#OMN (Open Media Network)

Hamish Campbell an #openweb organic intellectual and technologist

Blog: https://hamishcampbell.com/

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Last Notes

2026-07-15 01:14:32 CEST

People often ask which messaging platform they should use. Matrix? XMPP? Signal? Something else? The honest answer is there is no perfect option.
At the #OMN we’ve tried running #XMPP servers for years. From a #4opens prospective it’s probably the strongest foundation. Socially, though, it’s still trapped by the #geekproblem, despite years of outreach, we never found any implementation simple enough for normal communities to adopt at scale.
#Matrix is in meany ways worst, but for different resigns. Its governance and development have drifted towards an #opencore and #NGO model that doesn’t sit comfortably with grassroots #openweb values.
#Signal is the best of the bad options. It’s centralised and reproduces many of the patterns of the #dotcons. But people will actually install it and, sometimes, keep using it. That’s worth something.
The point is that these aren’t just technical choices, they’re social ones. Too much of the conversation gets trapped in feature comparisons, cryptography debates and protocol wars, while the real challenge is helping ordinary people communicate, organise and build trust together. That’s why #KISS matters.
Simple tools people actually use are often more valuable than technically perfect tools that remain confined to narrow inward looking communities.
The same lesson applies across the #Fediverse. We have seeded good technology, but we’re allowing the #fashionistas and chattering classes to dominate the conversation while practical grassroots organising gets pushed to the margins.
This is a recurring pattern, and one we need to compost. The future of the #openweb won’t be decided by having the cleverest protocol. It will be decided by whether we build communities around tools that ordinary people can understand, trust and participate in.
Technology matters, but social process matters more. That’s the path we’re trying to grow with #OMN and the #4opens.
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-is-a-hierarchy-of-good-evil-in-chat/
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fonline-chat-is-a-social-problem-not-just-a-technical-one%2F&linkname=Online%20Chat%20is%20a%20social%20problem%2C%20not%20just%20a%20technical%20one )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2026-06-30 16:23:09 CEST

The nasty side
Let’s look at a #fluffy positive view of the path we need to be on. We are living through a dangerous moment, the systems around us are failing, but the dominant response is still denial at worst or to try to repair the existing structures that created the crisis at best. But, the problem is not one bad policy, one bad company, or one bad government. The problem is a whole way of organising society around extraction, scale, speed and distance.
A system that measures success through endless economic growth has turned the living world into a resource pool, nature becomes something to consume, our communities become markets. People become workers and consumers to turn relationships into transactions. This is the logic of the #deathcult – the belief that there is no alternative to the endless expansion of production, consumption and competition.
But there are very different stories, for most of human history, people lived through relationships with place, community and the natural world. When knowledge was rooted in local experience, skills grew through connection, culture evolved through diversity. The problem is not that humans are incapable of living differently. The problem is that we built systems that separate us from the consequences of our actions. A global supply chain moves food thousands of miles while hiding the real costs. A corporation extracting value from a place without being accountable to the people who live there. A financial system creates wealth for a few while pushing the damage onto everyone else.
The result is not just ecological damage, it is cultural damage to the shared humanist knowledge, ecology, stories and local power. The process that creates monoculture in culture and thinking, when everything becomes standardised, the same products, platforms, economic assumptions, the same idea that progress means becoming more disconnected. This is where the old path of humanism and resulting localisation becomes important. Localisation is not about retreating from the world, it is not about small communities ignoring global problems. It is about rebuilding the connections that make society healthy, creating economies where people can see the impact of their choices.
This is where the #OMN story connects, the Open Media Network is not just about publishing tools, it is about rebuilding the missing social layer. The #openweb originally grew from the idea that people could connect, collaborate and create outside centralised control. It was messy, diverse and alive, in till the #closedweb enclosed this with #dotcons platforms designed around attention extraction, surveillance and profit.
The work of composting this mess is not simply building another platform, it is more about rebuilding culture. We need “native” networks that support local voices to connect #4opens globally to bridge a diversity of communities, ideas and ways of living. Not one giant system trying to manage everyone, we need a garden, not a factory. The challenge is that technical decentralisation on its own is not enough, a network can be decentralised and still reproduce the same problems. We need decentralised power, not just decentralised technology.
The exciting thing is that this is already happening, across the world people are rebuilding commons, the #Fediverse, creating alternative economies, restoring ecosystems and forming communities of resistance and care both online and offline. These stories rarely appear in the mainstream because the #mainstreaming is built around crisis, competition and spectacle. But underneath the noise, seeds are growing. This is why we need to stop only fighting the broken system to also grow alternatives.
The #OMN value is simple:<li>Create the compost where new ideas can grow.</li><li>Support the people already doing the work.</li><li>Build tools that strengthen communities instead of replacing them.</li><li>Move from consumers back into participants.</li><li>From isolated individuals back into connected communities.</li>
A movement is not created by everyone agreeing on one answer, a movement grows through many different experiments, connected by shared values. The future is not something we wait for, it is something we build. A flourishing society will not come from making the current system more efficient. It will come from growing something different.
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )But we also need to be honest about the scale of the challenge. The #deathcult does not simply disappear because we build nicer alternatives. It has power, institutions, money, media, infrastructure and the ability to absorb, dilute and sell back every challenge. This is where many #fluffy movements fail, they mistake visibility for power, mistake inclusion in existing systems for change. They mistake being allowed a seat at the table, for changing who owns the table.
The current system is very good at taking the language of resistance and turning it into another product. It can sell sustainability while accelerating extraction, sell community while building more isolation, sell “open” while creating new forms of enclosure.
This is why the #spiky #OMN is not about creating another nice corner inside the existing mess, the path is not to make the #dotcons slightly less harmful. This path is to grow a tech native humanistic network, an alternative that can change and challenge, culturally, socially and practically. Because the battle is not only over technology or economics, it is over imagination. For decades, we have been trained to believe there is no alternative. That large-scale capitalistic paths are inevitable, humans are just consumers, that communities are outdated, that efficiency matters more than resilience.
The deepest enclosure is of our minds, to break this we need both the fluffy and the spiky path. The fluffy grows gardens, relationships and commons. The spiky challenges the structures that keep the garden fenced in. Without the fluffy, to easily resistance becomes empty anger. Without the spiky, alternatives become harmless hobbies that the system can ignore. We need both, people building the new while also questioning the old.
Because the future will not be gifted to us by governments, corporations or platforms, it will be built by people organising together. The question is not whether change is possible, it is whether we organise enough, quickly enough, to make the possible real. Now we need the compost, the networks and the collective effort to help change and challenge grow.
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2026-06-25 16:41:08 CEST

A red warning for extreme heat has been issued across parts of the UK this week, including London. For people this heatwave across Europe feels frightening, not because of the temperatures themselves, but of what they imply. Nights stay hot, bodies don’t recover, systems don’t cool down. The baseline is shifting. The question that keeps coming up is simple and unavoidable – if this is what it’s like now, what is it like in 10, 20, 30 years? The answer is not uncertain, it is *more heat, more extremes, more instability*. There is no “new normal” coming, there is only escalating #climatechaos.
A #deathcult sect for the last 40 years was not built to survive itself, we are seeing this now, the infrastructure is failing. Hospitals, transport systems, housing, food networks – all were built for a climate that no longer exists. Even basic adaptation like cooling is uneven, fragile, and socially unequal. Some workplaces fail under heat stress. Some people have no protection at all. And crucially, we are still not adapting at the scale required.
The UK Climate Change Committee has already said it clearly, adaptation is too slow, stalled, or moving in the wrong direction. That is not a warning about the future, it is a #KISS description of failure in the present. The denial loop over the last 20 years is why we are in such a mess, the pattern is now obvious:<li>Scientists warn</li><li>Media briefly reports</li><li>Heat passes</li><li>Politics resets to “normal”</li><li>Nothing changes</li>
This cycle repeats while emissions continue and global temperatures rise toward 2–3°C and beyond this century. But bland media coverage hides the issues of extremes – heatwaves, floods, droughts, system shocks. And those are already exceeding earlier projections in many regions. Timid climate models underestimating reality due to feedback loops, jet stream disruption, aerosol reduction effects, and regional amplification. We are not just entering a warmer world, we are entering a more *unstable* one.
Knock-on effects are the real ongoing crisis, the danger is not only heat, it is cascading system failure:<li>food production under stress</li><li>rising prices and political instability</li><li>insurance withdrawal from entire regions</li><li>economic shocks from simultaneous disasters</li><li>infrastructure collapse under compounding extremes</li>
This will obviously trigger the most severe global financial instability in modern history. And then there are the wildcard risks – #WAMOC weakening or collapse, Amazon dieback leading to abrupt regional climate shifts. It is not just science fiction, they are known systemic risks inside a destabilising ecological earth system.
[](https://unite.openworlds.info/ )One thing we need to talk about and be more clear on is #climatechaos is #classwar. This mess is not experienced equally, the rich (most of the #nastyfew) up to a point when they die of old age can adapt individually, with industrial air conditioning, private infrastructure, relocation options to second homes in safer climates. While everyone else absorbs the breakdown of overheated housing, unsafe work conditions, failing public services and the resulting rising costs of survival.
This is why #climatechaos is also a strong class issue, the crisis is not just physical, it is political due to the visible distribution of risk and protection. After ten years of warnings, many of us were already naming this:<li>the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/deathcult/">#deathcult</a> logic of endless growth</li><li>the capture of institutions</li><li>the failure of mainstream politics to respond</li><li>the systemic nature of climate breakdown</li>
At the time it was still framed as prediction, now it is reality. The uncomfortable truth is not that we were wrong, it is that nothing meaningful was done at scale. One thing we have learned, that we understand more clearly now is it is not an information problem, it’s a systems’ problem.<li>Extraction-based economies cannot easily respond to limits</li><li>Attention-based media cannot communicate slow crisis</li><li>Electoral politics cannot act on long time horizons</li>
So the system produces delay, distraction, and denial even as conditions worsen. There is a strong role of the #dotcons in this mess as the big social media platforms have intensify this failure. They spent the last ten year optimise for outrage, fragmentation, consumption and finally forgetting. Crisis becomes a series of disconnected moments rather than a shared progressive long-term struggle. Each event resets attention to zero, memory does not accumulate. This is not an accident – it is structural.
Why #4opens matters now, becomes more important, not less, this is not the normal #mainstreaming liberal ideology. It is #KISS basic resilience infrastructure, as surviving #climatechaos requires collective intelligence that can persist across time, crises, and institutional failure, we need tecnolagy like the #OMN that can help medate this:<li>Closed systems concentrate control.</li><li>Open systems distribute survival capacity.</li>
But under all this the missing layer is meaning, one of the biggest underestimates from the last decade is psychological – people are not only resisting facts, they are defending meaning – belief in control, belief in technological rescue, belief in stability returning. But these #mainstreaming stories no longer match reality, but this denial persists, not because people don’t know, but because they cannot yet replace the blinded liberal stories. This is where change actually happens,not just information, but shared meaning and practice.
What changes now? Ten years ago the message was, stop feeding the system causing the crisis, now the message is build the systems that can survive what is already here. That means:<li>commons over enclosure</li><li>cooperation over competition</li><li>open systems over closed platforms</li><li>shared infrastructure over extraction</li><li>long-term memory over constant reset</li>##
Q&AWhy use #climatechaos when #ClimateChange already exists? Because language is not neutral.
“Climate change” sounds manageable, a technical adjustment.
“Climate chaos” describes lived instability, cascading breakdown, and systemic disruption.
Use both:<li><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/climatechange/">#ClimateChange</a> for reach</li><li><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/climatechaos/">#climatechaos</a> for reality, and action</li>
The point is not purity of language, its growing commons of action and [hashtags are a tool](https://hamishcampbell.com/hashtags/ ) for this.
As we see today, we are not approaching #climatechaos, we are inside it. The urgent question now is whether we can build systems – social, technical, and cultural – that can function while it unfolds or we keep letting things fail.
That is the #OMN challenge, and it is already overdue.
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )
#OMN #climate #4opens #openweb #deathcult #fediverse #KISS #OGB #climatechange
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2026-06-03 10:20:42 CEST

