer)

You post the restaurants as text, adding extras such as photos, or links to restaurants' IGs. (Blogging is also an effort, guys)

Oh, isn't this easier? No multiple versions.

Maybe your engagement has dropped off bc people still prefer looking at IG/WA images, but loyal 🐟 🥔 enthusiasts are checking your blog daily.

(I consider blogs as "not easy to share". Less likely for people to open/share links)

Oh hey, it's now been a few weeks. Your fish & chips blog list has 100 restaurants. Who knew there were that many fish & chips!

You meet a friend, another 🐟 🥔 enthusiast, who hears abt your list for the 1st time. You give them your blog link. They open it in their phone, and..

"100 restaurants?" It's a long list to scroll through.

You've divided them into categories ("Breaded F&C", "F&C for Pea-Lovers"), but your friend is struggling.

What happened? The burden of maintaining the list, has been transferred to the user, in perusing a long list.

Don't get me wrong, a blog is still great for the pros I mentioned earlier, and additional reasons too (which understandably not everyone cares abt, such as "easier to find on Google")

But if you've got 100 items on your list.. could there be another format that works?

I guess this is Part 1! Thank you for following my thread about fish & chips, I mean lists, so far.

As I said at the start, I write with love. You've had your reasons to make lists in image/PDF/blog formats, and I respect that some of you don't have the choice of other formats.

What I wanted to do here:

If you share the same values & are interested to try, I'd like to see more people take up databases for casual data collection

And I'd like there to be more understanding of choosing data formats that fit your needs.

(Join us, databases are great :))

You can read the unrolled version of this thread here: https://typefully.com/possiblyzebra/aErx7XV

Why to not make a list in an image format, Part 1

I caught a few online talks earlier this week. Just a little thread on it here.

#MozFest @mozillafestival 2022, "Developing Agency over Media and Media Technologies". This was the only talk I managed to catch from the festival, discussed by Carolyn Malachi, Dr Stacey Patton, Dr Christine McWhorter.

Description here: https://schedule.mozillafestival.org/session/BZQGMQ-1

The matter of funding is something I've been thinking about generally (for Brunei and our own media & media technologies). Not fully formed thoughts yet.

The profiles of the three main facilitators can be found here: https://communications.howard.edu/index.php/mjfc/

I also really liked the song that Carolyn Malachi performed but I didn't want to comment during the talk, bc I hadn't commented on any other part of the discussion haha

She's on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/artist/38UcHZORGYFCCfMD1p4S39

I had trouble connecting to #MozFest for the 2nd and 3rd days. I now can't tell if that was a technical issue on their end, or general Brunei connectivity, which wasn't great this week.

#IWD2022 with Women Techmakers Brunei! I caught Emilie Roberts' talk on APIs. I appreciate having a structured way to think abt learning new APIs.

Also, I'll always root for the annual imposter syndrome rep at WTM's IWD hahaha.

#ProgressNotPerfection #IWDBrunei2022 @wtm_brunei

"If I learn something hard, it's not going to be easy! That's the point"

Good reminder as I still, often, make the mistake of not blocking out time to figure out a new technology - not just APIs, but any new framework, or plugin, whatever it is.

Wrote this down during the talk but now I'm not entirely sure what it means hahaha.

📝 "Defensive energy to not be an expert in a type of technology"

I think it's a defensive feeling you may have, when you're not an expert in something and you feel like others expect you to be.

And today, @edahhasnal's talk "Guiding your kids in Coding & Technology"

#ProgressNotPerfection #IWDBrunei2022 @wtm_brunei

Some of my notes from her talk:

* You can also learn together with your/a kid, if you don't have the skills yourself

* Impatient kids learning to control a Bee-Bot: "Why isn't the robot doing anything?" (Edah: You have to learn how to use it first!)

Loved this analogy of teaching someone to ride a bike. A lot of good ideas in the chat: training wheels, teach in steps, being by their side.

Edah adds: What's also important is that it's hands-on for the learner - you have to actually be on the bike, to learn how to ride it.

A few online talks this week

Have an original graphic, chart or commentary that is based on or repurposes MOH Covid stats? Want to feel assured that you are *responsibly* posting it during this critical time?

I have a proposal. Read on! 👇🧵 
https://twitter.com/faiqairudin/status/1499664062510104578?s=20&t=_FqnxEsnJvjTfPGaQhLjsg

If so, take an extra few minutes to add to your post:

1) Source. Don't just put "MOH". Get the full URL - Telegram has URLs for individual posts! So do FB, RTBGo.

"Source: Whatsapp" is honest, but lazy. So go look it up.

Add the source date too.

I wrote no. 1 above a bit longer at first, but it turned into "How to source a thing that you found on Whatsapp", which is a separate thread for another day

2) The date of your post, esp. if it's a graphic.

Look, just.. imagine someone gets forwarded your post on Whatsapp, 1 *month* later.

You don't know what will have changed in a month's time. Add the date.

3) A disclaimer. Probably the last thing anyone wants to add, haha.

Acknowledge that your post is based on your own interpretation.
Acknowledge that you may be less informed than an expert on health statistics.

So that people know you MAY be wrong. MAYBE.
Is that so bad?

All this is a courtesy, no one's going to enforce it, and a lot of people won't even look for the above things.

It's not a question of "Is this necessary?". It's about *responsibly* sharing information to your community.

Made a really striking graphic? Or wrote up an original analyses? This stuff gets shared to other people. Forwarded in DMs, on Whatsapp. Reposted on IG stories, Twitter.

Someone will see it and form an opinion based on your post, and opinions means they'll also make decisions.