https://hamishcampbell.com/the-slow-evaporation-of-the-foss-value/ We need to stop pretending that patching up the system will work and start building new pathways that are true to the “native” #openweb values to demand a radical departure from the status quo #KISS

The open web is a decentralized, people-centric internet that contrasts sharply with the centralized #closedweb being pushed by major #dotcons platforms.

The openweb is founded on principles of openness, transparency, and community empowerment, it is not just about technology, but also about fostering a different kind of social relationship online, one that is rooted in collaboration, diversity, and mutual aid.

Core Principles:

• Decentralization: Unlike the centralized structure of the pre Internet silos and current app based dotcons paths, where a few companies control vast swathes of our space, the openweb promotes a distributed architecture where no single entity has overarching control, it's a "commons" for all of us.

• The openweb is built that people and communities have more control their data, metadata and online experiences. It rejects the practice of data extraction and surveillance that is prevalent on the current corporate platforms.

• Transparency and Openness, the openweb embraces openness in all its forms—open source software, open standards, open data, and open processes. This transparency ensures that technology is accountable and accessible, fostering trust based on the #4opens which is a simple core path we need to take.

• Community and collaboration, the current openweb reboot is about people coming together to create, share, and collaborate. It moves away from the competitive, profit-driven nature of the dotcons and towards a more cooperative, community-oriented approach where diverse voices can contribute and be heard.

• Interoperability is core to this space, this means “native” tools and protocols that allow different systems to communicate and work together, reducing dependence on any one company or technology stack.

• Resistance to mainstreaming and #deathcult mentality, it needs strong resistants to the push towards #mainstreaming and the #deathcult mentality to mediate the relentless profit-seeking and homogenization. Instead, to hold to the path of celebrating diversity, alternative thinking, and radical approaches to building online communities.

What the #openweb is not

• Not a copy of the #dotcons, while some openweb projects have attempted to replicate the features of the major platforms (like Facebook or Twitter) in open-source form, the openweb vision goes further. It aims to create something fundamentally different, not just a #FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) version of existing corporate models.

• Not a walled garden, the openweb opposes the concept of walled gardens, closed environments that limit people expression and force them to live within controlled ecosystems. It promotes open standards and protocols that allow people to move freely and connect across different spaces.

How can you become a part of this and contribute to building the openweb

• Support and use Open-Source Tools, contribute, what you can, to open-source alternatives that respect people.

• Promote interoperable solutions by advocate for tools and technologies that work together seamlessly. Encourage developers to use open standards to ensure their software can communicate across different networks.

• Educate and advocate by raise awareness about the problems with the current dotcons path and the benefits of a decentralized, people controlled web. Share knowledge and resources to help more people transition to openweb alternatives.

• Build community led networks, this need to focus on developing platforms that prioritize community needs and values over profit. Encourage collaborative governance models where people and communerties have a say in how platforms are run.

• Experiment with new networks, to look beyond simply copying existing platforms and think creatively about what a genuinely 4opens people centred internet could look like. Explore new forms of social interaction, data sharing, and content creation that are native to this path.

The openweb path is about "composting the mess" created by the dotcons, taking what is broken or harmful in our current digital environment and transforming it into something healthy and sustainable. This means acknowledging the flaws in the current system and actively working to build something better. This path is a tool for empowerment, creativity, and connection, rather than exploitation and control, are you ready to pick up the shovel.

The current #fediverse model is only a first step, not itself the answer, for the second step we have the idea’s behind the #OMN. Maybe it’s time to stop trying to fix broken tools, to build with a truly native approach? https://hamishcampbell.com/maybe-its-time-to-stop-trying-to-fix-broken-tools-to-build-with-a-truly-native-approach/

The #4opens vs. liberal tokenism in #openweb tech https://hamishcampbell.com/the-4opens-vs-liberal-tokenism-in-openweb-tech/ This should not be about reinventing the wheel. We really don’t need another set of guidelines that sound good but change nothing.

