#geekproblem — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #geekproblem, aggregated by home.social.
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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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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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@sovtechfund you guys are utter #geekproblem we need some hope you can think about this, please.
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@sovtechfund you guys are utter #geekproblem we need some hope you can think about this, please.
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20 years of #dotcons selling libertarian individualism has pushed aside the collective politics that once made the #openweb revolutionary.
For 20 years the #geekproblem helped turn "left tech" into the #closedweb. That's a disaster we can't keep repeating.
No prat fights, we need alternatives: #IndymediaBack, #OMN, #OGB, #MakingHistory. To rebuild collective power.
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20 years of #dotcons selling libertarian individualism has pushed aside the collective politics that once made the #openweb revolutionary.
For 20 years the #geekproblem helped turn "left tech" into the #closedweb. That's a disaster we can't keep repeating.
No prat fights, we need alternatives: #IndymediaBack, #OMN, #OGB, #MakingHistory. To rebuild collective power.
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Feelings/facts, stupidindividualism is about peoples role in systems
Just because you feel attacked doesn't mean someone is attacking you, sometimes that feeling is worth listening to, it may be telling you that something doesn't fit with how you currently see the world. But a feeling is not a fact, this matters because much political discussion now begins and ends with personal reactions rather than examining the underlying structures. Take the hashtag #stupidindividualism. Many people read it as, "You're stupid because you're an individual." That isn't what […]https://hamishcampbell.com/feelings-facts-stupidindividualism-is-about-peoples-role-in-systems/
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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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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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A simple definition of the #geekproblem - the habit of treating the social side of technology as if it's outside technology.
You can build perfect code, but if you ignore people, governance and trust, you've only built half a system.
This creates strong #mainstreaming and acts as a #blocking force against working alternatives. It's time we started talking about the #geekproblem.
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A simple definition of the #geekproblem - the habit of treating the social side of technology as if it's outside technology.
You can build perfect code, but if you ignore people, governance and trust, you've only built half a system.
This creates strong #mainstreaming and acts as a #blocking force against working alternatives. It's time we started talking about the #geekproblem.
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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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The #Deathcult is a historical metaphor
History shows that societies can normalize destructive ideas until they become "common sense." The tragedy of the Irish Famine illustrates how blinded dogmatic thinking becomes more powerful than human need. Food existed, yet the prevailing political economy treated markets, property rights, and profit as more important than preventing mass suffering. The disaster was not simply natural; it was shaped by human choices and by the values those choices expressed. Today we face a different […]https://hamishcampbell.com/the-deathcult-is-a-historical-metaphor/
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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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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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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.
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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.
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The old #openweb wasn't destroyed by one thing, but by many. The #encryptionists security theatre, broken #UX and trustless relationships. The #geekproblem turned living communities into technical subcultures. The #fashionistas chased novelty, status and hype. The #dotcons enclosed our data and metadata for profit and social control.
Each played a part. The #Fediverse is a first step in rebooting the #openweb. But we need to stop copying old mistakes and grow "native" alternatives based on community, trust and the #4opens.
That's the path #OMN is building.
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The old #openweb wasn't destroyed by one thing, but by many. The #encryptionists security theatre, broken #UX and trustless relationships. The #geekproblem turned living communities into technical subcultures. The #fashionistas chased novelty, status and hype. The #dotcons enclosed our data and metadata for profit and social control.
Each played a part. The #Fediverse is a first step in rebooting the #openweb. But we need to stop copying old mistakes and grow "native" alternatives based on community, trust and the #4opens.
That's the path #OMN is building.
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A recurring #geekproblem - technical people often assume governance can be engineered. But governance is primarily a social process. Technology can support it, but it cannot replace it.
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A recurring #geekproblem - technical people often assume governance can be engineered. But governance is primarily a social process. Technology can support it, but it cannot replace it.
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One of our mistakes is treating every #fashionista project as if it were native #openweb.
Too often, grassroots ideas are picked up, systematised, and reshaped into something acceptable to #mainstreaming institutions. The tools may remain "open", but the social process and governance shift.
