The blocking happens when criticism becomes a substitute for action

There is an important argument within environmentalism that often gets lost between the lifestyle politics of the light greens and the anti-industrial politics of the dark greens. It is humanistic green environmentalism – the idea that ecological sustainability does not require us to abandon technology or progressive modern life. Instead, we need to radically redesign … Continue reading The blocking happens when criticism becomes a substitute for action

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 … Continue reading Public conversation about public problems

The EU tech sovereignty plan

The European Commission has published its new Tech Sovereignty Plan. On the surface this sounds promising. Europe talks about reducing dependence on foreign tech giants, strengthening digital autonomy, and supporting open source. These are all things many of us in the #openweb world have been arguing for decades. But when you look at where the … Continue reading The EU tech sovereignty plan

#OMN Grounding (the roots as a story)

#techchurn is the endless cycle of adopting new platforms, tools, and technologies – not because they solve any real problems, but because novelty is mistaken for progress. It burns community trust, institutional memory, and activist energy, while leaving the underlying #nastyfew power structures untouched.https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=techchurn The #OMN uses #stupidindividualism to describe the culturally manufactured habit of … Continue reading #OMN Grounding (the roots as a story)

Should we do something native in the Fediverse?

And what would that actually look like? Let’s be honest about what the #Fediverse is, despite all the code and standards talk, the heart of the Fediverse is anarchism – not in the chaos sense, but in the older meaning: We have plenty of the A with decentralization, voluntary cooperation and resistance to imposed authority. … Continue reading Should we do something native in the Fediverse?

Getting through this era of collapse with anything humane intact

The discussions on sovereignty at #NGIForum2025 make me wonder: what year are we in? It’s as if we’re rebooting grassroots conversations we’ve had for decades – but without the mess, memory, or movement that gave them meaning in the first place. A breath of clarity came from @renchap, who said it plainly: Absolutely. If that … Continue reading Getting through this era of collapse with anything humane intact

A shift back to radical values and paths

Much of academia post-1990s is just a shadow of the #deathcult, stripped of radicalism and repackaged into careerist, bureaucratic loops. It became another self-referential path, detached from real world struggles. The privatization of knowledge through paywalled journals, corporate funding, and NGO capture made sure of this. The same thing happened with #FOSS and #opensource, once … Continue reading A shift back to radical values and paths

Hashtags

Hashtags are a critique and a rallying cry to gather round. They are the protest banners of the openweb #techchurn is the endless cycle of adopting new platforms, tools, and technologies – not because they solve any real problems, but because novelty is mistaken for progress. It burns community trust, institutional memory, and activist energy, … Continue reading Hashtags

In tech, what matters and what is dangerous

The influx of #mainstreaming brings many non-native, focuses into our growing shared alt spaces. When we embed content, most of these will be better handled as external resources. Let’s keep the core simple: #KISS and #4opens. One of the strongest of these is money, it is a dangerous subject for #openweb projects. It’s way too … Continue reading In tech, what matters and what is dangerous

Be FOR something, not against everything

The online world is full of noise, outrage, and clickbait designed to keep us reacting rather than acting. But the path to any real change doesn’t come from blindly doom-scrolling and fighting every battle thrown at us by the right-wing algorithms. It simply comes from building #DIY. A useful first step, if you want a … Continue reading Be FOR something, not against everything

#4opens vs. the #dotcons

The critical paths between governance, activism, and the ideological underpinnings of #FOSS, #opensource, and the #openweb. The problem, governance without “politics” which FOSS and opensource often ignore and block the politics, leading to governance models resembling feudalism where “better kings” may emerge, but the underlying structure remains inequitable. Without addressing systemic issues, projects replicate the … Continue reading #4opens vs. the #dotcons