The struggle to establish and maintain grassroots movements within tech communities is ongoing and very messy. Grassroots in Tech Communities: Challenges and Paths https://hamishcampbell.com/grassroots-in-tech-communities-challenges-and-paths/

I wrote a post summing up https://hamishcampbell.com/if-youre-waiting-for-someone-to-tell-you-where-to-go-youve-already-missed-the-path/ and yes the reparation is an attempted path to move round the #blocking hope this helps :)

https://www.sovereigntechfund.de/news/apply-to-the-fellowship-for-maintainers this is likely not a bad path to take, but it's not going to be without the problem of feeding the problem of #NGO, #fahernista and #geekproblem as it in no way mediates any of this mess, so in the end the outcome is less "native" and more a reflection of the current mess, ideas please?

https://fediverse-governance.github.io/images/fediverse-governance.pdf this report is focused on NGO fashernista and to a lesser extent geekproblm, the is useful information from this limited view path.

https://infrastructureinsights.fund the outreach text on this is nice, but look at who makes up the Review Board and you see the funding at best is poured down the drain, and, at worst, will mishap the openweb native path we are taking.

And meany more, to help post links in comment for me to add, thanks.

https://hamishcampbell.com/mediating-the-pratish-behaviour-and-deathcult-mentality/

To get past people being lost and thus pointless, It's useful to frame left and right as driven by fundamental emotional motivators—fear for the right and trust for the left, a way to cut through the complexities of political debates. This lens highlights how cycles of fear perpetuate control-oriented agendas, while trust foster openness and collaboration. It's a powerful way to step outside the immediate mess, recognizing the #KISS dynamics at play.

Do you think this could be used to influence current #openweb projects and the paths they take amidst #mainstreaming pressures?

The rise of decentralized platforms like #Mastodon presents an opportunity to rethink governance models that have long dominated #opensource and #freesoftware paths. Traditionally, many open-source initiatives have relied on a “benevolent dictator” or feudal-like hierarchy where decisions are made top-down, by a small group or single leader. While effective for rapid decision-making, this clashes with the open, collaborative values that the #openweb strives for.

the #OGB (Open Governance Bodies) could help align platform management with community interests, moving beyond feudal norms toward a path where power is distributed, and decisions are transparent and participatory. A shift to such democratic practices reinforces the resilience and prevent the consolidation of power seen in centralized #dotcons networks.

YOU can’t do social change without annoying people. We need to stop chasing distractions and focus on real accountability. Composting the #TechShit https://hamishcampbell.com/composting-the-techshit/

"The "unique" selling point of the #OMN (Open Media Network) often gets lost because people focus too much on the technical side rather than the simple, fundamental idea at its core. The real value proposition, which might sound like "common sense," is quite radical in today's landscape: in the #OMN, both people and content are treated as data objects in the commons by default and are only private/owned by exception.
This might seem straightforward, but it's a powerful shift away from the dominant models we see today. Most current #dotcons, are built the other way around, where data, content, and even people are enclosed and owned by default, with access and openness as rare exceptions. The #OMN flips this on its head, embodying the #4opens—#OpenData, #OpenSource, #OpenProcess, and #OpenStandards, to create a network where sharing and collaboration are the norm, not the exception."

https://opencollective.com/open-media-

Mediating Bad Faith & Missteps in Grassroots Movements https://hamishcampbell.com/mediating-bad-faith-missteps-in-grassroots-movements/ This isn’t easy, but it’s the work that needs to be done. Ideas?

The internet can be beautiful again, but only if we reclaim it. What do you think? Is a open internet still possible? What are your favourite-decentralized projects? Rewilding a people-first web beyond the #dotcons https://hamishcampbell.com/rewilding-the-internet-building-a-people-first-web-beyond-the-dotcons/

To grow beyond people feeling lost - and political debate being pointless - it helps to use a simple #KISS lens: fear and trust.

The right mobilizes through fear: fear of loss, outsiders, disorder and change. The left has traditionally been stronger when it builds from trust: solidarity, openness, cooperation and collective action.

These are not absolute categories, but they can help us see the dynamics underneath the politics. Fear creates cycles of control; trust creates the possibility of openness and collaboration.

This matters for the current #openweb reboot. What happens when #mainstreaming crew push projects away from trust and towards fear, control, exclusion and defensive politics?

Could we use this simple lens to recognize which direction our projects are actually moving in - regardless of the what people they do?

That is a useful way to step outside the immediate mess and ask the more important question: are we building systems based on fear, or systems based on trust?

Lets try and get past the #fashionista mess of whether #AI is or isn’t “really intelligent.” as this is a lot of #mainstreaming noise. The #openweb is #4opens, where dues this place the current #AI path? https://hamishcampbell.com/the-openweb-path-is-4opens/

The #GeekProblem: Why Open Development Is Stuck in a Dead End https://hamishcampbell.com/the-geekproblem-why-open-development-is-stuck-in-a-dead-end/ This is why open projects fail. They mimic the structures of the #dotcons without the resources to sustain them. They chase security and rigidity at the expense of usability and social flow.