The #Fediverse shows both sides of this. It has revived the #openweb, but it also carries the assumptions of the wider culture. Without care, we reproduce the same hierarchies, gatekeeping, and #geekproblem we were trying to escape.
The answer isn't rejection, it's composting, use the #4opens to ask simple questions:
Is the data open? Is the code open? Are the standards open? Most importantly, is the process open?
If not, we're probably looking at another layer of #mainstreaming rather than genuine commons. Let's balance the repeating inherited agendas and start building native grassroots alternatives please.
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One of our mistakes is treating every #fashionista project as if it were native #openweb.
Too often, grassroots ideas are picked up, systematised, and reshaped into something acceptable to #mainstreaming institutions. The tools may remain "open", but the social process and governance shift.
The #Fediverse shows both sides of this. It has revived the #openweb, but it also carries the assumptions of the wider culture. Without care, we reproduce the same hierarchies, gatekeeping, and #geekproblem we were trying to escape.
The answer isn't rejection, it's composting, use the #4opens to ask simple questions:
Is the data open? Is the code open? Are the standards open? Most importantly, is the process open?
If not, we're probably looking at another layer of #mainstreaming rather than genuine commons. Let's balance the repeating inherited agendas and start building native grassroots alternatives please.
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Add this to the last article: hy Stories Matter on the #OMN
Facts matter, technology matters, governance matters. But people rarely change because they read theory, a specification or a list of features. People change because of stories, this is why storytelling is central to the #OMN path. A story gives people somewhere to stand, it connects ideas to lived experience.
Instead of explaining the #4opens as an abstract framework, tell the story of a community escaping a #dotcons platform by building trust on the #openweb. Instead of arguing about governance, tell the story of how a group solved a conflict through #OpenProcess. Instead of listing technical features, tell the story of someone who regained control of their community tech after years of platform lock-in.
Stories carry values, the last forty years of #mainstreaming have been held together by stories about competition, consumption and individual success. These stories have normalised the #deathcult, making extraction and enclosure feel like "common sense." We now need better stories about cooperation instead of competition, commons balancing ownership, about trust instead of surveillance. Stories about building rather than consuming.
The #Fediverse itself is a story, an accidental reboot of the #openweb that proves another internet is possible. It isn't perfect, but it demonstrates that people can build social infrastructure without billionaires directing the conversation.
The challenge is that the academics or the #geekproblem tell stories only to other, academics or geeks, technical and academic paths are important, but they don't inspire people to act, so we need stories that people can understand:
A neighbourhood rebuilding local media.
Boaters organising to defend the waterways as a commons.
Communities escaping the #dotcons.
Volunteers composting #techchurn into useful tools.
Ordinary people discovering that they can build infrastructure together.
These stories become shared memory, shared memory becomes culture, culture shapes "common sense." and changing common sense is how lasting social change happens. So don't just build software or academic theory, tell stories that help people imagine themselves as part of a healthier #openweb.
#OMN #FOSS #openweb #4opens #ActivityPub #Fediverse #commons #DIY #makinghistory
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Add this to the last article: hy Stories Matter on the #OMN
Facts matter, technology matters, governance matters. But people rarely change because they read theory, a specification or a list of features. People change because of stories, this is why storytelling is central to the #OMN path. A story gives people somewhere to stand, it connects ideas to lived experience.
Instead of explaining the #4opens as an abstract framework, tell the story of a community escaping a #dotcons platform by building trust on the #openweb. Instead of arguing about governance, tell the story of how a group solved a conflict through #OpenProcess. Instead of listing technical features, tell the story of someone who regained control of their community tech after years of platform lock-in.
Stories carry values, the last forty years of #mainstreaming have been held together by stories about competition, consumption and individual success. These stories have normalised the #deathcult, making extraction and enclosure feel like "common sense." We now need better stories about cooperation instead of competition, commons balancing ownership, about trust instead of surveillance. Stories about building rather than consuming.
The #Fediverse itself is a story, an accidental reboot of the #openweb that proves another internet is possible. It isn't perfect, but it demonstrates that people can build social infrastructure without billionaires directing the conversation.