For most people, the crisis feels recent. Housing costs. Energy bills. Food prices. Debt. Insecure work. Growing inequality. Endless wars. Ecological breakdown. The #mainstreaming story is that these are separate problems with separate causes. COVID. Ukraine. China. Immigration. Technology. Bad politicians. The reality is simpler, these crises grow from the same roots – the moment things changed, one graph tells the story.
From the end of World War II until roughly the early 1970s, productivity and wages rose together. When workers produced more value, they received a larger share of that value. This was not charity. It was the social settlement that emerged from the disasters of the Great Depression and World War II. Governments understood that if ordinary people could not afford the goods they produced, capitalism would repeatedly collapse into crisis. The answer was public investment, strong unions, social housing, public infrastructure, public healthcare, education, and rising wages.
This was what some people now call the “golden age” of capitalism. Workers bought homes. Families survived on a single income. Public infrastructure expanded. Living standards generally improved. Then the trend broke, as productivity continued rising, but wages stopped. For the last fifty years, workers have produced more and more while receiving proportionally less and less. The wealth didn’t disappear, it moved upward.
Saving capitalism from itself – The original US New Deal wasn’t created because elitists became generous, it emerged because the system faced a legitimacy crisis. Mass unemployment. Mass poverty. Growing labour movements. Strong socialist alternatives. Faced with these pressures, governments invested in public works, strengthened labour rights, regulated finance, and redistributed wealth. The lesson was simple, if people have money, they buy goods, if people buy goods, businesses survive, if businesses survive, the economy functions. This wasn’t radical, it was practical as the state acted to stabilise society.
The neoliberal turn – by the 1970s, a different ideology was waiting in the wings. The solution offered by thinkers such as Milton Friedman and institutions such as the Chicago School was to reverse the post-war settlement. Privatise public assets, break unions, cut taxes on wealth, deregulate finance and reduce social spending to treat everything as a market. This project became government policy under Reagan, Thatcher, and much of the Western political class. The promise was freedom, the result was enclosure. Public wealth became private wealth, collective institutions were weakened, corporate power expanded, the bargaining power of workers collapsed.
The result was clear, the graph above tells the story, productivity kept climbing, compensation stagnated. The gains increasingly flowed upward. For the workers debt replaced wages, the old social contract was based on rising incomes, the new one was based on borrowing. If wages no longer rise fast enough, people still need homes, education, healthcare, transport. The gap was filled with debt: Credit cards, Student loans, Mortgages, Personal loans. Instead of sharing productivity gains directly, people borrowed against their futures. This worked for a while, until it didn’t.
A resent example of this mess is 2008 – The financial crash – exposed the reality, when ordinary people face crisis, they are told to tighten their belts. When financial institutions face crisis, public money appears instantly. Millions lost homes, lost jobs. Meanwhile, banks received vast bailouts. The lesson was clear. The system still knew how to mobilise resources, it simply chose who to save.
This is why we use the harsh hashtag #Deathcult. Composting this mess is where the #OMN idea of the #deathcult becomes useful as neoliberalism is not simply a set of economic policies, it is a cultural common sense. It teaches a “common sense” path that markets solve everything and that public solutions are inefficient. That society does not exist, that individuals succeed or fail alone. That endless growth on a finite planet is normal. That every commons must become a commodity.
This invisible ideology is now so deeply embedded that many people cannot imagine alternatives. The system creates crises and then presents more market solutions as the answer. Climate collapse becomes carbon trading. Housing crisis becomes investment opportunity. Community becomes #dotcons platforms. Citizens become consumers. The cure is always more of the disease.
In this mess we need to remember what we have lost, the biggest loss wasn’t economic, it was social. The institutions that once balanced private power were weakened: Trade unions, Cooperatives, Mutual aid, Community media, Public ownership, Local democracy, Shared stewardship, The commons. These weren’t perfect, but they gave ordinary people collective power. Without them, people are pushed into isolated competition. What #OMN calls #stupidindividualism. Everyone struggling alone against systems too large to influence individually.
Building beyond the mess, is not about post-modern nostalgia, the post-war settlement was deeply flawed. But what is built can be rebuilt, this means on a progressive path creating commons rather than commodities, governance rather than management, participation rather than consumption and community media rather than corporate platforms to grow cooperation rather than extraction.
As social infrastructure, the #4opens provide one practical foundation for this work: open process, open data, open standards and open licences. Because the real challenge is not technological. It is rebuilding the social relationships that make alternatives possible.
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )To sum up the graph of productivity and wages is not simply an economic chart, it is a map showing where the wealth went. And once we know where it went, we can start asking a more useful question: #KISS how do we build something different?
#OMN #OpenWeb #4opens #Deathcult #Neoliberalism #Commons #MutualAid #FoodSovereignty #CommunityMedia #OpenGovernance #NothingNew #DIY #KISS
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2026-04-02 16:37:55 CEST

If we want a better web, we have to stop pretending this is just about “bad tech companies doing bad things.” Of course, they are-that’s what capitalist incentives produce. The real question is: *what are we doing differently?*
That means accepting some uncomfortable truths. The better path will be less convenient, at least at first. We will have to *socially support* things that used to look free on the #dotcons. Because the cost we didn’t want to face is simple: the #openweb was always going to be harder, someone has to:<li>run the servers</li><li>maintain the software</li><li>fund development</li><li>handle abuse, moderation, and <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ux/">#UX</a></li>
The fantasy wasn’t that this work didn’t exist. The fantasy was that the market – advertising – would cover it without consequences.
In the current mess in tech paths, this becomes visible again. Bluesky and #ATproto keep getting lumped in with #ActivityPub under the easy label of “open protocols, yay”… but that’s just not true. Yes, they both sit in the #openweb space, but there’s a real structural problem here, and we’re seeing it play out in real time.
At [AtmosphereConf](https://trezy.com/blog/the-marshmallow-test ), the signal was stark:
> “Why would anyone fund an Atmosphere project if Bluesky, with $100 million in the bank, might ship a competing feature at any moment?”
That’s not an ecosystem. That’s a platform with enough gravity to crush its own edges. And [people are noticing](https://kolektiva.social/deck/@npub1764…nuj0/116335887322759826 ). The old pattern is back:<li>invite the community in</li><li>let them build the value</li><li>then absorb and replace them</li>
Same playbook, again and again. It *feels* open – but the centre still holds the power. The same dynamic we saw with Twitter. The DNA is obvious.
The difference really matters. #ActivityPub was built as a commons path from the start – messy, flawed, but natively open. #ATproto is something else: a platform-first model with openness layered on top. That’s why it keeps drifting this way. It’s not a bug, it’s the design.
Too much #techshit, and everything starts to stink. Why would anyone step into the #openweb if that’s the smell? This creates a bigger problem, that it’s a mess that keeps coming back, and as usual we’ll be the ones left to compost it, underfunded, unrecorded, and unthanked.
We’ve been here before – with the #encryptionists and the #blockchain mess. Big promises, lots of noise, overlapping hype cycles. Now there’s a clear overlap with #Bluesky and #AI. The risk isn’t just that this fails. It’s that when it fails, it leaves a miasma behind, making it harder for people to trust the *actually working* open paths. That’s the real damage.
Neglect is not innocence, this isn’t about blaming users instead of power. Power matters. Monopolies matter. Venture capital mess matters. But still, if the #openweb mattered, why didn’t we support it?
[](https://unite.openworlds.info/Open-Media-Network/MakingHistory )Why do people pay for streaming, cloud, and delivery, but not support publishing tools, independent media, hosting, or open infrastructure?
Why did so many #NGO organisations that *talked* about openness still push people onto closed platforms the moment growth and analytics are on the table? We keep choosing short-term convenience over long-term stewardship, not just a market failure, a cultural one.
So lets look at this mess again. I’ve been trying to find a way to express my view of the people who took over outreach in the #Fediverse, and in doing so helped shape the current #openweb reboot.
DRAFT: naïve, controlling, and self-interested.
They’ve left a mess that the people they pushed aside now have to compost. It’s really useful to look at how we got here.
In the early years, outreach was organised by a genuinely diverse, native crew. It was a good time – three open conferences, and even getting the EU to adopt the standard. But that group burned out, focus splintered, self-interest crept in, driven by the need to control resources. The balance shifted, and grifters gradually outnumbered them, eventually tearing it apart. In the space left behind, a new crew stepped in – filling the vacuum with centralised power and influence. And that’s where we are [today](https://mastodon.social/deck/@npub1764…nuj0/116335837684140743 ).
We don’t fix this by arguing harder. We fix it by building – and holding – open spaces that don’t follow this pattern.
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )https://hamishcampbell.com/lets-try-and-simplify-the-omn/
It’s not about features. It’s about culture.
[](https://mastodon.social/tags/ActivityPub )#ActivityPub comes out of the [](https://mastodon.social/tags/openweb )#openweb tradition.
[](https://mastodon.social/tags/Bluesky )#Bluesky comes out of a split lineage – [](https://mastodon.social/tags/openweb )#openweb roots, shaped by [](https://mastodon.social/tags/dotcons )#dotcons incentives, with an [](https://mastodon.social/tags/encryptionist )#encryptionist upbringing.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fwhy-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up%2F&linkname=Why%20do%20we%20keep%20bringing%20this%20up%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
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2026-03-23 09:37:45 CET

