#4opens — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #4opens, aggregated by home.social.
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The #KISS #OMN path is about building practical, commons-based media tools now, not waiting for the perfect future.
Much of the mess - and endless #blocking - comes from ownership and control. We can sidestep some of this by putting media infrastructure firmly in the commons under the #4opens.
It won't fix #mainstreaming overnight, but it gives us space to build alternatives before the old systems catch up.
If you have resources, fund development. If you're technical, code. If you know UX, design. If you make media, tell the story.
This isn't theory. It's practical work for better social outcomes. Keep it simple. Keep it open. Build and use it.
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The #KISS #OMN path is about building practical, commons-based media tools now, not waiting for the perfect future.
Much of the mess - and endless #blocking - comes from ownership and control. We can sidestep some of this by putting media infrastructure firmly in the commons under the #4opens.
It won't fix #mainstreaming overnight, but it gives us space to build alternatives before the old systems catch up.
If you have resources, fund development. If you're technical, code. If you know UX, design. If you make media, tell the story.
This isn't theory. It's practical work for better social outcomes. Keep it simple. Keep it open. Build and use it.
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Public conversation about public problems
Our current working models of “governance” in #opensource are mostly: Monarchy - the dictator for life.Aristocracy - the devs.Oligarchy - NGOs/funders.And way out on the edge: Democracy - the users. We need better governance native to the #openweb. Let's look at this at a more personal level before the normal wider social view. Yes, in #FOSS development the devs doing the work deserve respect, and #OMN isn't arguing that users should simply demand things from volunteers. The point […]https://hamishcampbell.com/public-conversation-about-public-problems/
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Public conversation about public problems
Our current working models of “governance” in #opensource are mostly: Monarchy - the dictator for life.Aristocracy - the devs.Oligarchy - NGOs/funders.And way out on the edge: Democracy - the users. We need better governance native to the #openweb. Let's look at this at a more personal level before the normal wider social view. Yes, in #FOSS development the devs doing the work deserve respect, and #OMN isn't arguing that users should simply demand things from volunteers. The point […]https://hamishcampbell.com/public-conversation-about-public-problems/
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Our current working models of “governance” in #opensource are mostly:
Monarchy - the dictator for life.
Aristocracy - the devs.
Oligarchy - NGOs/funders.
And way out on the edge: Democracy - the users.We need better governance native to the #openweb. #4opens #OGB
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Our current working models of “governance” in #opensource are mostly:
Monarchy - the dictator for life.
Aristocracy - the devs.
Oligarchy - NGOs/funders.
And way out on the edge: Democracy - the users.We need better governance native to the #openweb. #4opens #OGB
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The #openweb needs diversity, not monoculture
The problems we face in the #openweb are often presented as technology problems. Which protocol, platform, licence, federation path, software? Which standard? These questions matter, but they are not the foundations of the problem. A lot of what we are seeing is really a cultural clash. Different parts of the alternative tech world have different ideas about what technology is for, who it should serve, how much control is acceptable, how open something needs to be, and how much compromise is […]https://hamishcampbell.com/the-openweb-needs-diversity-not-monoculture/
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The #openweb needs diversity, not monoculture
The problems we face in the #openweb are often presented as technology problems. Which protocol, platform, licence, federation path, software? Which standard? These questions matter, but they are not the foundations of the problem. A lot of what we are seeing is really a cultural clash. Different parts of the alternative tech world have different ideas about what technology is for, who it should serve, how much control is acceptable, how open something needs to be, and how much compromise is […]https://hamishcampbell.com/the-openweb-needs-diversity-not-monoculture/
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This summer #climatechaos
This summer, heat, fires, the soon to come winter floods and insurance withdrawals will make #climatechaos harder to treat as something happening somewhere else. For years, climate breakdown was framed as an activist issue, something discussed by environmental groups while mainstream politics carried on with business as usual. That is changing, people are experiencing the consequences: extreme heat, flooding, damaged homes, rising insurance costs, failing infrastructure and growing […]https://hamishcampbell.com/this-summer-climatechaos-is-mainstream/
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Grassroots #openweb infrastructure is need for a different future
For 50 years we have worshipped the #deathcult - endless growth, extraction, competition and individualism - and now we are living with the damage that this has done to our society and the living world. The current hard shift to the right won't fix any of this, it simply empowers the #nastyfew to surf the apocalypse while more and more of us are left fighting over the scraps. Blind hatred and political ignorance are not solutions. Neither is pretending that the past 50 years of "common […]https://hamishcampbell.com/grassroots-openweb-infrastructure-is-need-for-a-different-future/
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A little #fluffy reminder, when an #openweb projects gets flooded with conspiracy, dogma and endless prat fights, the grounded, constructive people drift away - sometimes straight back to the #dotcons.