The challenge is that the academics or the #geekproblem tell stories only to other, academics or geeks, technical and academic paths are important, but they don't inspire people to act, so we need stories that people can understand:
A neighbourhood rebuilding local media.
Boaters organising to defend the waterways as a commons.
Communities escaping the #dotcons.
Volunteers composting #techchurn into useful tools.
Ordinary people discovering that they can build infrastructure together.
These stories become shared memory, shared memory becomes culture, culture shapes "common sense." and changing common sense is how lasting social change happens. So don't just build software or academic theory, tell stories that help people imagine themselves as part of a healthier #openweb.
#OMN #FOSS #openweb #4opens #ActivityPub #Fediverse #commons #DIY #makinghistory
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This was my thinking on the Fediverse a few years ago – building commons
The #Fediverse is an accidental reboot of the #openweb, it wasn't designed from the top down, it emerged because thousands of people built alternatives to the #dotcons. That's its greatest strength, it's also why it's so messy. Herding cats - the #Fediverse has no central authority, every project, server, and community has its own priorities, culture, and governance. It's often like herding cats. This can be frustrating, but it's also what makes the network resilient. There is no single […]https://hamishcampbell.com/this-was-my-thinking-on-the-fediverse-a-few-years-ago-building-commons/
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The #geekproblem has two paths.
* One path is to accept the "common sense" of the #deathcult: build whatever is profitable, never question the social outcomes, and dismiss human problems as "not technical."
* The other path is to stand back, see the bigger picture, and build tools that help compost the #techshit created by the first path. That's where the #4opens and the #openweb matter.
Technology should serve people, not the other way around. #OMN #KISS
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The #geekproblem has two paths.
* One path is to accept the "common sense" of the #deathcult: build whatever is profitable, never question the social outcomes, and dismiss human problems as "not technical."
* The other path is to stand back, see the bigger picture, and build tools that help compost the #techshit created by the first path. That's where the #4opens and the #openweb matter.
Technology should serve people, not the other way around. #OMN #KISS
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Why #FOSS matters socially
The internet didn't become broken overnight, it drifted from being a network of communities into a marketplace dominated by platforms whose purpose is extracting value. This is the logic of #dotcons most of us invested our lives and community into. How did we get into this mess? The problem isn't only bad companies, it's that our digital lives depend entirely on proprietary #dotcons paths and software, commercial interests end up controlling our reality. This is why #FOSS (Free and Open […] -
Why #FOSS matters socially
The internet didn't become broken overnight, it drifted from being a network of communities into a marketplace dominated by platforms whose purpose is extracting value. This is the logic of #dotcons most of us invested our lives and community into. How did we get into this mess? The problem isn't only bad companies, it's that our digital lives depend entirely on proprietary #dotcons paths and software, commercial interests end up controlling our reality. This is why #FOSS (Free and Open […] -
Online Chat is a social problem, not just a technical one
People often ask which messaging platform they should use. Matrix? XMPP? Signal? Something else? The honest answer is there is no perfect option. At the #OMN we've tried running #XMPP servers for years. From a #4opens prospective it's probably the strongest foundation. Socially, though, it's still trapped by the #geekproblem, despite years of outreach, we never found any implementation simple enough for normal communities to adopt at scale. #Matrix is in meany ways worst, but for different […]https://hamishcampbell.com/online-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one/
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Our failure to mediate the mess
The current #AI boom is built on a huge contradiction, you can see this in #mainstreaming terms. That AI companies are not paying the real costs of what they consume. They haven't paid for the copyrighted material they trained on. They haven't paid the environmental costs of the water and electricity they use. They haven't paid for the pressure they place on public infrastructure, or for the social costs of flooding the web with synthetic content. Yet AI services are sold below their true […] -
The #4opens is a simple, practical tool to evaluate and guide grassroots, alternative tech projects. It judges how "open" and trustworthy a project is, helping to distinguish native #openweb efforts from #closedweb or captured ones (e.g., #dotcons like corporate social media).
The Four Opens
* Open Data - The basic truth of the project. Data (content, metadata, etc.) should be openly accessible and exportable/portable. This prevents lock-in and enables sharing, archiving, and reuse by communities.