This is the **open-source – split – FOSS** moment for the Fediverse. We’ve seen this before. When “open source” was carved out of Free Software politics, it made the space more business-friendly – but at a cost, the movement never fully recovered from this. The result was a long-term weakening of the social and political grounding that made FOSS meaningful in the first place. We are in real danger of repeating this pattern in the Fediverse.
Vertical agendas – loud, well-funded, and institutionally backed – dominate conversations and displace the native horizontalism that defines the Fediverse and the #openweb. These agendas will ultimately fail, but not before they push out the grassroots energy that actually makes things work.##
A Practical InterventionOne leverage point is funding – specifically, how funding is framed, distributed, and justified within the #mainstreaming process.
So the question is: how do we intervene effectively? It’s a simple classic path: mess – opening – implement.###
Create an EU-Focused ConsortiumBuild a working consortium with three balanced pillars:
* Activism – holding the political line and pushing for real change
* #NGO layer – interfacing with bureaucracy and policy structures
* Grassroots #FOSS builders – creating and maintaining commons-based code
The goal is simple, to deliver real, native #openweb tools that create meaningful social change, not just online, but in the wider world.#
Strategy####
1. Discredit the Current WasteDocument and publicize the massive misallocation of public funds:
* Hundreds of millions wasted on blockchain projects
* The same pattern now repeating with AI funding
This isn’t just critique, it’s strategic pressure. It weakens the legitimacy of the current funding agenda.####
2. Open a GapBy exposing this waste, you temporarily sideline parts of the “blocking class”, those who dominate but do not deliver. This creates a window of opportunity.####
3. Seed the CommonsUse that opening to:
* Channel small, strategic funding (“cents on the euro”) into multiple grassroots projects
* Fund at least three parallel codebases per call.
* Expect two to be captured or fail
* Ensure one remains viable and native
Because these projects are built on ActivityPub, even “failed” or captured projects can still interoperate within the Fediverse ecosystem and thus can maybe grow to become meaningful. Diversity is good.###
OutcomeThis approach nudges EU technology policy – maybe programs like Horizon Europe – toward:
* Practical, working tools, native research. Based on meany “Nlnet” like working paths.
* Federated, interoperable systems
* Socially grounded infrastructure##
#OMN FitThe #OMN already has four native commons projects that align directly with this strategy:
* Governance
* Media
* Historical memory
* Digital addiction
These are not abstract ideas, they are ready-to-grow seeds for a healthier #openweb ecosystem.
*Feel free to add to this in the comments I will update the text with feedback.*

2026-03-15 20:02:23 CET

*Hamish Campbell is a long-time #openweb activist and technologist working on grassroots media and digital commons. He was involved in the early development of #Indymedia and continues this work through projects like the Open Media Network (#OMN), which works on how federated tools and community publishing supports public-interest media infrastructure. His focus is balancing building native platforms and on growing the social culture that makes the #openweb work: transparency, decentralisation, and horizontal collaboration. Through writing, workshops, and practical projects, he argues that the future of the Fediverse depends as much on culture, governance, and shared infrastructure as it does on code.*
**Workshop 01**
The #Mainstreaming Problem in the Fediverse
Purpose is to open conversation that many people feel but rarely articulate: the tension between grassroots culture and institutional capture. Start with your simple distinction:<li>Good <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/">#mainstreaming</a> → openweb values spreading outward</li><li>Bad <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/">#mainstreaming</a> → corporate/NGO structures reshaping the Fediverse</li>
Then ask: “Which direction are we currently moving?”
Discussion topics – funding and governance, foundations and institutional capture, developer vs user power, infrastructure vs platforms. How to avoid repeating Web 2.0
Activity is to ask participants to map layers: Grassroots – NGO / institutional – Corporate. To discuss where power currently sits and what healthy balance might look like.
Outcome is people leave with language to understand the tensions they are experiencing in the Fediverse.
**Workshop 02**
Maybe a second one on why #makeinghistory is needed? Translating #OMN from “activist infrastructure” into “missing public digital infrastructure.” That language is what this event is trying to figure out. The Open Media Network (#OMN) proposes a model where grassroots publishing, community moderation, and institutional participation are balanced. Participants can discuss how institutions support shared infrastructure rather than just deploying isolated platforms.
Many institutions are experimenting with the Fediverse as an alternative to #dotcons corporate social media. However, simply running institutional servers risks reproducing the same platform dynamics in a federated form. We need workshops that explore the broader ecosystem of public-interest media infrastructure.
“What happens after institutions join the Fediverse?” The #KISS answer is they need to support the commons infrastructure that makes it socially viable. Running Mastodon is not enough, institutions need to support the wider open media ecosystem.
Talking about #openweb culture in a constructive way is tricky because most #FOSS and Fediverse conversations default to technical framing: code quality, scalability, moderation tooling, and #UX. These things matter, but they are not the foundation that determines whether a network lives or dies.
Maybe a useful way to open the conversation is to shift the starting point. Instead of saying “culture is important too”, say something stronger but practical: The success or failure of open systems is primarily a cultural question, not a technical one. The code only expresses the culture behind it.
Start with a simple historical observation. Many technically strong systems failed because the social layer was weak, while some technically rough systems succeeded because the community culture worked.
Examples from the open web – early open source projects that thrived because communities shared norms of collaboration. Grassroots networks like Indymedia worked socially even when the software was messy. Corporate platforms that succeeded not because they were technically better, but because they built powerful social gravity.
The pattern is clear, that technology enables networks, but culture sustains them. This is the missing step in most Fediverse conversations. Right now to meany discussions focus on: scaling servers, moderation tools, interface design and onboarding. These are all necessary but insufficient.
What way to often goes missing is the deeper questions – What culture are we actually trying to grow? Without answering that, the system tends to drift toward the dominant internet culture, which today is shaped by the #dotcon platform model of engagement optimisation, algorithmic attention markets, influencer dynamics and centralised power. When that culture seeps into the Fediverse, the result is a federated copy of the same problems.
So why is culture harder than code? Code can be written by a few developers, culture requires shared understanding across thousands of people. To grow this we need native governance norms, trust networks, moderation values and expectations about ownership and participation to hold to native paths for how conflict is handled. These things cannot simply be implemented in software, they must be grown socially, fail to address this is why many technically strong projects fail, they assume the social layer will somehow emerge automatically. It rarely does.
To make this constructive, it helps to clearly describe what we mean by #openweb culture. Some core values historically included public-first communication rather than platform ownership, decentralised responsibility instead of central moderation authority, commons thinking rather than product thinking to nurture horizontal participation rather than audience/influencer hierarchies, this need clear #4opens processes rather than opaque decision-making.
These values were never perfect, but they created a different social environment from today’s corporate social media. If we do not actively cultivate these values, the surrounding internet culture will slowly overwrite them. If the Fediverse continues to grow without addressing culture as it currently is, the most likely outcome is large institutional instances dominate, smaller community spaces struggle leading to more moderation being centralised. This all shifts user expectations toward platform-style experiences.
At that point, the system may still be technically federated, but the culture will have drifted back toward Web 2.0. The code will be open, but the social dynamics will not be.
So the “extra step” is simply, we must talk about culture as deliberately as we talk about software architecture. That means asking questions like: What social norms should Fediverse communities encourage? What governance models support open participation? How do we keep the ecosystem diverse rather than dominated by large actors? What responsibilities come with running infrastructure in a commons network?
These conversations are sometimes uncomfortable, because they move beyond engineering into politics, sociology, and ethics. But avoiding them does not make them disappear, it simply means the culture will be shaped by default forces instead of conscious choices.
A simple way to frame this – A phrase that often works well in discussion is – “Code builds the network, but culture decides what the network becomes.” If we want the #openweb to remain something different from the #closedweb platform internet, we need to invest as much thought into the culture as we do into the code and #UX. Otherwise, the technology may succeed technically, but the social project behind it will quietly fail.
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )**Workshop 03**
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-wall-of-funding-silence/ I am going to “Nodes On A Web” #NOAW to try and have this conversation in a polite way.
Public Money, Public Communication, Public Infrastructure
Public institutions are funded by taxpayers. Their role is to serve the public. So it should be obvious that their communication systems are open, accessible, and accountable to everyone -without requiring people to sign up to proprietary, for-profit platforms.
Yet this is not the world we live in. Today, much of public communication is effectively outsourced to the #dotcons. If you want to follow government updates, participate in consultations, or even access timely public information, you are often expected to create an account on a closed platform – designed for profit, data extraction, and behavioural manipulation. That alone should raise serious questions.
This contradiction is especially stark in Europe as they regularly speak about digital sovereignty, data protection and public accountability. And yet, at the same time, they rely on U.S.-based corporate platforms to communicate with their own citizens. It’s a strange situation:<li>Public institutions, funded by European taxpayers, using foreign, proprietary infrastructure to mediate public communication.</li><li>Not only does this create dependency, it also places public discourse inside systems that are not governed by public interest.</li><li>It’s not just ironic. It’s structurally broken, we should think about prosicuting the people who have made this happen.</li>
The access problem, useing closed platforms to access public communication creates real barriers: Not everyone wants to create or maintain dotcons social media accounts. Some people are excluded for ethical, political, or practical reasons. Algorithms decide what is seen and what is not. Public information becomes entangled with advertising and engagement metrics. This undermines a basic democratic principle that public communication should be universally accessible, without conditions.
We already have an alternative to this curupt mess, the #DIY #OpenWeb comes from europe, it offers a different path. Instead of #closedweb platform dependency, it builds on open standards, interoperable systems with multiple access points, no user lock-in. This is not a new path, it is how the web was originally created to [work in the EU](https://home.cern/science/computing/birth-web/short-history-web ).
An example project that contines this native mission and supports this is the #OMN whitch creates spaces where public institutions and public communities can meet on equal terms, without one dominating the other, and without relying on closed corporate systems. If institutions instead invest in and support the wider #OMN ecosystem, they help build something fundamentally different, a public communication infrastructure that is open by default, accessible to all, resilient and distributed and aligned with democratic values.
A simple principle, if it is funded by the public, it should be accessible to the public – without restriction. No accounts required, no platform dependency and no hidden gatekeepers.
We need to organise a call to act. Public institutions need to move beyond simply using the #Fediverse. They need to help build and sustain the commons that makes open communication possible. That means, supporting open infrastructure projects, funding shared ecosystems like the #OMN and building real, not facke PR commitment to public-first communication practices.
This is not just a technical shift, it is a political and cultural choice.
A simple #KISS way forward is to shift public social communication onto the #Fediverse. This is already a significant improvement on current platform dependency. However, I want to raise a point that may sound controversial at first, but is actually quite practical: public institutions should not rely exclusively on the existing codebases.
Most current Fediverse platforms have done vital groundwork – particularly in establishing shared protocols, interoperability, and a working culture of federation. That contribution is important and should be recognised. However, many of these tools evolved shaped by the same assumptions as #dotcons and constrained by #NGO project models. As a result, they can be complex, difficult to maintain, and not always well aligned with the long-term needs of public institutions or commons-based infrastructure.
A constructive path forward would be to fund the development of a small number of new, purpose-built codebases focused on commons publishing. Not one, but three parallel implementations.
Why three? Because diversity reduces risk. In practice, not every project will succeed – this is normal and expected. Funding multiple approaches ensures resilience, encourages innovation, and avoids over-reliance on a single solution. The cost of doing this would be minimal relative to existing public digital budgets, yet the potential long-term value is significant.
Importantly, this is not about replacing the existing ecosystem. Because the Fediverse is built on shared protocols, any new tools would remain fully interoperable with current platforms. This means users of existing services can still interact seamlessly, while the overall ecosystem becomes stronger, more diverse, and better aligned with public service values.
In short: build on what exists, but don’t be constrained by it. By investing modestly in new, commons-oriented infrastructure alongside the current tools, public institutions can shape a more robust, sustainable, and genuinely public digital communication space.
#KISS
[Outreach](https://mastodon.social/deck/@npub142g…kmy5/116244883084139004 ) to [@newsmast](https://mastodon.social/@[email protected] ) interesting to see the [](https://mastodon.social/tags/NGO )#NGO view of the real alt path we need to take https://hamishcampbell.com/thinking-of-workshops-to-run-at-nodes-on-a-web-noaw-unconference/ you guys might be interested in working on the 3ed workshop outline. The 3 codebase need to be 1) mainstreaming, 2) radical [](https://mastodon.social/tags/NGO )#NGO and 3) native messy grassroots. You guys could be the second codebase. We do need diversity, best not to keep blindly messing up this path in the current globe mess.
https://hamishcampbell.com/why-its-difficult-to-build-the-omn-and-what-we-can-do-about-it/
https://hamishcampbell.com/growing-the-openweb-notes-for-burning-down-the-dotcons-and-building-an-omn/
*Stopped going to in-person general tech conferences around 15 years ago – they’d become beyond pointless. Since then, I’ve stuck to more focused online events.*
*Now heading back to an in-person one. Curious what I’ll actually find.*
*I have a feeling it’ll be about 75% pointless, 20% narrow geek, academic and [](https://mastodon.social/tags/NGO )#NGO-focused (slightly useful), and maybe 5% – probably less – actually useful.*
*Let’s see how that shifts after the event.*
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2025-12-31 14:37:53 CET

