This post is relevant to the degeneration of the #SocialHub project https://hamishcampbell.com/why-teach-everyone-to-code-has-become-a-dead-end-slogan/ this used to be the place for #ActivityPub and #Fediverse reboot, but now the social side is the few remaining unthinking "problem" people. This is a normal path, outcome, that we do need to compost to keep growing seeds #KISS
@hamishcampbell
imagine social media where nobody could read/write? it wouldnt even exist, but if it did, it would be only for the elite of literate people doing social media on behalf of everyone ....just like programming, including robots and drones and AI and ever more ubiquitious technologies are all programmed by an elite on behalf of us.
The only way is to pave ways to include more and more people into the field that defines how the world works in the same way that reading/writing did.
@serapath the whole thing about social change by training programming is in theory a path, but it's a failed path for the last 20 years, and it's had amply funding and resources pushed at it so we have plenty of illustration of this fail.
This is another example of the blinded #geekproblem
I use the word blinded to illustrate that people can't see the sense in front of their faces #KISS
And I use the hashtag #blocking to show the outcome of this blindness #KISS
@hamishcampbell
on any blank web page, you can always edit the url bar to add url params or you can press `ctrl+shift+i` to open the devtools whih include a javascript console to interqct with a web page based on executing javascript commands ...but in addition to it, you always have UI or you can add new UI via web extensions or bookmarklets or by copy/pasting JS into the devtools console.
So custom UI is one syep away, while on the traditional command line, custom UI is a heroic effort away
@serapath this is a #Geekproblem answer which I am talking about as the problem, so putting forward this as a solution is either misunderstanding or bad faith. Worth talking about this, It's why I bring it up #KISS
UPDATE: added to end of this article https://hamishcampbell.com/rebalance-by-shifting-focus-from-tools-to-cultures/
hamish campbell
boosted
The #KISS#OMN path is about building practical, commons-based media tools now, not later. Most of the mess - and the endless #blocking - comes from ownership and control. We sidestep that by placing a whole class of media firmly in the commons under the #4opens. This doesn’t “fix” the #mainstreaming mess overnight, but it gives us space to work before it catches up. By then, if we’ve done it right, society will have shifted toward a more open path.
This isn’t theory. If you’ve got resources, fund development. If you’re technical, code the apps and servers. If you understand UX, design for accessibility. If you do media, tell the story. The projects in the stories - from Oxford: Going with the Flow to Stalls and Code - are grounded in practical use and designed to mediate social breakdown for better outcomes. But they only work if we build them and use them in time. So let’s keep it positive, simple, and moving forward.
The #KISS#OMN path is about building practical, commons-based media tools now, not later. Most of the mess - and the endless #blocking - comes from ownership and control. We sidestep that by placing a whole class of media firmly in the commons under the #4opens. This doesn’t “fix” the #mainstreaming mess overnight, but it gives us space to work before it catches up. By then, if we’ve done it right, society will have shifted toward a more open path.
This isn’t theory. If you’ve got resources, fund development. If you’re technical, code the apps and servers. If you understand UX, design for accessibility. If you do media, tell the story. The projects in the stories - from Oxford: Going with the Flow to Stalls and Code - are grounded in practical use and designed to mediate social breakdown for better outcomes. But they only work if we build them and use them in time. So let’s keep it positive, simple, and moving forward.
@hamishcampbell
...but then again, thats something that is unlilely to happen, because fediverse ppl follow their own ideas. ...but we'll definitly get there.
First it woupd be cool to have a fully functional p2p-news-app with proper UI/UX ...and then maybe a bit of testing and then maybe integration with fediverse and if anyone likes the p2p experience, maybe they can even help lobby for funding, because it is tpugh to endlessly push this forward without any support
@serapath most of the mess and #blocking is based on ownership and control. We simply walk away from this mess by putting a class of media into the commons with the #4opens
And yes you would be right this #mainstreamin mess will fallow us eventually but by the time it catches up we might have changed society a bit to have a different path as outcome #KISS
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-omn-with-indymediaback-and-makeinghistory-are-paths/
hamish campbell
boosted
@yianiris @info this is all a part of the #4opens and the #OMN by having all public data (the vast majority) in public commons and then by distribution this data redundantly in federated commons (as you say text and metadata in wiki format is not heavy).
Then this data can be backed up hot and cold in a #KISS format that can simply be fed back to the network if it's "lost". Sorting is by grouped hashtag to make data flow.
It's a #KISS project that will work if we can get the coding to happen, un mediated by excessive #geekproblem agendas.