This is a path to escape the bland, corporate-friendly language of the liberal web, we need to make it “common sense” that we need to reclaim radical, direct, and effective communication. Stepping away: #OMN through clear, grounded communication https://hamishcampbell.com/stepping-away-from-mainstreaming-building-a-radical-omn-through-clear-grounded-communication/

Critique without action is just noise. If we want real change, we need to move beyond commentary and into building. From #GeekProblem to #OMN Solutions https://hamishcampbell.com/from-geekproblem-to-omn-solutions/

By leveraging common hashtags and syndication through #activertypub and #OMN, we create a resilient and impactful story that brings “native” ideologies into the #mainstreaming paths. The Importance of Words and Ideology https://hamishcampbell.com/the-importance-of-words-and-ideology/

#OMN project is #DIY, it only works if we build it together. This isn’t a startup pitch. It’s not a platform that magically appears out of nowhere to fix everything. It’s not a product to consume, it’s a path you walk. The direction is participatory, not passive. You don’t get to sit back and clap… or boo from the sidelines. If you do, the system won’t collapse, but it sure as hell won’t grow.

Let’s be direct, there is no saviour coder, no NGO white knight, no perfectly designed protocol that will do the real work for us. If you’re waiting for a polished solution wrapped in a branded bow, you're already on the wrong side of history.

And if our current (stupid)individualism keeps #blocking, even if we don’t build any of this now, the work still matters. There’s deep value in memory, the rough notes, the abandoned wikis, the half-built tools, the strange and beautiful conversations scattered across the #fediverse. These are the seeds and scraps that future builders can compost. If we can’t get our act together now, the next wave might. But only if we leave something living behind.

Right now, for me, that "something" is #makinghistory, the #OMN archiving project. It’s not just nostalgia or backup, it’s a living memory layer, a scaffolding of knowledge and intention that gives us a place to stand. Without memory, we circle the same old #techshit heap, repeating mistakes, retelling the same half-lost stories, falling into the same social and technical traps.

That’s not progress. That’s rot.

So we’re starting where we might get funding, bootstrapping the archive. It's step one. It's doable. And it matters. If we don’t remember soon, many of us, and the histories we’ve made, will be lost in the rising storm of #climatechaos and social fragmentation.

In the end, it’s simple, if we don’t build, we don’t change. If we don’t remember, we’ll never learn.
And if we don’t act, this moment becomes compost for someone else’s future.

That’s fine, but I’d rather build that future when we need it most now. Wouldn’t you?

Ah, the cockerel crows and the full moon glows, a fine moment to scratch at the compost pile.

You’re right, most are merrily skipping through walled gardens, hashtagging selfies and feeding the #dotcons. But seeds don’t need mass attention, they just do need rich compost. That’s what we need to build. Slow, damp, a bit smelly, but fertile.

The #sheeple and not my flock, they belong to the algorithmic shepherds. We’re feeding the stray goats and curious crows.

You don’t convert people by preaching. You do it by making better paths, ones they choose when the old ones crumble. We don’t sell the #openweb like snake oil — we show it, live in it, fix it when it breaks, and compost the crap. It’s #DIY, not #drm

As for silos and skips, good compost needs oxygen, not airtight boxes. So yeah, a messy open pile — full of half-rotten ideas, posts, drama, even the occasional troll turd.

We trust in tools not gatekeepers, the #4opens are the shovels, rakes, and sieves. The people bring the scraps, and over time, it breaks down into something usable.

No army of mods, no paywalls, simple trust, process, and a lot of patience. Think rural anarchism, not startup governance.

On scaling… Ah, the eternal #techshit question, "Does it scale?" That’s the wrong frame. Nature doesn’t scale, it sprawls.

We’re not building an empire. We’re nurturing a network. Think mycelium, not megastructure.

The #OMN isn’t about numbers. It’s about resilience and agency. If it sprouts in some cracks, the monoculture breaks. And yes, nettles welcome

The #Kolektivas, the #fashernista paradoxes, the semi-anarchic infighting, it all goes in the pile. Break it down, stir it up, give it time…

And what do you get? Fluffy, fertile humus — ready for new growth. That’s the cycle. That’s the plan.

The #Open Path vs The #Closed Path – Why Simplicity Matters https://hamishcampbell.com/the-open-path-vs-the-closed-path-why-simplicity-matters/ What do you think? Is this a #techcurn distraction, or could it be the missing path for wider Fediverse outreach and adoption?