witchescauldron

A lot of #P2P projects keep failing socially because adoption stays tiny. The #Fediverse has done better socially because it keeps the familiar social #UX.

So maybe the path forward is a half-step: Bridge #Fediverse + #P2P in real, usable ways until decentralized clients become socially relevant.

We need bridges and killer apps. Seamless UX where federated and p2p content feels like one stream.

A server that can read from both channels without making users care which protocol is underneath. That's the #KISS path.

Build the bridge first.
Make it useful.
Then decentralize the foundations underneath.

#OMN #openweb #4opens #KISS

There is such a thing as reality, and humans have an intrinsically limited idea of what it actually is.

All human thought and culture are created by humans. In that process, there is a strong tendency for our ideas to become religion, things we believe to be true rather than things we keep testing.

The West developed a useful hack to try to escape this trap. Religions are built around truth. Science is built around doubt.

Make an observation. Test it. Try to prove yourself wrong. Keep the results. Let someone else test them.

This simple hack has worked VERY well - for good and for evil. Science doesn't tell us what we should do. That's the next problem:

Morality.

#science #openweb #KISS

The #geekproblem in tech security - and the endless race to run after it - can be VERY anti-social.

More security.
More control.
More complexity.
More people locked out.

We keep treating social problems as technical problems, then wonder why the solutions don't build stronger communities.

If we have any hope of challenging and changing the #mainstreaming, we need to rebalance our thinking.

Technology is a tool. People and society are the point.

#openweb #4opens #KISS #commons

Digital Detox Is Urgently Needed https://hamishcampbell.com/digital-detox-is-urgently-needed/ What we’re facing in our digital mess isn’t only a failure of self-control, it’s a structural capture problem.

People live with far too much manufactured fear. The #deathcult keeps us afraid of change, afraid of each other, afraid of losing what we have - even when what we have is clearly not working.

We need to move away from the current mess, not cling to it because fear tells us it's safer. Change is scary, but staying trapped is a choice too.

#OMN #openweb #lifecult #KISS

@Nickelalloy@lemmy.world he is a political nutter, but kinda entertaining and a real adventure which is worth respecting

Build the gift economy not as charity, not as moral purity and not as nostalgia. As survival, resistance and a way to start living again. Get Out of the Money Economy – Rediscover the Gift Economy https://hamishcampbell.com/get-out-of-the-money-economy-rediscover-the-gift-economy/

Thinking of workshops to run at “Nodes On A Web” #NOAW unconference https://hamishcampbell.com/thinking-of-workshops-to-run-at-nodes-on-a-web-noaw-unconference/ The #Fediverse depends as much on culture, governance, and shared infrastructure as it does on code.

The real difference between “closed” and “open” systems is mostly about where power sits inside this stack. Shifting power in #openweb projects https://hamishcampbell.com/shifting-power-in-openweb-projects/

#Fediverse moderation today is mostly per-instance and hierarchical, with each server acting as its own silo. Many replicate commercial social media models, inheriting their flaws. This reflects a deeper bias toward control - shaped by both programming culture and mainstream expectations - rather than messy, collective solutions. As networks scale, top-down moderation becomes unworkable, leading to burnout, censorship, and fragility.

The native paths need to explore trust-based, horizontal moderation flows that distribute responsibility, reduce harm, and scale organically - offering a sustainable path beyond the limits of platform-style control.

The subject of “branding”, flags, banners is a real balance, they have power… And we need power in horizontal movements. What is the value of “bounded” projects https://hamishcampbell.com/what-is-the-value-of-bounded-projects/

Using the power of #4opens https://hamishcampbell.com/using-the-power-of-4opens/ Because if we do not make power visible, power will always hide itself.

At #NOAW event I talked a lot about the digital commons so thought it might be useful to write a post grounding this. The Digital Commons: The Ground We Already Stand On https://hamishcampbell.com/the-digital-commons-the-ground-we-already-stand-on/

#NOAW @FediVariety@mastodon.social think a good #KISS path out of this mess is to move social communications to the Fediverse. But I’m going to say something that sounds controversial, but isn’t: they should not primarily use any of the current codebases, as they are kind of kludges.

The proposal is that they fund the production of three new codebases based on commons publishing. Why three? Because funding this would cost cents on the euro compared to what they currently spend. Why three? Because likely two of them will mess up, so we need diversity.

Why not use existing codebases? Simply because they are copies of #dotcons or #NGOs. But what they have achieved is the standardisation of code, protocols, and culture, and for this, we should thank them.

As this is a federated network, people can still access and interact with it from these existing tools. So widening the native #openweb adds to their value as well.

https://hamishcampbell.com/thinking-of-workshops-to-run-at-nodes-on-a-web-noaw-unconference/

#OMN is not a finished answer, it is an attempt to walk this last path seriously, in practice, not just in theory. Practical tech philosophy https://hamishcampbell.com/practical-tech-philosophy/

The challenge now is not only resisting the current system, it is relearning how to build outside its assumptions. How did we get into such a mess? https://hamishcampbell.com/how-did-we-get-into-such-a-mess/

Churning of pointless tech projects https://hamishcampbell.com/churning-of-pointless-tech-projects/ The #OMN is one attempt at this – a shovel for composting the inhuman mess, so something living can grow from it.