In the traditional media and our social reflection of this – “Belief in markets”, is theological thinking disguised as economics. The market is a god, and economists its priesthood. Modern economic discourse treats “the Market” as: omniscient (“the market knows best”), omnipotent (“there is no alternative”), morally authoritative (“price signals reveal truth”), beyond democratic challenge (“don’t interfere, or you’ll anger it”)
It should be easy to understand this isn’t analysis, it’s faith. When something goes wrong, the response isn’t accountability, it’s ritual: austerity, deregulation, labour discipline, “tightening belts”. This working class suffering becomes a necessary sacrifice to restore favour. That’s why at the #OMN we called it the #deathcult – normal people are expected to die, quietly, so the system can live.
Priests, temples, and worshippers, every religion has hierarchy, in this mainstream one: Central bankers are high priests, rating agencies are oracles, think tanks are seminaries, media pundits are evangelists, platforms are temples, metrics are scripture. It’s all theological thinking all the way down disguised as economics
The closer you are to the god (capital, liquidity, investment flows), the more authority you’re granted. Those far away – workers, communities, the climate – are treated as abstractions, “externalities”. And, like all priesthoods, our elitists claim neutrality while enforcing doctrine.
Heresy is not allowed, questioning the market is treated as: naive, dangerous, emotional, “anti-growth”, “anti-business”, “unrealistic”. This mirrors religious heresy exactly. Then the last 40 years of #posttruth, once belief replaces evidence, language becomes performative, words are used to signal loyalty, not to describe reality.
This matters for the #openweb and #OMN. The #dotcons are the digital expression of this religion, encoding market theology into infrastructure with engagement replaces meaning, growth replaces health, metrics replace judgment, extraction replaces relationship. This is why reform inside platforms fails. You’re not tweaking a tool, you’re challenging a faith system.
The #openweb threatens this religion because it decentralises authority, reintroduces human judgment, values trust over metrics, treats technology as means, not destiny. That’s apostasy.
Why “fairer worship” isn’t liberation, as most progressive #mainstreaming wants more inclusive access to the temple, fairer distribution of sacrifices, representation among the priests. That has real short-term value, yes. But it never questions the altar itself.
The #OMN position is different, stand up, walk out, build something else. A post-religious economics would look like: Signal thinking, not worship, markets as tools, not gods, economics as a social science, not divine law. Values decided democratically, not revealed by price. Survival and care as non-negotiables, growth as optional, not sacred. This aligns directly with our insistence on balancing social value and personal value.
This framing cuts through, by calling it religion we break the spell. People can see faith masquerading as fact, priests masquerading as experts, sacrifice masquerading as necessity, they can no longer pretend this is “just how the world works”. That’s why this language matters. It’s not rhetorical excess – it’s diagnosis. And diagnosis is the first step to composting the #deathcult and planting something that can actually keep people alive.
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )An old #mainstreaming view of this mess[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftheological-thinking-disguised-as-economics%2F&linkname=Theological%20thinking%20disguised%20as%20economics )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
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2025-12-18 15:21:30 CET

Calls for #degrowth are becoming unavoidable, because the facts are unavoidable. We are in ecological overshoot. We have consumed too many resources and produced too much waste. #Climatechaos and social breakdown with collapsing biodiversity are not side effects, they are #KISS signals that the system is very out of balance.
Degrowth is not primarily a population problem, it is an overconsumption problem, concentrated in the global North and among the wealthy everywhere. How we talk about degrowth matters, some framings slip quickly from ecological limits into dangerous territory. Phrases like “the population needs to fall below two billion” are intended as ecological realism, but historically and politically they have horrific baggage. The idea of “surplus population” has always been used to justify violence against those least responsible for growth and extraction. It slides far too easily into genocidal thinking, even when that is not the speaker’s intent.
That is an ethical failure, not a rhetorical quibble. There is solid research – from [Hickel](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108819 ) and others – showing that it is technically possible to provide everyone on the planet with a humane standard of living using perhaps 30% of current global energy and material throughput, if resources are distributed differently and wasteful consumption is cut at the top.
This matters because it shifts the problem from how many people exist to how systems are organised. That doesn’t mean population decline is irrelevant. An honest ethics of degrowth has to address it, but carefully, explicitly, and without euphemism. Population change will happen through demographic transition, not coercion: lower birth rates, longer lives, ageing societies. This brings real challenges: fewer working-age people, care burdens, pension systems built on endless growth, and deeply unequal patterns of consumption that won’t disappear on their own.
The real challenge is simple, how do we draw down “standard of living” while maintaining and improving quality of life? That means separating wellbeing from throughput. Less energy and material use does not have to mean worse lives, but only if we redesign systems around care, sufficiency, public goods, and social infrastructure rather than accumulation and profit. Housing, transport, food, health, and culture can improve even as total consumption falls, but not within the current growth-obsessed economic #deathcult logic.
When we fail to do this deliberately, it very much not going to be a smooth transition. It is collapse: scarcity managed by force, inequality hardened, and a global replay of Europe’s dark ages, this time without a stable climate or functioning ecosystems to recover into. Degrowth without ethics becomes brutality. Ethics without real structural change becomes denial.
The task is not to decide **who** should disappear, but to decide what must **stop**, what must shrink, and what must be rebuilt so that [fewer resources](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292924000493 ) support better lives for everyone.
That’s the real work #KISS
[](https://opencollective.com/open-media-network )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fdegrowth-is-unavoidable%2F&linkname=Degrowth%20is%20unavoidable )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
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2025-09-06 07:09:48 CEST

With the [tyranny of the structureless](https://unite.openworlds.info/Open-Media-Network/openwebgovernancebody/wiki/03.-The-Tyranny-of-Stucturelessness ) path, every attempt to share the commons decays into a fog of personalities, cliques, and unspoken power. What needs composting here is that, at best, you end up with a smiling violent man as the backstop of governance.
Without mediating structures, what emerges is not freedom but hidden hierarchy. “Smiling violence” – the agreeable man (or clique) who insists they’re just holding things together – quietly blocks challenge, manipulates process, and reserves the final say. If you’re not paying attention, and can’t move away, you wake to find yourself living in #feudalism, with its ever-present threat of personal violence lurking behind the smile.
This is how “horizontal” spaces rot. They confuse the absence of shared structures with openness, when in fact it is poisoned soil: domination by those most willing to coerce, block, or flatter. Without functioning myths and traditions, shared trust, and open processes, what grows is not commons but personal power, one person’s will, or a small group’s grip.
The smiling violent man is not an accident. He is the inevitable product of structurelessness:
Without flows of accountability, you get bottlenecks of control.
Without mediating trust systems, you get gatekeepers posing as “protectors.”
Without a backbone, you get a backstop, a hard edge of coercion dressed in kindness.
The result: commons replaced by fiefdoms, trust replaced by muscle, care replaced by the mask of “caring the most.” Once that happens, the commons are no longer common, they are held hostage.
When I see this again and again, I sometimes say: “grow a backbone.” But this rarely lands well. So let’s pause and ask what backbone really means in social settings:<li>Structure / Stability: Like a spine holding the body upright, a social backbone is the framework that keeps everything from collapsing into mush. In <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/">#OMN</a> terms: the #5F framework is the backbone, UX, UI, and culture all grow around it.</li><li>Courage / Integrity: To “have backbone” means to stand firm under pressure. For movements, this means holding the line when mainstreaming forces, fashionistas, or gatekeepers push back. Backbone is refusing co-option, staying rooted in trust.</li><li>Invisible but Essential: The backbone is not the face, not the style. It’s the quiet strength – shared trust and open processes – that allows everything else to move. Often invisible, but without it, nothing functions.</li>
A social backbone, then, is the shared trust + open processes that holds a community upright against both internal decay and external capture. By contrast, on the progressive path the #fashionistas build style without backbone (pretty, but collapses quickly), and the #geekproblem builds bone without flesh (rigid, alienating).
#KISS
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-metaphor-of-grow-a-backbone%2F&linkname=Commons%20and%20the%20metaphor%20of%20%E2%80%9Cgrow%20a%20backbone%E2%80%9D )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2025-08-15 11:30:50 CEST