Being independent doesn't mean believing everything. Being radical doesn't mean shutting down dialogue. Let's make spaces where people can think, disagree, learn and still build things together.
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A little #fluffy reminder, when an #openweb projects gets flooded with conspiracy, dogma and endless prat fights, the grounded, constructive people drift away - sometimes straight back to the #dotcons.
Being independent doesn't mean believing everything. Being radical doesn't mean shutting down dialogue. Let's make spaces where people can think, disagree, learn and still build things together.
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The #OMN and the fight against the #dotcons
The internet didn't just accidentally become shit. Yes, the #dotcons are responsible for plenty of it: surveillance, advertising, addictive algorithms, platform lock-in, spam, fake reviews and the endless extraction of human attention. But focusing on a few companies misses the bigger story, that the mess is the outcome of decades of wider #deathcult worshipping political and economic choices. Yes, we allowed enormous platforms to buy competitors, capture markets, privatise public […]https://hamishcampbell.com/the-omn-and-the-fight-against-the-dotcons/
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The #OGB matters because the #openweb needs better ways to have trust-based conversations and trust-based governance.
The project comes from years of grassroots organising: voluntary cooperation, collaboration and human-scale decision-making.
Alternative tech has often copied governance assumptions from the #mainstreaming. The #4opens offers a simpler starting point for building governance structures native to the #Fediverse.
The #OGB is a path to move beyond #mainstreaming: governance that fits the culture of federated, open, grassroots networks rather than forcing them into centralised models.
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The #OGB matters because the #openweb needs better ways to have trust-based conversations and trust-based governance.
The project comes from years of grassroots organising: voluntary cooperation, collaboration and human-scale decision-making.
Alternative tech has often copied governance assumptions from the #mainstreaming. The #4opens offers a simpler starting point for building governance structures native to the #Fediverse.
The #OGB is a path to move beyond #mainstreaming: governance that fits the culture of federated, open, grassroots networks rather than forcing them into centralised models.
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#IndymediaBack is a reboot of the original #Indymedia: decentralized, grassroots media built around open publishing and activist participation.
The point isn't nostalgia, it's learning from the old #fashernistas/#geekproblem split and avoiding another round of tribalism and control politics.
The reboot is about rebuilding the path toward decentralized structures and an #OMN that supports direct democracy, open publishing and anti-authoritarian organising.
This time we also have hashtags, metadata and the semantic #openweb to connect the media commons.
The challenge is simple: don't repeat the old mistakes. Build trust, keep it open, and don't let control become the culture.
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#IndymediaBack is a reboot of the original #Indymedia: decentralized, grassroots media built around open publishing and activist participation.
The point isn't nostalgia, it's learning from the old #fashernistas/#geekproblem split and avoiding another round of tribalism and control politics.
The reboot is about rebuilding the path toward decentralized structures and an #OMN that supports direct democracy, open publishing and anti-authoritarian organising.
This time we also have hashtags, metadata and the semantic #openweb to connect the media commons.
The challenge is simple: don't repeat the old mistakes. Build trust, keep it open, and don't let control become the culture.
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The #OMN is a simple path with a radical aim: to shift power away from the #geekproblem and the #dotcons, and back to the people who actually create media and build communities.
From that grassroots digital commons, new social, economic and cultural ecosystems can grow. The tools redistribute power. What we do with that power is up to us.
