Coraline Ada Ehmke

Tech ethicist, engineer emeritus and open source activist. I make music and I make trouble. Creator of Contributor Covenant & the Hippocratic License, and founder of the Organization for Ethical Source. Author, “We Just Build Hammers”.

She/her. Pronounced 🪸—

#SpeechIsSourceCode #TheFutureIsSoft

Public Key

npub1zu9ash835sfa29xn0jp4sl9lwp2kt60fadxpnpa5nkwf62dfhufqj2qjqj

NIP-05 Address

CoralineAda@ruby-social.mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqspwz7ctnc6gy74znfheq6c0jlhq4t9a857knqes76fm8ya9x5m7yspz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujuerfw36x7tnsw43qn7pct9

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relay.ditto.pub

Author Public Key

npub1zu9ash835sfa29xn0jp4sl9lwp2kt60fadxpnpa5nkwf62dfhufqj2qjqj

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Last Notes

2026-04-17 21:59:10 UTC

I found so many new musical fedi friends after the Bonk Wave listening party today! #bonkwave

2026-04-02 01:09:08 UTC

Which one of you is utopia and which one the single suffering child?

2026-03-29 01:53:51 UTC

Bone tired

2026-03-27 23:37:41 UTC

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@nprofile…scnc I feel you. Sorry Robert.

2026-03-24 01:29:31 UTC

This is a great example of why we don't accept machine translations of Contributor Covenant, by the way. Words matter.
#opensource #ai #EthicalSource

2026-03-22 18:56:53 UTC

Please please please universe give me a chance to catch my breath

2026-03-20 17:02:07 UTC

What's good software or service for membership org management? Hosted preferred, open source bonus

2026-03-10 16:10:17 UTC

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@nprofile…jpgl Ashe, have you tried virtual desktops? I keep some apps in maximized windows on a dedicated virtual desktop, which I can scroll through only using the keyboard. Something to look into if you haven't already tried it?

2026-03-09 23:13:19 UTC

I’m getting lots of confidence boosts musically lately. A long-time collaborator said I had really turned a corner recently, another friend asked if I'd been studying music theory, and members of the Disquiet Junto community have been incredibly kind and supportive with feedback.
Y'all, this is what it's about. Let's make more art.
#music #musodon #TheFutureIsSoft #disquietjunto

2026-03-09 20:06:35 UTC

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@nprofile…5d9g I have a 2016 iMac Pro that I would love to rehome. It's reached EOL with OS upgrades but is a real workhorse.

2026-03-09 20:04:51 UTC

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@nprofile…pcl0 Ere I am JH

2026-03-09 18:13:46 UTC

Thank you, past me, for labeling every single cable in the studio, USB or audio or MIDI, on both ends. You're going to make this studio move a little less hellish!

2026-03-09 02:47:41 UTC

An experiment in polychords as suggested by this week’s Disquiet Junto prompt. Features Argon 8M synth and live bass.
https://soundcloud.com/coralineada/faded-by-sun-disquiet0740

2026-03-08 22:23:34 UTC

Happy International Women of Mystery Day
(Not to be confused with “Femme Fatale Friday”)

2026-03-05 03:49:51 UTC

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@nprofile…prjl A fellow Unknown Places fan! Thanks for the kind words

2026-03-04 18:14:00 UTC

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@nprofile…6ay4 So noisy. I love this. I'm doing a little spoken word stuff too these days so it's interesting to hear that done from a different perspective. Thanks for putting this into the world. <3

2026-03-04 17:28:20 UTC

My first peer-reviewed paper! "Queer(ing) Epistemology through Intersectional Data Science: Relational Knowledge and Affective Queries with TMI-WEB", co-authored with Dr Jess Parris Westbrook, was accepted by the Design Research Society!
The paper will be published in open access format later this year, and is being presented at the DRS conference in Edinburgh in June. You can register at https://drs2026.thedrs.org/home.
#EthicalSource #OpenSource #OpenScience #Queering

2026-03-04 00:35:35 UTC

Is anyone working on an open data standard/protocol for moving context and history between AI platforms? Is this a path to more data autonomy?
This could be something for FOSS institutions to get behind as a practical contribution to the field. We don't need better definitions, we need that freedom you've been talking about all these years.
#ai #opensource #ethicalsource

2026-03-03 15:42:19 UTC

I got the nicest comment on one of my tracks today!
"These are fascinating sounds. Like some newly constructed instruments playing together in a cavern. Menacing and soothing at the same time. Wonderful track, I had to listen several times…”
Play counts and likes and so on mean nothing next to a personal message from someone who listened to your stuff and liked it. I'll be floating on this all day.
#music #musodon

2026-03-03 15:23:10 UTC

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@nprofile…3eqn Thank you so much for listening!