All too often, the ugliness we face in grassroots spaces wears a smile. It’s smiling-faced vileness: pleasant, agreeable individuals who wield control by blocking dissent, sanitizing movements under the guise of compromise, and maintaining the illusion of consensus. This is especially true in spaces overly tolerant of #NGO-style protocols – those bureaucratic, #fashionista postmodern traps that slowly erode the spark that makes radical communities thrive.
From my work across decades – from protest camps to #openweb projects – I’ve seen this pattern again and again. Projects like early #Indymedia were messy, radical, and fiercely autonomous. That edge, that wildness was slowly excised until what remains is either safe, bland, and powerless or locked down and paranoid, both smother the naive grassroots paths.
At late era #climatecamp i’ve witnessed activist planning groups that masquerade as open and inclusive, but doom radical ideas by policing language. If someone speaks candidly about power or inequality, they risk being labelled as “derailing.” Not unlike what I describe on the Fediverse: “a consensus ritual where insiders quietly veto contentious proposals, pushing them offstage.” The effect is chilling – the bold, and meaningful, get diluted and then silenced.
I’ve also seen “horizontal” groups adopt soft authoritarianism: a handful of insiders subtly side-line contentious voices with endless calls for care, safety and more research or structure, this is simply polite gatekeeping, in those quiet pauses, power consolidates. These practices don’t just kill energy, they devour possibility. They cannibalize the chance for communities that are both fluffy (nurturing) and spiky (radical).
Smiling-face vileness is not satire – it’s #fashionista postmodern gaslighting. It slowly smothers life with calm care and precision. The task of the grassroots is to replant what’s been stomped. That means cultivating friction -mess, disagreement, negotiation – because that is how community grows, trust is built, and real alternatives emerge. Let’s embed this friction into our code, our community practices, our shared care. Let’s compost the #NGO and fashionista chokeholds so we can grow radical, tender, collective futures #KISS
A lot of the “smiling-faced vileness” comes from a mix of personal psychology, learned behaviour, and the systemic incentives that shape #NGO, institutional, and #mainstreaming culture. It’s not usually deep evil – it’s something more banal, entrenched, and self-justifying. Examples of this mess makeing: <li>Fear of losing control when change threatens the structures they know how to navigate, so they subconsciously (or consciously) try to stop it. Hannah Arendt’s banality of evil idea applies here: harm is done by “ordinary” functionaries protecting their turf “The real danger is not that people will rebel, but that they will acquiesce in doing what they know is wrong.”</li><li>Cognitive dissonance management, as they see themselves as “the good guys,” so any action – even blocking positive change – must be reframed as “responsible” or “prudent.” <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/postmodern/">#Postmodern</a> self-protection: everything can be justified with enough narrative spin, “No one is the villain of their own story.”</li><li>Status preservation, NGOs and funding orgs reward stability over creativity, hierarchy over challenge. If your position, funding, or reputation depends on maintaining the current order, you will fight disruptive change, even if it’s obviously better “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” </li><li>Incompetence + insecurity, breeds paranoia. If you don’t know how to manage real change, you start to fear those who do. The façade of competence becomes more important than actual results, “When a man’s only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” </li><li>Groupthink & conformity pressure, <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/">#mainstreaming</a> cultures reward going along with the majority, even if the majority is wrong “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” </li>
This is why these people who take a cling to “power” often look “nice” on the surface while quietly gutting or neutralising anything spiky, challenging, or any change of path. It’s not just personal malice, it’s a cultural immune system against change, fuelled by fear, vanity, and comfort.
When, the tiny few of these people “secede” in #mainstreaming media ([and the history it writes](https://waaa.wnyc.org/e68b6750-ddde-4b56-8121-be01a1922ff5/episodes/318727ce-5220-4b64-9c4f-17976ec9cac4/audio/128/default.mp3/default.mp3_ywr3ahjkcgo_534981518f67470c1807f0d4045b88a3_48452151.mp3?hash_redirect=1&x-total-bytes=48452151&x-ais-classified=unclassified&listeningSessionID=0CD_382_227__9358308953003cab7bd2456a805f1c2 )) it is not neutral, it’s a kind of #PR machine. It launders power and polishes away dissent. The smiling faces and “respectable” voices are just the velvet gloves over the iron fist. It’s fake history as PR – it isn’t history as lived memory or contested struggle, it’s official narrative, a “storybook” written to flatter the winners and confuse the rest. That’s why it feels vile and pointless: it distracts, pacifies, and reframes mess as inevitability.
The people who produce this are not innocent. Yes, many are clueless functionaries who internalize the system’s values without question. Others are parasitic aspirants, desperate to climb into the #nastyfew, copying their methods. Even when they do “small goods” (a sympathetic article, a cultural puff piece), in the larger pattern they still serve the mainstreaming machine.
The compost metaphor is about instead of raging endlessly at the mess, take what can be siphoned off (attention, fragments of narrative, disillusioned individuals) and redirect that flow into the alt systems (#OMN, #4opens, Fediverse, grassroots histories) then compost the rest: let it rot, break down, and become the fertilizer for something alive and grounded. Because otherwise we get stuck in their cycle: doom-scrolling their fake stories, wasting energy on reacting instead of building. The challenge is mediation, not just rejection. Spot the toxic flows, tap them for useful nutrients, and feed the roots of alternatives.
#KISS
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fsmiling-vileness-ngo-control-is-the-death-of-any-radical-community-path%2F&linkname=Smiling-faced%20vileness%3A%20How%20enforced%20politeness%20becomes%20a%20weapon%20in%20grassroots%20paths )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
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2025-02-18 20:59:06 CET

- reply

I kinda like it as a protocol, it’s the culture that is bad, we would like to use alongside ActivityPub for some of the #OMN projects.

2025-02-18 10:06:51 CET

The [](/friends/tag/socialweb/ )#socialweb is shifting away from corporate-controlled paths like [](/friends/tag/twitter/ )#Twitter and [](/friends/tag/facebook/ )#Facebook toward decentralized, more [](/friends/tag/diy/ )#DIY alternatives. The idea is simple: instead of a single company having control, decentralized protocols allow different platforms to connect while giving people the power to shape and control their digital paths.
Three major decentralized protocols have emerged: <li>Fediverse (<a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/activitypub/">#ActivityPub</a>) – The most established and widely used, forming a “native” backbone of the <a original-href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/" rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="/friends/tag/openweb/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/">#openweb</a>.</li><li>Bluesky (<a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/atproto/">#AtProto</a>) – A Twitter-funded project that claims decentralization but is still highly centralized.</li><li>Nostr – A relay-based, censorship-resistant protocol with interesting tech but major cultural and usability challenges.</li>
While all three claim to support decentralization, only ActivityPub (the [](/friends/tag/fediverse/ )#Fediverse) actually delivers on this promise. An overview:
**The Fediverse (ActivityPub) – The Decentralized [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb**
Background & history, the Fediverse is powered by ActivityPub, a W3C-recommended standard, since 2018. Unlike Bluesky and [](/friends/tag/nostr/ )#Nostr, which are still evolving, ActivityPub is already a mature, widely adopted protocol. It was designed from the ground up, through a 20-year unbroken history to enable interoperability between platforms, meaning people on different apps can communicate seamlessly.
This [](/friends/tag/activitypub/ )#ActivityPub network exploded in popularity after Twitter’s collapse under Elon Musk, with Mastodon seeing millions of new users in 2022. Popular apps & servers, it not just one platform—it’s a whole ecosystem of independent apps that mostly copy [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons:<li>Mastodon – The most well-known microblogging platform, often compared to Twitter.</li><li>PeerTube – A decentralized YouTube alternative.</li><li>Pixelfed – A decentralized Instagram-style photo-sharing app.</li><li>Pleroma / Misskey – Alternative microblogging platforms.</li>
How ActivityPub Works, Federation: Different servers (instances) talk to each other, creating a #4opens network of networks. How this works, you create an account on one instance, but interact with people across the entire Fediverse. Each server is independently operated, meaning no single company owns the network. There is an issue of instance Lock-In: If a server shuts down, yes, people must migrate manually—but this is a small tradeoff compared to the massive corporate control seen in more [](/friends/tag/mainstreaming/ )#mainstreaming paths.
Bottom Line: ActivityPub is the most decentralized and established protocol, already powering a thriving ecosystem of apps with real communities.
**[](/friends/tag/bluesky/ )#Bluesky (AtProto) – Fake Decentralization, A shadow [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#Dotcons**
Background & history, Bluesky started as a Twitter-funded project in 2019, originally backed by Jack Dorsey. It claims to be building a decentralized social network, but in reality, it’s architecture favers centralization, due to it being built to prioritise scaling. The [](/friends/tag/atproto/ )#AtProto, allows for theoretical federation, but in practice, Bluesky is still just a Twitter clone controlled by a single company.
Popular Apps & Servers<li>Bluesky – The only major client, self-hosting is possible, but current federated servers are limited to 100 users, and Bluesky can refuse to federate with them.</li>
How AtProto works: [](/friends/tag/did/ )#DID-based identities – Users can theoretically move between services, but only if Bluesky allows it. Centralized moderation – The vast majority of users rely on bsky.social, meaning Bluesky still has the power to block or censor at will. Limited self-hosting, Bluesky restricts who can run a server and limits federated instances.
Bottom Line: Bluesky is currently a trap, a con, It looks decentralized but is a [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons, the normal corporate-controlled path.
**Nostr – Interesting Tech, but bad culture**
Background & history, [](/friends/tag/nostr/ )#Nostr (Notes and Other Stuff Transmitted by Relays) was created by an individual in 2020 as a censorship-resistant social protocol. Where ActivityPub and AtProto, use server-based networks to build community and distribute moderation, Nostr uses a relay-based model where users broadcast messages across multiple relays. It gained popularity in [](/friends/tag/bitcoin/ )#Bitcoin circles and received funding from Jack Dorsey (again).
Popular Apps & Clients <li>Primal, Nos, Snort – Web-based clients. </li><li>Damus – iOS client. </li><li>Amethyst – Android client.</li>
How [](/friends/tag/nostr/ )#Nostr works, It is Relay-based, with no comminute based instances – No centralized servers, messages are published to multiple relays. Cryptographic Identity – people have opaque public/private keys instead of usernames. No true federation – people rely on relays to store and transmit data, but relays don’t communicate with each other like ActivityPub servers do. Difficult for adoption – The reliance on cryptographic keys makes it confusing, and there’s no built-in moderation system, so comminutes remain fragmented, its tech for the native [](/friends/tag/stupidindividualists/ )#stupidindividualists paths, in this diversity is good and as it bridges it might become a useful project.
Bottom Line: Nostr is decentralized and censorship-resistant, but it’s not user-friendly or practical, its culture is a bad mix of [](/friends/tag/techbro/ )#techbro and [](/friends/tag/geekproblem/ )#geekproblem [](/friends/tag/encryptionist/ )#encryptionist [](/friends/tag/shitcoiners/ )#shitcoiners
**Which Decentralized Protocol is the Best?**
ActivityPub (Fediverse) is a clear winner, it’s proven, widely adopted, and already functional with true federation across multiple apps, decentralized and people-controlled. Where [](/friends/tag/bluesky/ )#Bluesky (#AtProto) is a hidden [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#Dotcons which claims to be decentralized but is still controlled by Bluesky, Inc. Federation is limited, and self-hosting is discouraged thus is a Trojan horse for another corporate-controlled network. Nostr is interesting but niche, completely decentralized, but difficult to use. No federation between relays and not practical for mass adoption.
Final verdict: If you care about real decentralization, community, and people, ActivityPub (Fediverse) is the clear choice.
What is needed next is to take the step in the Fediverse is moving beyond simply copying the [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons. It is time to reboot the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#Openweb with a project like the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN. The Open Media Network is about taking control of our digital paths and building a future beyond the [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons. If we want a truly decentralized internet, one core message is that we need to support ActivityPub-based paths instead of getting fooled by corporate-backed “alternatives” like [](/friends/tag/bluesky/ )#Bluesky.
Join the Fediverse today: https://fediverse.observer/ It’s time to reclaim the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb to build digital spaces that work for people, and the social change challenge we so urgently need.
One thing is clear, you can and need to walk away from the corporate [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomparing-decentralized-social-protocols-why-activitypub-fediverse-is-the-best-choice-over-bluesky-atproto-and-nostr%2F&linkname=Comparing%20Decentralized%20%23openweb%20Protocols )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomparing-decentralized-social-protocols-why-activitypub-fediverse-is-the-best-choice-over-bluesky-atproto-and-nostr%2F&linkname=Comparing%20Decentralized%20%23openweb%20Protocols )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomparing-decentralized-social-protocols-why-activitypub-fediverse-is-the-best-choice-over-bluesky-atproto-and-nostr%2F&linkname=Comparing%20Decentralized%20%23openweb%20Protocols )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomparing-decentralized-social-protocols-why-activitypub-fediverse-is-the-best-choice-over-bluesky-atproto-and-nostr%2F&linkname=Comparing%20Decentralized%20%23openweb%20Protocols )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomparing-decentralized-social-protocols-why-activitypub-fediverse-is-the-best-choice-over-bluesky-atproto-and-nostr%2F&linkname=Comparing%20Decentralized%20%23openweb%20Protocols )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomparing-decentralized-social-protocols-why-activitypub-fediverse-is-the-best-choice-over-bluesky-atproto-and-nostr%2F&linkname=Comparing%20Decentralized%20%23openweb%20Protocols )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2025-02-15 16:28:38 CET