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The #OMN is a simple path with a radical aim: to shift power away from the #geekproblem and the #dotcons, and back to the people who actually create media and build communities.
From that grassroots digital commons, new social, economic and cultural ecosystems can grow. The tools redistribute power. What we do with that power is up to us.
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If you build hard structures, people pick them up and hit each other with them. That's much of the political history of the 20th century.
If you build only soft structures, you end up herding cats, trapped in #stupidindividualism and endless informal drift.
Both failures reflect the society they grow from. Before choosing hard or soft, we need to compost the assumptions beneath them. Then we can plant new seeds rooted in trust, commons and the #4opens.
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If you build hard structures, people pick them up and hit each other with them. That's much of the political history of the 20th century.
If you build only soft structures, you end up herding cats, trapped in #stupidindividualism and endless informal drift.
Both failures reflect the society they grow from. Before choosing hard or soft, we need to compost the assumptions beneath them. Then we can plant new seeds rooted in trust, commons and the #4opens.
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The Fediverse is fun and growing, but it seems to kinda be on autopilot at the moment
Q, The #Fediverse seams to kinda be on autopilot at the moment - I miss the days when the community was more focused....A. I'd say it's growing and changing. From my window, there's a LOT happening. Many people are excited by the new stuff that's landing, while others are afraid of how those changes may rock the boat they're on. My solution is to build a bigger boat, because everyone needs the opportunity to be here. But that's understandably scary for those who want a very small, exclusive […] -
“The #4opens are difficult to mainstream precisely because they redistribute power.
- #OpenData challenges information monopolies.
- #OpenSource challenges technological dependency.
- #OpenStandards challenge platform lock-in.
- #OpenProcess challenges hidden governance.These are practical mechanisms for keeping communities in control of the systems they depend on. This is also why #DIY matters, communities that create their own media, archives, governance and infrastructure are much harder to absorb than communities dependent on external institutions. Autonomy creates resilience were dependency creates opportunities for co-option.”
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“The #4opens are difficult to mainstream precisely because they redistribute power.
- #OpenData challenges information monopolies.
- #OpenSource challenges technological dependency.
- #OpenStandards challenge platform lock-in.
- #OpenProcess challenges hidden governance.These are practical mechanisms for keeping communities in control of the systems they depend on. This is also why #DIY matters, communities that create their own media, archives, governance and infrastructure are much harder to absorb than communities dependent on external institutions. Autonomy creates resilience were dependency creates opportunities for co-option.”
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Liberals use liberalism as a fig leaf for imperialism.
Neo-liberals use economics as a fig leaf for reactionary politics and conservative power.
It's time to stop being prudish and remove the fig leaves. Look at the structures, the interests and the outcomes, not just the branding.
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Liberals use liberalism as a fig leaf for imperialism.
Neo-liberals use economics as a fig leaf for reactionary politics and conservative power.
It's time to stop being prudish and remove the fig leaves. Look at the structures, the interests and the outcomes, not just the branding.
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In #mainstreaming politics, the political spectrum has shifted so far to the right that the choices have narrowed dramatically.
In the USA, mainstream politics feels like a choice between the extreme right and fascism. In the UK, it's a choice between the extreme right and the centre-right.
When these are the only options presented, imagining real alternatives becomes much harder.
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In #mainstreaming politics, the political spectrum has shifted so far to the right that the choices have narrowed dramatically.
In the USA, mainstream politics feels like a choice between the extreme right and fascism. In the UK, it's a choice between the extreme right and the centre-right.
When these are the only options presented, imagining real alternatives becomes much harder.
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The #Fediverse isn't just about connecting software, it's about connecting communities. The technology matters, but people matter more. Federation isn't simply a protocol, it's a way for diverse communities to cooperate while keeping their autonomy.
Build community first. The software follows.
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The #Fediverse isn't just about connecting software, it's about connecting communities. The technology matters, but people matter more. Federation isn't simply a protocol, it's a way for diverse communities to cooperate while keeping their autonomy.
Build community first. The software follows.
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Want to improve tech? Take one simple step: remove the "problem" from "geek." Treat people, trust, governance and community as part of technology, not something outside it.