The networks we use shape who we are – and the networks we are given by #dotcons are designed to make us spectators. Real Community, Not Algorithmic Spectacle https://hamishcampbell.com/real-community-not-algorithmic-spectacle/

Progress is rarely a straight line, and it requires a lot of grit, patience, and consistency to push through the plateaus. Progress is not easy https://hamishcampbell.com/a-path-that-works-for-progressive-ends-is-not-easy/

Most of the current “open paths” are cosplay at best, we need a network that links them as flows for there use to be unlocked from the current limits of #stupidindividualism shaping them – to become a native part of the expanding #openweb reboot. Closed systems protect individuals, but they rarely build movements https://hamishcampbell.com/closed-systems-protect-individuals-but-they-rarely-build-movements

A Note to #FOSS Maintainers and Funders: The Problem With #Mainstreaming https://hamishcampbell.com/a-note-to-foss-maintainers-and-funders-the-problem-with-mainstreaming/ the future of the #openweb will not be decided by technology alone. It will be decided by culture, governance, and resource flows.

We can use a lot of the mess of the last 20 years to learn from, the composting metaphor. A bit of #OMN history and where the current paths come from https://hamishcampbell.com/a-bit-of-omn-history-and-where-the-current-paths-come-from/

The point I’ve been making to some of the best people in progressive #mainstreaming is simple - over the last ten years, the balance of what you supported and funded has been wrong.

Your texts say one thing, but what gets funded and built is a limited subset of what those texts claim to value.

I don't think this is necessarily bad faith. But at some point we have to be honest about the gap between what we say we believe and what our actions actually produce.

When the support needed is the deeper social infrastructure, grassroots participation and open commons, then our blinded crew become part of the mess that needs composting rather than part of the path out of it.

We need shovels.

#OMN #openweb #4opens #KISS

Reducing fear at scale usually requires: stronger communities, trustworthy “native” institutions using #4opens communication to drive real participation in building visible alternatives. Individual fears https://hamishcampbell.com/individual-fears/

What do you think? Do we need more practical tools, or is it more about mindset shifts? How do we balance this? Why are our #fashionistas so poisonous? https://hamishcampbell.com/why-are-fashernistas-so-poisoning/

What is the value of “bounded” projects https://hamishcampbell.com/what-is-the-value-of-bounded-projects/ Without this boundary we have a tendency to fight and create mess

News culture on the Fediverse https://hamishcampbell.com/news-culture-on-the-fediverse/ This is one of the important cultural shifts the #OMN is supporting, the move from hierarchical validation to networked understanding.

In organizing, when you create hard structures, people pick them up and hit each other with them.

Rules become bureaucracy. Roles become power. Metrics become targets. Structures built to help the work start controlling the people.

So what happens when we push soft structures instead?

Structures that guide rather than command.
Boundaries that can change. Roles that rotate. Power that can be challenged, recalled and redistributed.

That is part of what we are exploring with the #OMN. Not no structure - less rigid structure, more living commons.

Be critical or be corrupted https://www.cenizal.com/be-critical-or-be-corrupted/

#openweb #4opens #commons #KISS

The point I’ve been making to some of the best people in progressive #mainstreaming is simple - over the last ten years, the balance of what you supported and funded has been wrong.

Your texts say one thing, but what gets funded and built is a limited subset of what those texts claim to value.

I don't think this is necessarily bad faith. But at some point we have to be honest about the gap between what we say we believe and what our actions actually produce.

When the support needed is the deeper social infrastructure, grassroots participation and open commons, then our blinded crew become part of the mess that needs composting rather than part of the path out of it.

We need shovels.

#OMN #openweb #4opens #KISS

Understanding these #KISS psychological ideas helps – a little- to shovel the shit we need to compost https://hamishcampbell.com/political-belief-systems/

The projects start from a social understanding: technology alone doesn’t create networks. Culture, trust, and shared practice do. A bit of #OMN history and where the current paths come from https://hamishcampbell.com/a-bit-of-omn-history-and-where-the-current-paths-come-from/

The problem is not that the current #dotcons systems are broken, the problem is that they are working exactly as designed. Growing the #openweb – Notes for Burning Down the #dotcons (and building an #OMN) https://hamishcampbell.com/growing-the-openweb-notes-for-burning-down-the-dotcons-and-building-an-omn/

This is worth thinking about - How our “mainstreaming” people understand what they’re doing https://hamishcampbell.com/how-our-mainstreaming-people-understand-what-theyre-doing/

The #OMN represents a small but practical step to build something different, not a platform empire, or another startup. Why It’s Difficult – and What We Can Do About It https://hamishcampbell.com/why-its-difficult-to-build-the-omn-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/

The universal mandate of #SSL – We need a pragmatic approach to #openweb security https://hamishcampbell.com/a-balanced-and-pragmatic-approach-to-native-openweb-security/

#Anarchist economics https://hamishcampbell.com/anarchist-economics/ The irony is that this is often more practical than capitalism itself.