For the last ten years, activism has been trapped in a paradox: we speak of grassroots change, yet we reach for [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons and [](/friends/tag/geekproblem/ )#geekproblem tools built for control. The digital infrastructure we rely on is dominated by top-down, vertical structures, reinforcing the very power dynamics we claim to be resisting. Meanwhile, the #4opens horizontal tools, the ones that foster collaboration, openness, and true grassroots organizing, sit unused at the bottom of the toolbox.
This isn’t just a tech issue; it reflects how activism itself is structured. Most organizing still happens through [](/friends/tag/closed/ )#closed, opaque affinity groups, mirroring the exclusivity and hierarchy of the systems we seek to dismantle. The language of activism, whether framed in utopian peace and love or rigid revolutionary rhetoric, too often masks this blunt reality. In truth, much of what passes for activism today reproduces the same centralized power structures, just with different slogans.
Yet, we live in one of the most open and radical times for building real alternatives. The tools for horizontalism exist. The challenge isn’t a lack of technology or platforms, it’s a failure to break free from ingrained habits of control and gatekeeping. The real work isn’t just about using better tools; it’s about shifting how we organize. Transparency, openness, and collective governance must move from the margins to the centre of activism. With the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN the seeds of the tool set are there, what’s missing is the will to develop and use it.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-tools-we-use-shape-the-activism-we-create%2F&linkname=The%20Tools%20We%20Use%20Shape%20the%20Activism%20We%20Create )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-tools-we-use-shape-the-activism-we-create%2F&linkname=The%20Tools%20We%20Use%20Shape%20the%20Activism%20We%20Create )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-tools-we-use-shape-the-activism-we-create%2F&linkname=The%20Tools%20We%20Use%20Shape%20the%20Activism%20We%20Create )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-tools-we-use-shape-the-activism-we-create%2F&linkname=The%20Tools%20We%20Use%20Shape%20the%20Activism%20We%20Create )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-tools-we-use-shape-the-activism-we-create%2F&linkname=The%20Tools%20We%20Use%20Shape%20the%20Activism%20We%20Create )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-tools-we-use-shape-the-activism-we-create%2F&linkname=The%20Tools%20We%20Use%20Shape%20the%20Activism%20We%20Create )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
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2025-02-13 14:57:50 CET

https://youtu.be/IEfJdtdtEoc?si=bJqwhv4z2ETGsrcq
The chattering classes, eager to ride the wave of [](/friends/tag/mainstreaming/ )#mainstreaming, are finally pushing real rather than fake radical critique. These are the same people who built their careers within the [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons and [](/friends/tag/neoliberal/ )#neoliberal highways, are now embracing narratives that grassroots movements have been fighting for decades. Sure, “better late than never,” but we should remain deeply sceptical of their radical awakenings, especially the [](/friends/tag/fluffy/ )#fluffy paths they carve out. After all, they’re still operating within the structures that created this mess in the first place.
There’s an element of performative rage at play here, condemning billionaires while continuing to use, benefit from, and reinforce the systems that empower them. Meanwhile, real alternatives, grassroots, decentralized, and open networks like [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN, remain sidelined, unfunded, and ignored, still too far outside the “common sense” media narratives that shape any current [](/friends/tag/mainstreaming/ )#mainstreaming paths.
It’s not entirely useless to have media celebrities and polished pundits repackaging anti-billionaire sentiment. It does shift the Overton window. But it’s equally vital that we critique this and, more importantly, walk a different path, one that is messy, grassroots, open, and outside the control of the [](/friends/tag/fashernistas/ )#fashernistas who are now finding the courage to speak up about what we’ve been saying all along. We are the ones with the lived experience. Now, where are the resources? That’s the question we should be asking our freshly radicalized “allies.”
And if their “solutions” come wrapped in top-down, controlled narratives? Well, piss on them, it helps with the composting. Thanks.
We don’t have time for more mess, the real challenge is ensuring that this moment doesn’t become another media spectacle to be consumed and discarded. How do we push the narrative in a way that resists being co-opted? How do we move beyond talking about change to embodying the real challenge they’re now beginning to acknowledge is needed.
This is a part of the [](/friends/tag/fluffy/ )#fluffy vs [](/friends/tag/spiky/ )#spiky debate for the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fway-late-but-better-than-never%2F&linkname=Way%20late%2C%20but%20better%20than%20never )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fway-late-but-better-than-never%2F&linkname=Way%20late%2C%20but%20better%20than%20never )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fway-late-but-better-than-never%2F&linkname=Way%20late%2C%20but%20better%20than%20never )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fway-late-but-better-than-never%2F&linkname=Way%20late%2C%20but%20better%20than%20never )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fway-late-but-better-than-never%2F&linkname=Way%20late%2C%20but%20better%20than%20never )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fway-late-but-better-than-never%2F&linkname=Way%20late%2C%20but%20better%20than%20never )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2025-02-11 16:36:32 CET

We live in a system that worships consumption. It’s not just about meeting needs, it’s about feeding an economy that only grows when people buy more, waste more, and replace instead of repair. This is one of the core tenants of the [](/friends/tag/deathcult/ )#deathcult, the [](/friends/tag/neoliberal/ )#neoliberal ideology that tells us there is no alternative to endless growth, even as it drags us toward [](/friends/tag/climatechaos/ )#climatechaos.
What if we build something different, something that values community over consumption, reuse over replacement, and DIY culture over passive consumerism? This is where the #4opens come in, transparency, collaboration, and shared knowledge as the foundation for real alternatives to the corporate churn machine. It’s a tool to mediate overconsumption, it isn’t just about the stuff, it’s about the system. The [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons (big tech platforms, global brands, centralized supply chains) exist to keep us dependent, feeding a cycle of control, waste, planned obsolescence, artificial scarcity, and throwaway culture.
We see this everywhere, in [](/friends/tag/techchurn/ )#techchurn, New phones, new software, endless updates that make old devices “obsolete” before they break. Fast fashion, clothing designed to fall apart, pushing people into a cycle of cheap, unethical labour and landfill waste. Algorithmic media distraction, a constant flood of junk entertainment designed to keep us too distracted to act, too demoralised to challenge the system. This is by design. The corporate web, the [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons, will absorb everything if we don’t (re)create our own independent alternatives.
The composting alternative is about creating a regenerative culture, isn’t only boycotting big brands or consuming “better.” It’s about nurturing and mediating alternatives—turning the waste of the old system into compost for something new. By embracing the [](/friends/tag/diy/ )#DIY ethic – Fix things, repurpose them, and share knowledge instead of feeding the churn. Build the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb – Move away from corporate-controlled spaces to decentralized, transparent platforms that serve communities, not ad networks. Reject [](/friends/tag/mainstreaming/ )#mainstreaming trends – Stop chasing the latest thing just because the algorithm tells you to. Foster trust-based networks – Support local, independent, and open-source projects that work for people, not profit.
The [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN as a tool for mediation, a practical example of challenging the corporate wasteland of mainstream media and tech. Instead of relying on big platforms, it creates a decentralized, grassroots-driven network where people control their own media, bypassing the need for [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons and centralized control.
https://hamishcampbell.com/outreach-text-for-the-4opens/
In the same way, we need to mediate overconsumption—not just by refusing to buy, but by building something better in its place. This isn’t about guilt or purity. It’s about real alternatives. If we don’t start creating them, we will be left with nothing but the corporate churn, stripping away our agency and leaving us with a hollow, temporary world. The current mess is compost. We either let it rot uselessly or turn it into the soil for something new. The choice is ours.
[](/friends/tag/nothingnew/ )#nothingnew #4opens [](/friends/tag/techchurn/ )#techchurn [](/friends/tag/deathcult/ )#deathcult
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbuilding-a-4opens-alternative-to-the-deathcult%2F&linkname=Building%20a%20%234opens%20Alternative%20to%20the%20%23Deathcult )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbuilding-a-4opens-alternative-to-the-deathcult%2F&linkname=Building%20a%20%234opens%20Alternative%20to%20the%20%23Deathcult )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbuilding-a-4opens-alternative-to-the-deathcult%2F&linkname=Building%20a%20%234opens%20Alternative%20to%20the%20%23Deathcult )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbuilding-a-4opens-alternative-to-the-deathcult%2F&linkname=Building%20a%20%234opens%20Alternative%20to%20the%20%23Deathcult )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbuilding-a-4opens-alternative-to-the-deathcult%2F&linkname=Building%20a%20%234opens%20Alternative%20to%20the%20%23Deathcult )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbuilding-a-4opens-alternative-to-the-deathcult%2F&linkname=Building%20a%20%234opens%20Alternative%20to%20the%20%23Deathcult )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2025-02-11 13:25:44 CET

The [](/friends/tag/climatecrisis/ )#climatecrisis isn’t just about rising temperatures and vanishing ecosystems, it’s also about the structures we build, the technology we use, and the ways we connect. The fight for a sustainable future isn’t limited to forests and oceans; it extends into the digital world as well.
In this website, a recurring theme is composting the mess of the modern world, whether that’s the corporate-controlled internet (#dotcons), failing grassroots movements, or the destruction of our physical environment. It’s all connected. How tech shapes our planet. The internet as we know it, centralized, monopolized, and powered by massive server farms, has a huge environmental impact. Tech giants consume massive amounts of energy, lock users into wasteful upgrade cycles, and push short-term profit over long-term sustainability.
But just like we need to transition away from fossil fuels, we also need to rebuild a sustainable digital infrastructure:
✅ Decentralized platforms → Reduce reliance on data centers owned by megacorporations.
✅ Longer-lasting hardware → Move away from planned obsolescence.
✅ Federated networks (#openweb) → Support resilient, grassroots-driven alternatives.
♻️ The OMN: Composting the Digital & Social Waste
The Open Media Network (#OMN) is a practical response to this. It’s building an alternative media ecosystem, one that isn’t driven by corporate interests but by community needs and #4opens collaboration. Think of it as [](/friends/tag/permaculture/ )#permaculture for the internet: Instead of clear-cutting everything for profit (like the [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons do), we nurture independent spaces. Instead of burning energy on ad-driven engagement, we use [](/friends/tag/kiss/ )#KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principles to create sustainable digital tools. Instead of accepting “inevitable” climate and digital collapse, we turn the existing mess into compost for new growth. Radical Simplicity = Radical Sustainability.
One of the ideas behind this path is that “stupid” is better than perfect, because perfect never gets built, but “stupid” works. This applies not just to open-source technology, but also to environmental activism, with small, local actions > Waiting for big global solutions. Simple, practical solutions > Over-engineered complexity. Messy, community-driven change > Top-down control.
In the bigger perspective: The Environment will be fine without us, it’s not “the environment” we are destroying. It is ourselves. The world does not need saving, we do. The choice is not a simple choice between saving the planet or letting it die, but between changing our ways or letting ourselves go extinct.
If we want a sustainable future, both online and offline, we need to break from the corporate paths that are destroying our ecosystems. That means, supporting grassroots tech and independent media, building resilient, federated alternatives to big tech, embracing open, transparent processes (#4opens).
The world is in crisis, but crisis is also an opportunity. Whether you’re fighting for a better internet, a liveable planet, or stronger local communities, it’s all part of the same struggle. What do you think? How can we build a more sustainable digital world? Let’s discuss! [](/friends/tag/rewildtheweb/ )#RewildTheWeb [](/friends/tag/sustainabletech/ )#SustainableTech [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Frewilding-the-digital-physical-world-how-my-work-ties-to-the-environment%2F&linkname=Rewilding%20the%20Digital%20%26%20Physical%20World%3A%20How%20My%20Work%20Ties%20to%20the%20Environment )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Frewilding-the-digital-physical-world-how-my-work-ties-to-the-environment%2F&linkname=Rewilding%20the%20Digital%20%26%20Physical%20World%3A%20How%20My%20Work%20Ties%20to%20the%20Environment )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Frewilding-the-digital-physical-world-how-my-work-ties-to-the-environment%2F&linkname=Rewilding%20the%20Digital%20%26%20Physical%20World%3A%20How%20My%20Work%20Ties%20to%20the%20Environment )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Frewilding-the-digital-physical-world-how-my-work-ties-to-the-environment%2F&linkname=Rewilding%20the%20Digital%20%26%20Physical%20World%3A%20How%20My%20Work%20Ties%20to%20the%20Environment )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Frewilding-the-digital-physical-world-how-my-work-ties-to-the-environment%2F&linkname=Rewilding%20the%20Digital%20%26%20Physical%20World%3A%20How%20My%20Work%20Ties%20to%20the%20Environment )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Frewilding-the-digital-physical-world-how-my-work-ties-to-the-environment%2F&linkname=Rewilding%20the%20Digital%20%26%20Physical%20World%3A%20How%20My%20Work%20Ties%20to%20the%20Environment )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2025-02-05 12:16:08 CET