That's the path from the #geekproblem towards the #4opens and #OMN.
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Want to improve tech? Take one simple step: remove the "problem" from "geek." Treat people, trust, governance and community as part of technology, not something outside it.
That's the path from the #geekproblem towards the #4opens and #OMN.
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The #geekproblem has an odd feature: it finds it ridiculously hard to recognise the #geekproblem.
Instead of engaging, people turn away from the social questions and retreat into technical ones. That's not a solution, it's avoidance.
In an era of #climatechaos and social breakdown, continuing to worship the #deathcult isn't neutral, it's part of the problem.
The #4opens offer a simple place to start.
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The #geekproblem has an odd feature: it finds it ridiculously hard to recognise the #geekproblem.
Instead of engaging, people turn away from the social questions and retreat into technical ones. That's not a solution, it's avoidance.
In an era of #climatechaos and social breakdown, continuing to worship the #deathcult isn't neutral, it's part of the problem.
The #4opens offer a simple place to start.
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One of the biggest problems we face is that we've forgotten how to talk about society.
Outside the #mainstreaming agenda, conversations quickly collapse into individual opinions and personal choices. We struggle to think in terms of communities, the #commons and collective action.
That's one of the deepest effects of #deathcult thinking. It trains us to see everything through the lens of individualism, making even simple #KISS ideas about cooperation and shared responsibility seem strange.
We need to get back on our feet.
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One of the biggest problems we face is that we've forgotten how to talk about society.
Outside the #mainstreaming agenda, conversations quickly collapse into individual opinions and personal choices. We struggle to think in terms of communities, the #commons and collective action.
That's one of the deepest effects of #deathcult thinking. It trains us to see everything through the lens of individualism, making even simple #KISS ideas about cooperation and shared responsibility seem strange.
We need to get back on our feet.
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In #DIY culture, you are as responsible for a good outcome as everyone else in the group.
If you see an issue that needs attention, don't just point at it, play a part in fixing it.
The strength of DIY is shared responsibility: everyone contributes to making things work.
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In #DIY culture, you are as responsible for a good outcome as everyone else in the group.
If you see an issue that needs attention, don't just point at it, play a part in fixing it.
The strength of DIY is shared responsibility: everyone contributes to making things work.
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We waste each other's time far too much. If there is going to be any #HOPE, we need to stop falling into #stupidindividualism and start working together.
This is not complicated. It's a basic #KISS principle: respect each other's time, build trust, and get on with the work.
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We waste each other's time far too much. If there is going to be any #HOPE, we need to stop falling into #stupidindividualism and start working together.
This is not complicated. It's a basic #KISS principle: respect each other's time, build trust, and get on with the work.
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The #4opens don't solve problems. They create the openness and shared space where people can see problems, debate them, and fix them together.
This is what the #geekproblem so often misses, they keep looking for technical solutions to social problems.
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The #4opens don't solve problems. They create the openness and shared space where people can see problems, debate them, and fix them together.
This is what the #geekproblem so often misses, they keep looking for technical solutions to social problems.
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We need to revive and maintain simple, reliable tools for metadata, feeds, trust and moderation - think old-school #Indymedia with modern plumbing.
One project is #MakingHistory: collaborative, living archives of communities. Not just news, but versioned storyboards.
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We need to revive and maintain simple, reliable tools for metadata, feeds, trust and moderation - think old-school #Indymedia with modern plumbing.
One project is #MakingHistory: collaborative, living archives of communities. Not just news, but versioned storyboards.
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@witchescauldron The whole value system behind startups and #VC is the problem, not the solution.
The #KISS truth is simple: endless growth, extraction and enclosure cannot solve the crises they create. They are accelerating today's breakdown and shaping tomorrow's catastrophes.
We don't need more investment in the #deathcult. We need investment in the digital commons, the #openweb, and the #4opens...
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@witchescauldron The whole value system behind startups and #VC is the problem, not the solution.
The #KISS truth is simple: endless growth, extraction and enclosure cannot solve the crises they create. They are accelerating today's breakdown and shaping tomorrow's catastrophes.