2026-03-03 02:52:46 UTC

Wow, there's a new And Also the Trees album?

2026-03-03 01:12:37 UTC

My book listed on oreilly.com? Me 20 years ago would never have believed it.
https://cdn.masto.host/rubysocial/media_attachments/files/116/162/583/143/122/982/original/39982f7400dff132.png

2026-03-02 01:18:15 UTC

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@nprofile…3eqn Think of it as sympathetic magic maybe :)

2026-03-01 17:56:18 UTC

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@nprofile…6ay4 I get a lot more traction on Sound Cloud, but I post there at least weekly, and I take part in a community prompt project too. It's nice to know that people are listening sometimes!

2026-03-01 16:35:01 UTC

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@nprofile…6ay4 This year on Bandcamp I peaked at 2 listens on Feb 17. I feel you.

2026-03-01 15:52:11 UTC

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@nprofile…j2nr Hey thanks! It's nice to do something acoustic from time to time :)

2026-02-28 23:56:05 UTC

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@nprofile…j2nr listening right now in fact, you were at the top of my soundcloud feed!

2026-02-28 02:42:18 UTC

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This is the latest version of Ivory (mid-Jan update?) on Mac OS Tahoe 26.3

2026-02-28 02:39:34 UTC

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@nprofile…exvm :)

2026-02-28 01:37:15 UTC

@nprofile…z0sl Do you take bug reports by toot? Using the up-arrow to navigate to the top of the Notifications tab with unread notifications makes the "pull down to refresh" pane take over a big chunk of the window, even though there's no refresh triggered or happening.
https://cdn.masto.host/rubysocial/media_attachments/files/116/145/693/028/352/558/original/de4d8e3752cd1e49.png

2026-02-28 00:59:59 UTC

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@nprofile…exvm I think you missed that that was intended as a trick question?

2026-02-28 00:58:17 UTC

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h/t to @nprofile…gm5m for teaching me what a barbed wire telephone was!
#disquietjunto #disquiet0739 #music

2026-02-28 00:54:32 UTC

This week's Disquiet Junto prompt was an invitation to work with sympathetic vibrations. No, not the New Age kind. I reached for an acoustic guitar and recorded this. As you listen: every sound you here is from the vibrations of a single instrument.
Best enjoyed with headphones.
https://soundcloud.com/coralineada/barbed-wire-telephones
#disquietjunto #disquiet0739 #music

2026-02-28 00:16:23 UTC

Y'all still out there building neutral tech or no?

2026-02-28 00:15:27 UTC

Anyway, I guess y'all did it to yourselves, so good luck and fuck off.

2026-02-28 00:12:46 UTC

What kills me is how many of us software "engineers" happily took a paycheck to code ourselves out of ever having a job again, while simultaneously destroying our own field on our way down. I dunno, seems a little short-sighted. Who needs the AGI apocalypse when we have capitalism?

2026-02-28 00:10:18 UTC

I want to push back on the notion that code review is, or ever was, what software developers are best at. In fact we kinda suck at it at the individual level, which is why we have FOSS.

2026-02-28 00:07:20 UTC

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@nprofile…7rqs @nprofile…7duz Thank you for sharing this conversation! Boosted. <3

2026-02-27 22:58:58 UTC

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Followup question: are you ready for a world in which there are no use cases for a new programming language? Or framework? Or architectural paradigm?

2026-02-27 22:57:25 UTC

From a conversation today with @nprofile…7duz : if AI coding agents are so advanced, why have them write in high-level programming languages at all? Shouldn't they be outputting byte code?

2026-02-24 04:54:52 UTC

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@nprofile…9j07 @nprofile…kfng “hand-coder” is straightforward at least.

2026-02-23 00:27:27 UTC

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@nprofile…dt95 Thanks for your support, Phil <3

2026-02-23 00:23:38 UTC

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@nprofile…dt95 Sadly Github only cares about licenses with the OSI's stamp of approval.

2026-02-22 18:56:17 UTC

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@nprofile…w2cy I actually built the feature that warns you about blocked users, back when I worked for Github for a minute. Could not have predicted this use case!

2026-02-19 04:30:04 UTC

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@nprofile…hxau Given my recent propensity for spoken word pieces I feel called out sir

2026-02-16 21:48:22 UTC

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@nprofile…aa75 I literally said nothing about writing code as being the same as participating. Participating + in good faith = a lot more than writing code!