With the hard shift to the right in US tech, Europe can no longer afford to sit idly by in tech development. The myth of neutrality has always been a convenient lie—if we don’t actively counterbalance this shift, we risk watching the [](/friends/tag/foss/ )#FOSS and [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb movements collapse, taking with them a core pillar of our democratic and digital future. These movements aren’t just about code; they are the foundation of a fair, open, and just society. Now is the time to step up, not stand by.
For the past five years, I’ve been applying for funding for native [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb projects—projects rooted in real, grassroots needs rather than corporate gatekeeping and academic abstraction. The problem? [](/friends/tag/nlnet/ )#NLnet and the wider [](/friends/tag/eu/ )#EU funding landscape lack people who can actually judge [](/friends/tag/foss/ )#FOSS projects in this space. The results are predictable:
✅ Bureaucratic checklists
✅ Conservative, incremental funding
✅ Projects chosen based on who fills out forms best, not who builds the tech we actually need
So the real question is: has this changed? Because right now, I see the same mistakes repeating. We have proposals like:<li><a original-href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/makinghistory/" rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="/friends/tag/makinghistory/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/makinghistory/">#MakingHistory</a> – Restoring a radical, federated approach to storytelling and digital archiving.</li><li><a original-href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/indymediaback/" rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="/friends/tag/indymediaback/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/indymediaback/">#IndymediaBack</a> – Rebooting independent media with the lessons of past failures baked in.</li><li><a original-href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ogb/" rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="/friends/tag/ogb/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ogb/">#OGB</a> (Open Governance Body) – A vital step toward decentralised, federated governance—something we desperately need to keep tech in the hands of communities, not corporations.</li>
These proposals should not be niche. They should not be afterthoughts. They should be the core of NGI funding strategy if the EU is serious about counterbalancing the rightward shift in global tech.
So let’s ask again: Has [](/friends/tag/nlnet/ )#NLnet and the [](/friends/tag/eu/ )#EU stepped up this time? Are we funding the future, or are we just shuffling papers while the [](/friends/tag/deathcult/ )#deathcult eats our humanistic heritage and the last remains of the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb?
The risk, as always, is that the funding just shifts to the next well-polished pitch deck, rather than the real, messy work of change. But hey, one can but prod—because without that, nothing moves at all.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnlnet-eu-ngi-ngizero-will-we-get-it-right-this-time%2F&linkname=%23NLnet%20%23EU%20%23NGI%20%23NGIzero%20%E2%80%93%20Will%20We%20Get%20It%20Right%20This%20Time%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnlnet-eu-ngi-ngizero-will-we-get-it-right-this-time%2F&linkname=%23NLnet%20%23EU%20%23NGI%20%23NGIzero%20%E2%80%93%20Will%20We%20Get%20It%20Right%20This%20Time%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnlnet-eu-ngi-ngizero-will-we-get-it-right-this-time%2F&linkname=%23NLnet%20%23EU%20%23NGI%20%23NGIzero%20%E2%80%93%20Will%20We%20Get%20It%20Right%20This%20Time%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnlnet-eu-ngi-ngizero-will-we-get-it-right-this-time%2F&linkname=%23NLnet%20%23EU%20%23NGI%20%23NGIzero%20%E2%80%93%20Will%20We%20Get%20It%20Right%20This%20Time%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnlnet-eu-ngi-ngizero-will-we-get-it-right-this-time%2F&linkname=%23NLnet%20%23EU%20%23NGI%20%23NGIzero%20%E2%80%93%20Will%20We%20Get%20It%20Right%20This%20Time%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnlnet-eu-ngi-ngizero-will-we-get-it-right-this-time%2F&linkname=%23NLnet%20%23EU%20%23NGI%20%23NGIzero%20%E2%80%93%20Will%20We%20Get%20It%20Right%20This%20Time%3F )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )

2025-01-22 22:13:55 CET

The “colour revolutions” have been a deliberate strategy of orchestrated regime change, typically carried out by powerful foreign actors, most often the United States. These operations are presented as grassroots democratic uprisings, but in reality, they are heavily funded, pre-planned, and driven by external interests. While the surface story is about promoting democracy and human rights, the outcomes almost always serve the economic and geopolitical priorities of the US and the global capitalist fuckwits.
Step 1: The first move is to weaken a target nation’s economy through sanctions, trade embargoes, and manipulation of international financial institutions. This creates widespread hardship, often targeting ordinary citizens, to fuel discontent and unrest. Examples would be: Nicaragua, Chile, Venezuela etc. This erodes public trust in the government, creating the conditions for protest and rebellion.
Step 2: Media manipulation and propaganda, controlling the narrative is critical. The US uses propaganda to frame opposition figures as heroes and targeted governments as corrupt or authoritarian. This is achieved through: CIA-backed media like Voice of America which spreads anti-government messaging, planted stories in western media to manufactures consent, that portrays regime change as a moral imperative while obscuring the external orchestration.
Step 3: Empower opposition movements: Once public discontent is stoked, the US funds and equips opposition groups to act as the vanguard of regime change. These groups are often chosen for their willingness to align with US interests, regardless of their domestic popularity or legitimacy. Examples: The US recognised Juan Guaidó, a wildly unpopular opposition figure, as president despite his lack of electoral legitimacy in Venuswala. In Guatemala the CIA armed exiled opposition leaders to stage a coup against Jacobo Árbenz, using hired pilots to bomb Guatemala City and spread chaos. Through organisations like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the US provides financial and logistical support to opposition groups, ensuring they have the resources to disrupt and destabilise.
Step 4: Mobilise mass protests, to create the appearance of widespread popular dissent. These are often astroturfed, with covert funding and guidance from foreign operatives. The symbolism of these movements, colours, slogans, and branded imagery, makes them easy for international media to amplify, framing them as democratic uprisings.
Step 5: Neutralise security forces, for regime change to succeed, a government’s security forces must be undermined. This is achieved through bribery, threats, or outright assassination. Examples: in Chile: The CIA orchestrated the assassination of General René Schneider, a constitutionalist who opposed a coup against Allende. This paved the way for Pinochet’s military takeover. In Guatemala, staged violence and disinformation campaigns created a climate of fear, allowing the US-backed military to seize power. By dividing and destabilising security forces, the US ensures that the government cannot effectively defend itself.
Step 6: Install pro-US leadership, the final step is consolidating power under a regime that aligns with US interests. This involves handpicking leaders who prioritise corporate and geopolitical goals over their nation’s sovereignty. Examples, In Chile: after Allende’s overthrow, the US provided intelligence and resources to Pinochet’s dictatorship, ensuring compliance with American interests. In Guatemala the US installed a pro-American government to protect United Fruit Company’s monopoly and suppress land reform efforts. These new regimes are rarely democratic or stable, often descending into authoritarianism and neoliberal exploitation.
The consequences of colour revolutions, while sold as democracy-building efforts, the reality is far more destructive. Economic collapse from the sanctions and neoliberal reforms that devastate local economies, leading to poverty and inequality. Ongoing political instability with installed governments plagued by factionalism, corruption, and authoritarianism. Global distrust in the US’s repeated interference undermines its credibility, pushing nations towards alternative paths. These interventions normalise the erosion of sovereignty and democracy, leaving lasting scars on the nations they target.
There is a strong need for accountability, the US’s playbook for regime change, disguised as democracy promotion, is a tool of imperialism that pushes corporate and geopolitical interests over basic human rights and stability. It’s a path that thrives on economic hardship, media manipulation, and the subversion of local institutions.
*A note on the side* – the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN approach, grounded in decentralisation, #4opens principles, and collective action, offers a stark contrast. Rather than destabilising societies for profit, we grow resilient paths that empower communities and foster genuine self-determination [](/friends/tag/kiss/ )#KISS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMGlZDKjTtM
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fhow-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change%2F&linkname=How%20the%20US%20Orchestrates%20Regime%20Change )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fhow-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change%2F&linkname=How%20the%20US%20Orchestrates%20Regime%20Change )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fhow-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change%2F&linkname=How%20the%20US%20Orchestrates%20Regime%20Change )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fhow-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change%2F&linkname=How%20the%20US%20Orchestrates%20Regime%20Change )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fhow-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change%2F&linkname=How%20the%20US%20Orchestrates%20Regime%20Change )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fhow-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change%2F&linkname=How%20the%20US%20Orchestrates%20Regime%20Change )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/how-the-us-orchestrates-regime-change/
#4opens #KISS #OMN