* Open Source - The code (or equivalent for non-software projects) is publicly available under a free/open license. This allows inspection, modification, and forking, embodying #FOSS principles but integrated into a wider social context.
* Open Standards - The project uses (and contributes to) interoperable, non-proprietary standards. This supports federation, compatibility across tools/instances, and avoids silos (e.g., #ActivityPub in the #Fediverse).
Open Process (the critical addition) - Transparent, participatory decision-making and governance. This is not just technical openness but social openness: how the project is run, how power is handled, how feedback shapes direction, and how it avoids hidden hierarchies or #NGO-style capture. It emphasizes trust-building, commons-oriented culture, and composting conflicts through visible, inclusive processes.
How this works in practice
Badging system (simple and motivational):
* 2 opens: Bronze badge (basic alt/grassroots alignment).
* 3 opens: Silver badge.
* 4 opens: Gold badge (full native #openweb project).Projects self-assess and are evaluated by the community using these criteria. It's designed to be #KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) - easy to apply without bureaucracy.
It acts as a compass for #openweb vs. #closedweb. Use it to judge value, compost #techcrap/#techchurn, resist enclosure, and build trust-based digital commons. It's explicitly a social restating/extension of #FOSS paths, adding the missing social layer (#openprocess) that pure technical openness often lacks.
Only technical openness (e.g., open source + data) still leads to #geekproblem outcomes, meritocracy, fragmentation ("just fork it"), or capture by careerists/#fashionistas if process and culture are closed.
The #4opens prioritizes human-centred, trust-based infrastructure over scale, funding, or individual exit. This supports horizontal activism, mutual aid, and decentralized organizing (e.g., in #Indymedia history or current #Fediverse efforts).
Examples: Mastodon (when aligned) can score high; corporate platforms like Facebook score low across the board. It helps grow networks where communities own their storytelling, governance, and tools.
The framework is not rigid dogma but a living tool for "composting the mess" - turning failed and captured projects into fertile ground for better ones. It's central to #OMN projects, which are working on building federated, grassroots media and social infrastructure.
To sum up, it’s a powerful, low-overhead way to keep tech aligned with grassroots values rather than drifting into #mainstreaming or #deathcult logics of extraction and control.
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The #4opens is a simple, practical tool to evaluate and guide grassroots, alternative tech projects. It judges how "open" and trustworthy a project is, helping to distinguish native #openweb efforts from #closedweb or captured ones (e.g., #dotcons like corporate social media).
The Four Opens
* Open Data - The basic truth of the project. Data (content, metadata, etc.) should be openly accessible and exportable/portable. This prevents lock-in and enables sharing, archiving, and reuse by communities.
* Open Source - The code (or equivalent for non-software projects) is publicly available under a free/open license. This allows inspection, modification, and forking, embodying #FOSS principles but integrated into a wider social context.
* Open Standards - The project uses (and contributes to) interoperable, non-proprietary standards. This supports federation, compatibility across tools/instances, and avoids silos (e.g., #ActivityPub in the #Fediverse).
Open Process (the critical addition) - Transparent, participatory decision-making and governance. This is not just technical openness but social openness: how the project is run, how power is handled, how feedback shapes direction, and how it avoids hidden hierarchies or #NGO-style capture. It emphasizes trust-building, commons-oriented culture, and composting conflicts through visible, inclusive processes.
How this works in practice
Badging system (simple and motivational):
* 2 opens: Bronze badge (basic alt/grassroots alignment).
* 3 opens: Silver badge.
* 4 opens: Gold badge (full native #openweb project).Projects self-assess and are evaluated by the community using these criteria. It's designed to be #KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) - easy to apply without bureaucracy.
It acts as a compass for #openweb vs. #closedweb. Use it to judge value, compost #techcrap/#techchurn, resist enclosure, and build trust-based digital commons. It's explicitly a social restating/extension of #FOSS paths, adding the missing social layer (#openprocess) that pure technical openness often lacks.
Only technical openness (e.g., open source + data) still leads to #geekproblem outcomes, meritocracy, fragmentation ("just fork it"), or capture by careerists/#fashionistas if process and culture are closed.
