This thinking came out of this thread on the subject of the relationship between #WC3 and the grassroots #socialhub over the “governance” of #ActivityPub and the wider #Fediverse. A bridge rather than ownership would look like a collaborative, flexible, and trust-based system, rather than one based on control and dominance. In the context of the…
Is #fediforum a #4opens project?
We need to balance this mess making
The paywalled #FediForum, while billed as “the unconference for those moving the Fediverse forward,” is thin on the ground when it comes to real, impactful “native” voices. The grassroots actors who are notably absent from these spaces are far more significant in shaping the #openweb path than the #NGO and #dotcons interests pushing #mainstreaming. It’s…
Is Mastodon a #4opens project
The victim card in activism
There’s a pervasive and damaging cycle in activist and alternative communities that we need to recognize and break, the victimhood narrative. This is not about dismissing genuine struggles or the real problems we face (and let’s be clear, we all have these in abundance on alternative paths). What I’m talking about is the deliberate use…
Federating Metadata Flows: Bridging Folksonomy and Categories for the #OMN
These native #openweb activism based projects have been around for the last ten years. In the reboot of #Indymedia and the development of the Open Media Network (#OMN), the challenge of federating metadata flows sits at the heart of how people organize, distribute, and consume media in a decentralized, grassroots-driven native path. We’re navigating the…
Mastodon, Meta and Threads
#Fediverse, Definitions, and Building Activist Communities
The question of definitions, particularly around the “Fediverse” and its relationship with the ActivityPub protocol (AP), has become messy due to the influx of #mainstreaming people, this has sparked a lot of mostly unhelpful debate. Let’s be clear, there is no real “Fediverse” without #AP. Since Mastodon’s shift to AP, the entire Fediverse has been…
The #openweb, a partnership, not a nasty walk over
We are seeing a flood of #dotcons making their way into spaces built on #4opens principles. Their arrival forces us to consider the future we want, and if we can mediate this encroachment for a better path. Some perspectives on this: The #SocialWebFoundation (SWF) seems to fit into the first category—attempting to mediate between these…
A Path of Destruction: The Middle East’s Endless Conflict and Global Consequences
A #KISS post on the messy ideas behind this current real world mess. The current events in Gaza feel familiar, a replay of the tragic historical cycle that has been spinning for decades. Israel occupies Gaza. Gaza resists this occupation by attacking to retake occupied land, Israel responds by obliterating swaths of Gaza in brutal…
Let’s Try a Right-Wing Metaphor
On the #SWF thread, https://socialhub.activitypub.rocks/t/socialwebfoundation-what-do-people-think/4564/85 Let’s try a Right-Wing Metaphor: Well, this playground is full of noise In this noise, there is much sense, but no grown-up action. In a children’s playground, it is the adults who are in control, the ones who bind everything together, the ones who make the decisions. The children play,…
Oligarchy, Monarchy, and the Future of Governance of the #OpenWeb
The governance model of the Social Web Foundation (#SWF) aligns with oligarchy, where power is concentrated in the hands of a few, echoing the structures of monarchy normally seen within the broader #FOSS movement. Both oligarchic and monarchic may work for some traditional organizations, but they are not native to the organic, decentralized ethos of…