We don't need more investment in the #deathcult. We need investment in the digital commons, the #openweb, and the #4opens...
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All startups are expressions of the #deathcult. Every #VC is, in effect, a bishop preaching endless growth, extraction and enclosure.
This isn't innovation. It's a business model accelerating social breakdown, deepening inequality, and feeding the #climatechaos that will displace billions and cost millions of lives over the coming century.
If you're serious about activism, stop feeding the machine. Put your energy into building the #openweb commons instead.
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All startups are expressions of the #deathcult. Every #VC is, in effect, a bishop preaching endless growth, extraction and enclosure.
This isn't innovation. It's a business model accelerating social breakdown, deepening inequality, and feeding the #climatechaos that will displace billions and cost millions of lives over the coming century.
If you're serious about activism, stop feeding the machine. Put your energy into building the #openweb commons instead.
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To escape the #geekproblem, we need to let go of the fantasy of perfect solutions. The path forward is to mediate problems into better, messier outcomes - then repeat. We don't know exactly where we'll end up, and giving up the need for control is the first step.
The second step is using the #4opens to compost #techchurn and redirect the energy of the #fashionistas toward projects that can actually challenge #mainstreaming.
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To escape the #geekproblem, we need to let go of the fantasy of perfect solutions. The path forward is to mediate problems into better, messier outcomes - then repeat. We don't know exactly where we'll end up, and giving up the need for control is the first step.
The second step is using the #4opens to compost #techchurn and redirect the energy of the #fashionistas toward projects that can actually challenge #mainstreaming.
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Four years ago I said: the #deathcult was becoming #mainstreaming.
Today it's much harder to deny. The cracks are visible, in politics, economics, culture and #climatechaos.
That's the bad news.
The good news? Once you recognise the mess, you can step away from it. That's where change begins.
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Four years ago I said: the #deathcult was becoming #mainstreaming.
Today it's much harder to deny. The cracks are visible, in politics, economics, culture and #climatechaos.
That's the bad news.
The good news? Once you recognise the mess, you can step away from it. That's where change begins.
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You might have noticed that last 20 years of #meme culture and #goingviral on the #dotcons have been distractions, keeping us engaged while pulling us deeper into the #deathcult.
Many of us spent the last decade feeding this system, often without realising where it would lead. #Brexit and #climatechaos are part of the wider consequences of that culture.
The important thing now isn't blame, it's changing direction. Step away from the algorithms. Help build the commons instead.
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You might have noticed that last 20 years of #meme culture and #goingviral on the #dotcons have been distractions, keeping us engaged while pulling us deeper into the #deathcult.
Many of us spent the last decade feeding this system, often without realising where it would lead. #Brexit and #climatechaos are part of the wider consequences of that culture.
The important thing now isn't blame, it's changing direction. Step away from the algorithms. Help build the commons instead.
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The #OMN is about building a commons that communities can use to create spaces of belonging in a world of equals. It opens a horizontal, grassroots space where people can collaborate, create, and thrive together. The infrastructure is shared; what we build with it is up to all of us.
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If you use #mainstreaming tools, you'll get #deathcult outcomes. That's not surprising, it's how systems reproduce themselves.
The same is true of process. Using the same "common sense" approaches to create change simply reinforces the status quo. I call this #blocking.
In tech, it becomes #techchurn. In culture, it's often amplified by the #fashionistas.
If we want different outcomes, we need different tools and different processes. That's the path of #OMN and the #4opens. #openweb #KISS
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Definitions should stay flexible. Turning them into rigid rules is a classic #Geekproblem that creates unnecessary conflict.
The #Fediverse is a vibrant, active #openweb project - currently one of the healthiest examples of this "native" path.
That's why the #4opens rely on openness, interpretation, and good judgment - not dogma. #OMN #KISS
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The solution isn't technical alone, it's social, cultural and political. Until we tackle the #geekproblem, we'll keep building cathedrals in the desert.
We need a rebalance: geeks building accessible tools, producers free to create, and users doing more than consuming - participating, feeding back, and shaping the commons.