The #4opens prioritizes human-centred, trust-based infrastructure over scale, funding, or individual exit. This supports horizontal activism, mutual aid, and decentralized organizing (e.g., in #Indymedia history or current #Fediverse efforts).
Examples: Mastodon (when aligned) can score high; corporate platforms like Facebook score low across the board. It helps grow networks where communities own their storytelling, governance, and tools.
The framework is not rigid dogma but a living tool for "composting the mess" - turning failed and captured projects into fertile ground for better ones. It's central to #OMN projects, which are working on building federated, grassroots media and social infrastructure.
To sum up, it’s a powerful, low-overhead way to keep tech aligned with grassroots values rather than drifting into #mainstreaming or #deathcult logics of extraction and control.
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On the #geekproblem, here's one way to think about it:
This century, code is power. Coders play a role a bit like economists did in the last century - they shape the systems we live in.
But user-facing code only has power if people can and want to use it. Without good #UX, it's just #techchurn waiting to be composted.
Too many of our grassroots geeks still #BLOCK this reality, while #dotcons geeks turn good UX into a tool for serving the #deathcult.
As grassroots #DIY #openweb activists, one of our biggest jobs is to #unblock our geeks.
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On the #geekproblem, here's one way to think about it:
This century, code is power. Coders play a role a bit like economists did in the last century - they shape the systems we live in.
But user-facing code only has power if people can and want to use it. Without good #UX, it's just #techchurn waiting to be composted.
Too many of our grassroots geeks still #BLOCK this reality, while #dotcons geeks turn good UX into a tool for serving the #deathcult.
As grassroots #DIY #openweb activists, one of our biggest jobs is to #unblock our geeks.
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It should surprise no one that #mainstreaming institutions like the #EU struggle to imagine paths beyond the current mess. But they do have power and resources, so even a small shift toward genuinely useful work can have real impact.
The challenge is getting them to look away from the #deathcult long enough to support alternatives, We also have our own #geekproblem to overcome. That's the harder part. Ideas matter, but so do resources.
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It should surprise no one that #mainstreaming institutions like the #EU struggle to imagine paths beyond the current mess. But they do have power and resources, so even a small shift toward genuinely useful work can have real impact.
The challenge is getting them to look away from the #deathcult long enough to support alternatives, We also have our own #geekproblem to overcome. That's the harder part. Ideas matter, but so do resources.
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The pointlessness of self-described “liberals” comes from an illiberal habit: intolerance toward anything outside their own framing.
But real liberalism would mean openness - the ability to engage with different ways of doing things, and to sometimes accept or even learn from other worldviews.
With that in mind, it’s easier to see why things feel so stuck and messy right now.
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The pointlessness of self-described “liberals” comes from an illiberal habit: intolerance toward anything outside their own framing.
But real liberalism would mean openness - the ability to engage with different ways of doing things, and to sometimes accept or even learn from other worldviews.
With that in mind, it’s easier to see why things feel so stuck and messy right now.
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The culture of #FOSS
Three years ago I wrote: “I get the feeling we are running on dregs on the #fediverse dev side. Social movements come in waves; this one is ebbing into the #mainstreaming. No bad thing, but not, I think, what any of us want for ‘our’ #openweb.” Looking back, I wonder what has actually changed - and more importantly, what have we learned? The #Fediverse has grown, more people know about decentralised social media, more organisations are paying attention, and the ideas that once lived […] -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBW9QCVDSjY when the #geekproblem rules the world...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBW9QCVDSjY when the #geekproblem rules the world...
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Our #mainstreaming problem. If you are wondering why I keep documenting the issues around the #ActivityPub #openweb reboot, this is why.
Next time, maybe we can learn. Maybe we can mediate our “libertarian cats” a bit better and get a less messy path. Because we cannot keep making the same mistakes over and over.
I have been through this mess more than five times over 20 years of working on #openweb use, outreach and community building. This is not theory. It is experience.
Decentralised spaces are messy by nature. That is part of their strength. But if we don’t learn from our failures, the same patterns keep returning. So at the very least:
Can we please fuck up differently this time?
Document the lessons.
Build the memory.
