This project implements *Sandpoints*, an open source framework for open and collaborative publishing.It is developed by [Marcell Mars](https://gist.github.com/marcellmars/10392e6e784e8734efa307623833597b) since 2019, and built as a theme for the static website builder[Hugo][]. Both *Hugo* and *Sandpoints* are free, open source, and cross platform, and are developed in the programming language *Go*.
1.*Sandpoints* is an open infrastructure project: it hosts open access content; it is fully open source; it relies on open source components and libraries; and allows for workflows using free and open source tools.
1.*Sandpoints* requires no programming. Content is added with , which are easy to read, write, and edit, and organized in folders by type. Creating new content and compiling a website project are done with simple terminal commands, or via an online interface.
4.*Sandpoints* implements hypertext, including backlinks (bidirectional hyperlinks), and allows non-linear content traversal, for example via browsing [internal, external, and back links](/urls/), as well as [keywords](/keywords).
7.*Sandpoints* projects are fully portable. They can be copied on a USB stick and viewed offline.
8.*Sandpoints* can generate printable and interactive PDFs for its content (for individual entries, issues, or all the content (see ) .
9.*Sandpoints* allows the integration of a library catalogue. The library is accessible at [Library](/library/BROWSE_LIBRARY.html), or by pressing the red icon at the top-right corner of any page.
- [Dotawo -- A Journal of Nubian Studies](https://pages.sandpoints.org/dotawo/journal/) (academic journal published in Sandpoints since issue 7, 2020),
- [Pirate.care](https://syllabus.pirate.care/) (a project using an earlier styling theme), and
- the recent [ACADIA archive](https://pages.sandpoints.org/sandpoints/acadiaarchive-46619c43/archive/acadia/) (in progress, featuring a catalogue of about 1500 articles and 2000 co-authors).
# Sandpoints in academic publishing
*Sandpoints* was first implemented in Issue 7 of the Journal *Dotawo* (2020).
The use of *Sandpoints* in academic research publishing was discussed in the editorial of that issue by Van Gerven Oei:
> Starting with the present issue, _Dotawo_ will design and publish its content via the [Sandpoints](https://git.sandpoints.org/UnionForNubianStudies/Dotawo) platform. _Dotawo_ contributions are formatted in [Markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown) syntax, thus moving away from proprietary software such as Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign. For collaboration and version-control we employ [Git](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Git) rather than Google Drive or Dropbox. The online issue is created via [Gitea](https://gitea.io/en-us/) and [Hugo][], which take the Markdown files from the Git repository and generate a static website from them. The result is a compact and fast website, which moreover can also be used offline. Also the typography of _Dotawo_ is now based on open fonts. The journal is typeset in [Gentium](https://software.sil.org/gentium/), which is released under an [SIL Open Font License](http://scripts.sil.org/ofl). The PDF output is generated by [PagedJS](https://www.pagedjs.org/) [...]. In short, all of the software used in the creation of _Dotawo_ is now open source. Although this process demands a certain amount of flexibility of the editors, it also shows that transitioning an open access journal to open infrastructure is not only possible but also feasible.[^vincent]
[^vincent]: [Preface by the Editor (Vincent W.J. van Gerven Oei, Dotawo issue 7, 2020)](https://pages.sandpoints.org/dotawo/issue/dotawo7/).
# Notes
- For an extended description of *Sandpoints* see [Sandpoints Portfolio (sandpoints.org)](https://pages.sandpoints.org/sandpoints/simplesandpoints-de47f813/draft/portfolio/), which includes descriptions of its implementation in different projects, and related bibliography.
- See also .
<!--
- See also Graziano, Valeria, Marcell Mars, and Medak Tomislav. ‘Learning from \Syllabus’. In _State Machines: Reflections and Actions at the Edge of Digital Citizenship, Finance, and Art_, edited by Yiannis Colakides, Marc Garrrett, and Inte Gloerich. Amsterdam: Institute of Network Cultures (Amsterdam, 2019. [http://www.statemachines.eu/books/state-machines-reflections-and-actions-at-the-edge-of-digital-citizenship-finance-and-art/](http://www.statemachines.eu/books/state-machines-reflections-and-actions-at-the-edge-of-digital-citizenship-finance-and-art/).-->