@hamishcampbell kind of the same problem as hacking a mastodon instance allows a hacker to impersonate everyone who is registered on that instance to the rest of the world.
...but yeah... otherwise it works 🙂
@serapath
I am thinking of not a single bridge but federation, with both DAT and AP both running on the server sharing the same database of media objects. As the data flows around and is text and metadata is hugely redundantly stored (in public #4opens). Then one server being hacked can be rolled back out of the pool #KISS
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-omn-with-indymediaback-and-makeinghistory-are-paths/
@hamishcampbell alright. will bookmark and revisit from time to time to align communication 🙂 thx
@serapath for the #DAT stuff to become relevant we need to bridge to #ActivityPubhttps://hamishcampbell.com/building-bridges-instead-of-walls/ then we have the 2 paths and people can choose without isolation and alienation of the current pushing of the #geekproblem
Diversity is the bases of any ecological system, we need to treat tech in this wider view #KISS
@yianiris @info this is all a part of the #4opens and the #OMN by having all public data (the vast majority) in public commons and then by distribution this data redundantly in federated commons (as you say text and metadata in wiki format is not heavy).
Then this data can be backed up hot and cold in a #KISS format that can simply be fed back to the network if it's "lost". Sorting is by grouped hashtag to make data flow.
It's a #KISS project that will work if we can get the coding to happen, un mediated by excessive #geekproblem agendas.
hamish campbell
boosted
#Frictionlessness is a Poisoned Fantasy – an #OMN Reflection is only in activism – in tension, in movement, in shared resistance – can we build anything real #KISShttps://hamishcampbell.com/frictionlessness-is-a-poisoned-fantasy-an-omn-reflection/
#Frictionlessness is a Poisoned Fantasy – an #OMN Reflection is only in activism – in tension, in movement, in shared resistance – can we build anything real #KISShttps://hamishcampbell.com/frictionlessness-is-a-poisoned-fantasy-an-omn-reflection/
hamish campbell
boosted
The #OMN is native to none of these tribes. That’s its strength. But also why it’s often ignored or misunderstood. No permissions, no gatekeeping, no central database. It just works. That’s the #KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
None of the usual suspects like this: Geeks: Don’t like using old tools like RSS or thinking socially. Politicos: Prefer being seen at the cutting edge, even if it leads nowhere. NGOs: Want measurable outcomes, not messy grassroots growth. But we need to stop building castles in the sky. Start building bridges instead.
The real block? The mental model of our tech and political culture. We’re still thinking in terms of silos, ownership, and control.
hamish campbell
boosted
The path I walk, and advocate for, is rooted in a few simple but powerful #KISS principles: a return to grassroots governance, a focus on community-driven technology, and the composting of failed ideas to nurture new growth. To enable this shift, we must develop tools and frameworks that uphold transparency, empower collective action, and center sustainable, open alternatives. This means pushing back against the dominant #mainstreaming narrative and embracing practical, grounded methods of building from the bottom up. You can see some of this in action at unite.openworlds.info.
I remain deeply critical of the role of #NGOs and the broader mainstreaming strategies that dilute radical potential. Too often, projects that begin with genuine grassroots energy are co-opted through institutional funding and pressure to conform. This turns them into vehicles for maintaining the status quo rather than challenging it. To reclaim our agency and resist this corruption, we need to re-center on the #4opens, prioritize collective and direct action, and build resilient alternatives to the #deathcult of neoliberalism. My critique comes from long experience with radical media and open tech — from #Indymedia and #OMN to the #Fediverse and ActivityPub. Learn more at hamishcampbell.com.
My #boatingeurope life reflects a more sustainable, #DIY lifestyle — an attempt to live "native" to the rhythms of nature rather than the chaos of the #deathcult. A decade ago, after 20 years campaigning on climate and ecological collapse, I sailed away in a literal lifeboat, escaping burnout and disillusionment. But the world is round — and I’ve since returned to re-engage with tech activism and grassroots media, because retreat alone won’t solve systemic issues. Bridging the divide between alternative cultures and the mainstream remains vital. Yet this is often blocked by both sides — the mainstream demands conformity, while alt-paths refuse to compromise. Without building bridges, we risk further stagnation. It's time to find common ground without losing our roots.
#hamishcampbell
Support on Open Collective
Boating Europe on YouTube
The path I walk, and advocate for, is rooted in a few simple but powerful #KISS principles: a return to grassroots governance, a focus on community-driven technology, and the composting of failed ideas to nurture new growth. To enable this shift, we must develop tools and frameworks that uphold transparency, empower collective action, and center sustainable, open alternatives. This means pushing back against the dominant #mainstreaming narrative and embracing practical, grounded methods of building from the bottom up. You can see some of this in action at unite.openworlds.info.