Keep the commons alive.
Mess.
#OMN #4opens #fediverse #openweb #ActivityPub #commons #decentralisation #geekproblem
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Our #mainstreaming problem. If you are wondering why I keep documenting the issues around the #ActivityPub #openweb reboot, this is why.
Next time, maybe we can learn. Maybe we can mediate our “libertarian cats” a bit better and get a less messy path. Because we cannot keep making the same mistakes over and over.
I have been through this mess more than five times over 20 years of working on #openweb use, outreach and community building. This is not theory. It is experience.
Decentralised spaces are messy by nature. That is part of their strength. But if we don’t learn from our failures, the same patterns keep returning. So at the very least:
Can we please fuck up differently this time?
Document the lessons.
Build the memory.
Keep the commons alive.
Mess.
#OMN #4opens #fediverse #openweb #ActivityPub #commons #decentralisation #geekproblem
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Wrote this 5 years ago, and it still feels relevant.
#OMN is about pushing pragmatic horizontalism as a living practice.
There are millions of people experimenting with these ideas through the #fediverse and the wider #openweb - one of the biggest real-world experiments in decentralised, networked social organisation happening today.
The interesting question is not whether horizontal systems can work. The question is how we learn from them, improve them and build the social tools needed to keep them healthy.
Less control, more participation, build the commons.
#OMN #4opens #openweb #fediverse #commons #decentralisation #geekproblem
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Sometimes the answer is not removing trust. Sometimes the answer is rebuilding it.
“No trust” is an imaginary problem that crypto doesn’t actually solve anyway.
Trust is not a bug in society - it is the foundation of society. Communities, relationships, cooperation and shared knowledge all depend on trust.
Building everything around the assumption that humans cannot trust each other leads to the #deathcult logic - #neoliberalism written in code.
The #geekproblem is confusing technical distrust with a social solution. More encryption, more verification, more systems of control do not automatically create better communities.
#openweb #commons #fediverse #4opens #OMN #deathcult #geekproblem
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Having a shared pool of hashtags is a way of creating social cohesion and action - a way for people to find each other and talk across #silos. It is a #DIY “search” system, but only if people actually use and share the language.
The #OMN use of hashtags is mostly #nothingnew. I take existing ideas, connect them to outcomes, and create shorthand for conversations that already exist. Examples:
#deathcult = neoliberalism, with the understanding of the real-world outcomes. The metaphor connects a political mindset with its consequences. The historical reference comes from the Irish potato famine - reminder of what happens when a mindset becomes #mainstreaming and millions of people are treated as expendable.
#Geekproblem = a critique of a strand of 20th-century modernism when technical thinking becomes dogmatic. The problem is not “geeks” or technology itself - there is a good side to modernism. The problem is losing the social nuance and turning everything into a technical problem.
#stupidindividualism = thinking about the balance between self and society. It is an outcome of the #deathcult and a symptom of the #geekproblem - the idea that everything can be reduced to isolated individuals instead of relationships and communities.
Could go on…
The point is not the hashtag itself. The point is building shared language, so people recognise patterns, connect ideas and work across the current #blocking silos.
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The #geekproblem is not that engineers are bad people. It is the cultural mistake of believing technical problems can be separated from social reality. - When Technologists Forget the Warning https://hamishcampbell.com/when-technology-forgets-the-warning/
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When Technologists Forget the Warning
The thing about #techbro culture is that some of the most #elitists people grew up loving stories that warned us about the #techshit they are building. They read the dystopias, watched the films, they understood the dangers of unchecked capital, concentrated power, surveillance, artificial intelligence, inequality, and corporate control. Then many of them decided “Great idea. Let’s build it.” as the #geekproblem made them think they knew better. This is what our #fashionista class call […]https://hamishcampbell.com/when-technology-forgets-the-warning/
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We should stop building "progressive" technology in isolation.
If there isn't a living social group around a technology, a community that isn't primarily made up of developers, then we're just reproducing the #geekproblem.
The health of a project is measured by the communities it empowers, without roots in real social needs and real social groups, the best tech ends up as another self-referential geek project.
Less code-first. More people-first.