2026-02-16 21:36:27 UTC

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@nprofile…aa75 I said that renting a robot is not participating in good faith. I didn't say renting a robot is wrong (though I think it's shady). I didn't say you're a bad person for renting a robot. I said that that is not the same thing as participating. I chose those words carefully. I don't know how to be any more clear than that.

2026-02-05 02:58:35 UTC

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@nprofile…j2nr Always Be Recording! :)

2026-02-05 02:39:17 UTC

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@nprofile…j2nr This is really cool

2026-01-27 03:54:53 UTC

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@nprofile…hxau If that was me I apologize

2026-01-27 00:54:01 UTC

What are the safety concerns for folks like me (DEI association, nonprofit and democracy work, trans) crossing in or out of the US border?

2026-01-24 22:54:33 UTC

Welp I submitted a couple of tracks to the #bonkwave compilation…

2026-01-20 03:35:22 UTC

Today's 3-card spread was The Sun, 3 of Swords, and The Lovers. Heavy.

2026-01-17 02:18:05 UTC

I’m just over here trying to make art

2026-01-16 16:30:20 UTC

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https://live.retrostrange.com

2026-01-16 16:25:44 UTC

“We Talked About Nanoseconds” This week's Disquiet Junto response! The instructions were to open a window, record what we heard, and set it to music.
The window I opened was a browser window, tuned to RetroStrange TV, which was broadcasting a 1973 instructional film on the concept of time in science.
https://soundcloud.com/coralineada/we-talked-about-nanoseconds-disquiet0733

2026-01-10 17:52:40 UTC

Our first neighborhood cookbook club potluck is tonight! I’m making slow cooker lasagna with homemade ragu. Wish me luck!

2026-01-09 21:41:23 UTC

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@nprofile…zetw Can you confirm that it was version 3 of Contributor Covenant?

2026-01-09 21:41:04 UTC

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@nprofile…zetw Thanks for that!

2026-01-07 04:23:17 UTC

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@nprofile…kfng Love it!

2026-01-04 03:04:13 UTC

I had a breakthrough idea while working on the new book today. I think I'm finally transitioning from research into synthesis?

2025-12-31 17:17:02 UTC

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@nprofile…hlpy that's lovely to hear :)

2025-12-31 03:59:34 UTC

Watching music videos on The Indie Beat TV and wow this is really really good stuff!
https://theindiebeat.fm/the-indie-beat-tv/

2025-12-30 17:46:19 UTC

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@nprofile…xyxk Highly recommended

2025-12-30 17:23:35 UTC

I finally got around to reading LeGuin's _Dispossessed_. I only recently learned that its original subtitle was "An Ambiguous Utopia”, and that Delany's “Trouble on Triton” (which I wrote about in my first book) was intended to be in dialog with it. Thus Delany’s subtitle, "An Ambiguous Heterotopia”.
(Heterotopia is a central theme in my new book, so all of this is research.)

2025-12-29 22:59:39 UTC

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@nprofile…mmls Hey I am totally lacking context on what you're doing with these overall but I wanted to tell you that I'm really enjoying following along with the exploration :)

2025-12-29 22:57:32 UTC

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@nprofile…59up With the caveat that I Have No Idea What I'm Doing, I follow other bandwagon.fm accounts from my main (ruby.social/@CoralineAda). I use a list to collect posts from creative accounts that I follow (like yours), either Mastodon or Bandwagon. My Mastodon client (Ivory) lets me exclude list members from my main feed, keeping things nice and neatly segmented.

2025-12-29 22:32:40 UTC

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@nprofile…59up Welcome! I'm at https://bandwagon.fm/@CoralineAda

2025-12-26 17:16:07 UTC

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@nprofile…l2q9 Amazing! It's a great community and I’ll be happy to see you there. <3

2025-12-26 05:42:30 UTC

The final Disquiet Junto prompt of the year, every year, is an invitation to do a 12-month retrospective. The world may have gone to hell in 2025, but I made an awful lot of music.
https://soundcloud.com/coralineada/22-hits-by-original-artists
#disquietjunto #disquiet0730

2025-12-25 02:38:21 UTC

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@nprofile…jqhj These are my very favorite cookies of all time. I should learn to make them

2025-12-24 23:36:43 UTC

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@nprofile…e8ap <3 yes but do the cooking spirits believe in me too?

2025-12-24 23:35:09 UTC

Saying a prayer to the kitchen divinities that my first time making Christmas dinner won't be a disaster...

2025-12-23 23:25:51 UTC

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@nprofile…jqhj That looks (and sounds) like so much fun

2025-12-21 17:08:38 UTC

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@nprofile…ac3n That joy is the most important part

2025-12-21 16:43:33 UTC

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@nprofile…ac3n Do you have a whole eurorack skiff now?