I remain deeply critical of the role of #NGOs and the broader mainstreaming strategies that dilute radical potential. Too often, projects that begin with genuine grassroots energy are co-opted through institutional funding and pressure to conform. This turns them into vehicles for maintaining the status quo rather than challenging it. To reclaim our agency and resist this corruption, we need to re-center on the #4opens, prioritize collective and direct action, and build resilient alternatives to the #deathcult of neoliberalism. My critique comes from long experience with radical media and open tech — from #Indymedia and #OMN to the #Fediverse and ActivityPub. Learn more at hamishcampbell.com.
My #boatingeurope life reflects a more sustainable, #DIY lifestyle — an attempt to live "native" to the rhythms of nature rather than the chaos of the #deathcult. A decade ago, after 20 years campaigning on climate and ecological collapse, I sailed away in a literal lifeboat, escaping burnout and disillusionment. But the world is round — and I’ve since returned to re-engage with tech activism and grassroots media, because retreat alone won’t solve systemic issues. Bridging the divide between alternative cultures and the mainstream remains vital. Yet this is often blocked by both sides — the mainstream demands conformity, while alt-paths refuse to compromise. Without building bridges, we risk further stagnation. It's time to find common ground without losing our roots.
#hamishcampbell
Support on Open Collective
Boating Europe on YouTube
hamish campbell
boosted
What Should We Do With Metadata? A Post-Capitalist Path via #OMN
We’re in a global metadata arms race — and most people don’t even know the stakes.
Here’s the current battlefield:
Capitalism wants metadata privatized — hoarded by #dotcons to manipulate markets and politics. This power now controls the state. Welcome back, fascism.
Authoritarianism (like China’s digital state) wants metadata centralized — state-controlled to command capitalism itself. The command economy returns, just digitized.
Liberalism wants metadata individualized — a libertarian dream of sovereign users and self-determined markets, it still leans into myths of meritocracy and fails to balance collective power.
But what if we chose a fourth path?
Anarchism, grounded in voluntary association, mutual aid, and decentralization — this is the path #OMN walks. Using #4opens, we’re attempting a #KISS trust-based, commons-driven model for metadata.
hamish campbell
boosted
The current media system is stacked against us. It’s rigged, exclusive, and hostile to alternatives.
That’s why we need the Open Media Network.
Because without an open, trust-based infrastructure for communication and coordination, we’re just shouting into silos.
Let’s build something different.
Let’s make history — together.
#OMN #4opens #metadata #trustnetworks #openweb #anarchism #postcapitalism #decentralization#DIYtech #commons #grassroots#foss #geekproblem #dotcons#KISS
The current media system is stacked against us. It’s rigged, exclusive, and hostile to alternatives.
That’s why we need the Open Media Network.
Because without an open, trust-based infrastructure for communication and coordination, we’re just shouting into silos.
Let’s build something different.
Let’s make history — together.
#OMN #4opens #metadata #trustnetworks #openweb #anarchism #postcapitalism #decentralization#DIYtech #commons #grassroots#foss #geekproblem #dotcons#KISS
What Should We Do With Metadata? A Post-Capitalist Path via #OMN
We’re in a global metadata arms race — and most people don’t even know the stakes.
Here’s the current battlefield:
Capitalism wants metadata privatized — hoarded by #dotcons to manipulate markets and politics. This power now controls the state. Welcome back, fascism.
Authoritarianism (like China’s digital state) wants metadata centralized — state-controlled to command capitalism itself. The command economy returns, just digitized.
Liberalism wants metadata individualized — a libertarian dream of sovereign users and self-determined markets, it still leans into myths of meritocracy and fails to balance collective power.
But what if we chose a fourth path?
Anarchism, grounded in voluntary association, mutual aid, and decentralization — this is the path #OMN walks. Using #4opens, we’re attempting a #KISS trust-based, commons-driven model for metadata.
The #OMN is native to none of these tribes. That’s its strength. But also why it’s often ignored or misunderstood. No permissions, no gatekeeping, no central database. It just works. That’s the #KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
None of the usual suspects like this: Geeks: Don’t like using old tools like RSS or thinking socially. Politicos: Prefer being seen at the cutting edge, even if it leads nowhere. NGOs: Want measurable outcomes, not messy grassroots growth. But we need to stop building castles in the sky. Start building bridges instead.
The real block? The mental model of our tech and political culture. We’re still thinking in terms of silos, ownership, and control.