2025-12-21 16:43:08 UTC

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@nprofile…ac3n I can see the lure!

2025-12-21 01:22:06 UTC

I practiced so much electric guitar today that I sliced right through my calluses. Hopefully I'll have something left for rehearsal tomorrow...

2025-12-19 16:53:12 UTC

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@nprofile…hd0x I like your hashtag posts like these. I like your style. <3

2025-12-17 23:37:07 UTC

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@nprofile…feen 2nd batch was pretty good, 2 of them were a little small (not enough batter) and the 3rd batch was pretty much perfect. I’ll report back once we eat them! :)

2025-12-17 20:28:18 UTC

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@nprofile…feen Nonono, I did a test run yesterday for this very reason! I bought extra ingredients as a contingency. I have all afternoon today to try again and get it right.
All good!

2025-12-17 19:09:07 UTC

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@nprofile…feen This is happening. Also, when I was doing a test-run, I learned the hard way that my waffle iron is NOT non-stick...
https://cdn.masto.host/rubysocial/media_attachments/files/115/736/480/500/135/940/original/113feb431b3ca1d3.jpeg

2025-12-17 14:56:48 UTC

I've had very little time for making music this week! But tomorrow is a light day and the new Disquiet Junto prompt will have dropped, so hopefully I can get some studio time in. (I've hopefully got a fix for my control surface power problem too.)

2025-12-17 14:48:35 UTC

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@nprofile…mwnq Thank you :)

2025-12-16 20:10:50 UTC

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@nprofile…39ec I love the accent metaphor! That's a lovely framing. I just worry about sounding derivative or overly nostalgic, instead of saying those new words with an accent I'm proud of. Maybe this is just my own insecurity?

2025-12-15 02:15:35 UTC

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@nprofile…45fh Powerful stuff

2025-12-15 00:51:27 UTC

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I guess I could buy a power adapter for the CS12, that might fix the problem. Outlets are always a challenge but so are USB ports I guess.

2025-12-15 00:16:50 UTC

I'm looking for recommendations for a powered USB hub that is capable of supporting offboard music gear. I have a Netktar Panaroma CS12 (USB-C) that is very power hungry, and I also need to be able to power a desktop/boutique synth (USB A) and a Stream Deck (USB-A) on the same hub. I only have 1 USB A port free on the computer.
I've been using a 90W Sabrent 20-port USB 2 powered hub and it's not up to the task. (It works until it doesn't, and I've already replaced it once.)

2025-12-14 23:36:50 UTC

I joked about it the other day on here, but I am kind of frustrated that a lot of the music I make gives off a retro vibe. I don't want to be That Kind of GenX Musician, forever locked into the styles I listened to in my formative years. I really want to be carving out a unique space free from nostalgia. I’m wondering if there would be value in a collaboration that could break me out of this cycle?

2025-12-13 23:01:48 UTC

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@nprofile…feen Wild! I may try this

2025-12-13 21:30:10 UTC

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@nprofile…eyxh Michael McDonald was on EVERY TRACK in the 70s! Everyone wanted that voice

2025-12-13 21:03:08 UTC

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@nprofile…2ft4 @nprofile…feen Dave, did you mean cornbread waffles WITH the chili, or as a "I should make these waffles sometime" kind of thing?

2025-12-13 20:38:30 UTC

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@nprofile…eyxh Any favorites?

2025-12-13 20:38:06 UTC

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@nprofile…feen I may have to try that, it sounds amazing!

2025-12-13 20:37:21 UTC

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@nprofile…a88v Knödel is a staple for my family at Christmas. Also, paper-thin cucumber slices in vinegar and pepper. So good!

2025-12-13 19:34:16 UTC

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@nprofile…59up Thanks for the vote of confidence! <3

2025-12-13 19:33:49 UTC

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@nprofile…a88v So good!

2025-12-13 18:57:10 UTC

Confession: sometimes I let the "Yacht Rock Essentials" playlist shuffle while I'm doing other stuff. (Don't judge me, this was the stuff I heard on the radio as a kid.)
Every time Steely Dan comes on I remember how completely-unhinged-angry Donald Fagen gets about their music being called yacht rock.
"It's your favorite foreign movie"

2025-12-13 18:54:02 UTC

Wednesday is my birthday, and I decided to celebrate by inviting some friends over and cooking dinner for them. Sounds ordinary, right? But I'm new to cooking, just started this year honestly, and this will be my first time preparing a meal for friends. Chili and corn bread! I hope they like it.

2025-12-13 18:48:56 UTC

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@nprofile…pcdv Welcome back