2025-01-22 21:29:43 CET

This is a [](/friends/tag/fluffy/ )#fluffy response to this [thread,](https://kolektiva.social/deck/@npub1387…vefs/113872434002414526 ) about people feeling that some of the discourse surrounding the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb is too black and white, and that this is going to increase with the current political reality. Yes, supporting the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb doesn’t automatically make you “left-wing” or a “Marxist,” just as using platforms like X or Meta products doesn’t necessarily make you “right-wing nut job” or an out right “fascist.” The world is full of different shades, oversimplifying these issues can become the polarisation that the people are arguing against.
Building a business on open technologies is not inherently wrong, building exploitative [](/friends/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons is clearly wrong. There is value in the middle ground between commercial success and the native [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb paths. The challenge is finding the balance and ensuring businesses side respects the #4opens principles our people’s web is built on. Of course, there are risks. Commercial companies working on open technologies often push too far and betray trust. Meta’s entry into the [](/friends/tag/fediverse/ )#fediverse, for example, raises suspicions for good reason. Their track record shows a consistent prioritisation of profit over people.
However, that doesn’t mean we should dismiss the idea of building a business around open tech entirely. It’s about trust, accountability, and balance. Being critical doesn’t mean rejecting something outright; it means scrutinising the motives and actions behind it. The same #4opens principle applies whether you’re evaluating a tech startup or a massive corporation.
The bigger political mess the people in the thread are talking about isn’t open vs. closed or left vs. right, it’s the utter mess our middling political class has made with its hard shift to the right. This polarisation isn’t actually coming from the left, as many people assume when they’re critical of “extremes.” It’s a result of the “centre” being dragged further and further over decades. The balance has been lost, and it’s no wonder people are scrambling to find footing in such unstable paths.
I talk about this subject often from a radical progressive left perspective on this site (http://hamishcampbell.com), and yes, it is a mess in every way. The centre path, the one that should hold things together, has veered so sharply that even moderate discussions feel like battles over extremes.
For meany people in the centre, a shift back to something like the Bretton Woods, 20th century social democracy from before Reagan and Thatcher pushed us onto our knees to worship the [](/friends/tag/deathcult/ )#deathcult of the last 40 years. With room for small business owners and local enterprise, a capitalism built on community, not monopolistic greed. Smaller capitalists, smaller systems, more balance.
This balance we need and the conversation the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb need to reflect is the larger struggle for balance. The goal isn’t only to polarise or pick sides, it’s to find a progressive “native” way forward that incorporates the best of different perspectives. A diversity of ideas, from Marxist critiques to social entrepreneurial innovation, so long as they operate within the #4opens framework of trust, openness, and accountability.
Yes, it’s a mess, but the way out is through this, shovels and composting come to mind and hopefully hands.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground%2F&linkname=The%20Open%20Web%20and%20the%20Messy%20Middle%20Ground )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground%2F&linkname=The%20Open%20Web%20and%20the%20Messy%20Middle%20Ground )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground%2F&linkname=The%20Open%20Web%20and%20the%20Messy%20Middle%20Ground )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground%2F&linkname=The%20Open%20Web%20and%20the%20Messy%20Middle%20Ground )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground%2F&linkname=The%20Open%20Web%20and%20the%20Messy%20Middle%20Ground )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground%2F&linkname=The%20Open%20Web%20and%20the%20Messy%20Middle%20Ground )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-open-web-and-the-messy-middle-ground/
#4opens #deathcult #dotcons #fediverse #fluffy #openweb

2025-01-22 14:24:09 CET

The [](/friends/tag/openmedianetwork/ )#OpenMediaNetwork (#OMN) offers a clear, practical path to building the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb, grounded in #4opens. It does this by leveraging open protocols like [](/friends/tag/activitypub/ )#ActivityPub (#AP) and [](/friends/tag/rss/ )#RSS, alongside [](/friends/tag/foss/ )#FOSS software, to create a distributed network of media platforms where anyone can join, participate, and contribute. This, like the [](/friends/tag/fediverse/ )#Fediverse, is a direct challenge to the centralised, corporate-dominated structures that define so much of the current internet landscape.
Step-by-Step Building Blocks: The [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN prioritises simplicity and humanistic coding rather than over-engineered complexity we often see in tech today. <li>Start with the client-server model. The initial focus is on building a robust client-server architecture to create a stable foundation for media sharing and participation. This forms the “hot” storage layer, data that is live, accessible, and regularly used.</li><li>Introduce an offline cold store: Once the client-server infrastructure is operational, a secondary layer of offline cold storage is added. This acts as a backup system, providing high redundancy to safeguard against data loss. Cold storage is cheap, offline, and relies on human interaction for maintenance and retrieval, ensuring resilience and sustainability.</li><li>P2P connections to cold storage: The final stage introduces peer-to-peer (<a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/p2p/">#P2P</a>) connections to integrate the offline cold storage with the broader network. This allows people to share and retrieve data across the network, even in decentralised or disconnected environments.</li><li>Iterative learning and improvement: The process is intentionally iterative, encouraging learning from practical experience. The system is designed to evolve and improve over time, informed by real-world use rather than theoretical perfection.</li>
The success of the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN depends on its commitment to #4opens. These principles allow for the free sharing and reuse of content, breaking down barriers to collaboration and fostering innovation. By storing most data unencrypted (as the majority of it is not private), the system reduces overhead and complexity, keeping the project aligned with the “Keep It Simple, Stupid” (#KISS) philosophy.
Separating privacy from the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb: One critical aspect of the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN approach is recognising that encrypted privacy tools are a separate project. Mixing these with the development of the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb [](/friends/tag/fediverse/ )#Fediverse leads to unnecessary complexity and division. Privacy tools are vital, but are developed in parallel rather than tangled with the foundational infrastructure. This separation allows each project to focus on its strengths while maintaining a clear, streamlined design philosophy.
At its core, the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN empowers “normal” people to store and manage their own data. By using a mix of hot and cold storage, people gain control over their digital lives without relying on corporate platforms. The focus on redundancy, backed by tools to search and reimport old data into hot storage, ensures resilience and accessibility.
This human-centric approach contrasts sharply with the corporate and [](/friends/tag/geekproblem/ )#geekproblem obsession with control and perfection. It’s a more humane vision of technology, based on trust and collaboration rather than surveillance and control.
A history rooted in activism, the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN isn’t just a theoretical project; it’s grounded in decades of real-world activism. From the work of Undercurrents in the 1990s (http://www.undercurrents.org/about.html) to the global mobilisation of the Carnival Against Capitalism (*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnival_Against_Capital*), this approach draws on over 20 years of direct, on-the-ground experience. The lessons from this history inform every aspect of the OMN, ensuring it stays true to its activist roots.
Dealing with the [](/friends/tag/geekproblem/ )#geekproblem and [](/friends/tag/fashernistas/ )#fashernistas: One of the biggest challenges in progressive tech is the dominance of the [](/friends/tag/geekproblem/ )#geekproblem, projects driven by technologists who prioritise complexity and self-interest over usability and impact. Coupled with the influence of [](/friends/tag/fashernistas/ )#fashernistas, who chase trends without substance, many projects are doomed from the start
The [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN cuts through this, yes, we can’t solve this mess pushing, but we are a critical step in the right direction which encourages us to get out the shovels and compost these failures. The goal is to build a system that works, not one that dazzles investors with hype while failing to deliver.
The [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb won’t (re)build itself. It requires us to reject the endless noise of pointless projects and focus on practical, sustainable solutions. By supporting and growing the [](/friends/tag/omn/ )#OMN path, grounded in [](/friends/tag/kiss/ )#KISS simplicity, #4opens principles, and decades of activism, we create a resilient infrastructure that empowers people and communities.
The future of the [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb is in our hands. Dig deep, embrace trust, and start building.
OMN [](/friends/tag/openweb/ )#openweb [](/friends/tag/ogb/ )#OGB [](/friends/tag/indymediaback/ )#Indymediaback [](/friends/tag/makehistory/ )#makehistory
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure%2F&linkname=The%20%23OMN%20path%20is%20building%20the%20%23openweb%20infrastructure )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure%2F&linkname=The%20%23OMN%20path%20is%20building%20the%20%23openweb%20infrastructure )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure%2F&linkname=The%20%23OMN%20path%20is%20building%20the%20%23openweb%20infrastructure )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure%2F&linkname=The%20%23OMN%20path%20is%20building%20the%20%23openweb%20infrastructure )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure%2F&linkname=The%20%23OMN%20path%20is%20building%20the%20%23openweb%20infrastructure )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure%2F&linkname=The%20%23OMN%20path%20is%20building%20the%20%23openweb%20infrastructure )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-omn-path-is-building-the-openweb-infrastructure/
#4opens #activitypub #AP #fashernistas #fediverse #FOSS #geekproblem #indymediaback #KISS #MakeHistory #OGB #OMN #OpenMediaNetwork #openweb #p2p #rss

2025-01-03 15:15:05 CET

Embracing “messiness” as a feature, not a bug, in creating humane and effective tech solutions.
Why messiness matters, real-world social paths are inherently messy. Attempting to design tech solutions that are rigid, “perfect” systems leads to failure because they cannot adapt to human complexity and unpredictability. Projects that actually work in messy environments prioritize flexibility, openness, and adaptability over strict control and rigid frameworks.
Wikipedia is a messy, decentralized project that thrives because it prioritizes community and collaboration over technical perfection. The [](/friends/tag/fediverse/ )#Fediverse, with its federated nature, allows for diverse approaches and experimentation, embracing a level of messiness to resist centralization and foster creativity.
Code is a tool, not the goal, the value of software lies in its social impact—how people use it—not in the technical complexity or “cleverness” of the code itself. Over emphasizing code at the expense of social “use” creates [](/friends/tag/techchurn/ )#techchurn and decay. Projects without meaningful use end up abandoned, despite the sometimes impressive technical work. The practical path we argue for, is to prioritize designing for social utility, not only technical performance.
The [](/friends/tag/geekproblem/ )#geekproblem we need to mediate is the churn of [](/friends/tag/techshit/ )#techshit, of developers focusing too heavily on technical aspects, ignoring the social context and long-term utility of their work. This results in churn—continuous cycles of development with little lasting value—adding to the pile of decaying, unused code.
What are [](/friends/tag/kiss/ )#KISS paths to avoid this, a simple first step is involving non-technical voices early in the process to ensure social relevance and usability. Use iterative development methods that prioritize real-world feedback over technical perfection. Embracing the #4opens: Open Data, Open Source, Open “industrial” standards, Open Process. Build for use, not show, with simplicity and usability over technical complexity. Engage people in testing and iterating early and often. Embrace the mess, imperfections and unpredictability are part of the process.
Strategies to build messy, human-centric projects: Start with the “Why”, clearly define the social purpose of the project before writing any code. What problem are you solving? Who benefits, and how?
[](/friends/tag/kiss/ )#KISS
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fembracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions%2F&linkname=Embracing%20%E2%80%9Cmessiness%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20feature%20in%20effective%20tech%20solutions )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fembracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions%2F&linkname=Embracing%20%E2%80%9Cmessiness%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20feature%20in%20effective%20tech%20solutions )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fembracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions%2F&linkname=Embracing%20%E2%80%9Cmessiness%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20feature%20in%20effective%20tech%20solutions )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fembracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions%2F&linkname=Embracing%20%E2%80%9Cmessiness%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20feature%20in%20effective%20tech%20solutions )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fembracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions%2F&linkname=Embracing%20%E2%80%9Cmessiness%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20feature%20in%20effective%20tech%20solutions )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fembracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions%2F&linkname=Embracing%20%E2%80%9Cmessiness%E2%80%9D%20is%20a%20feature%20in%20effective%20tech%20solutions )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/embracing-messiness-is-a-feature-not-a-bug-in-creating-humane-and-effective-tech-solutions/
#4opens #fediverse #geekproblem #KISS #techchurn #techshit

2024-10-29 22:01:13 CET

A century ago, Mussolini’s rise in Italy laid the blueprint for fascism, exploiting fear and weaponizing power to obliterate political opposition. Fast-forward to today, and #Trump’s rhetoric and promises echo this history of mess and lies leading to war. In the closing stretch of 2024, Trump’s agenda to use military force against political adversaries mirrors [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mussolini/ )#Mussolini’s moves to consolidate control. Targeting “enemies from within,” Trump’s public calls to use force against officials is a direct echo of growing authoritarianism that brought the world to the brink of destruction in the middle of the 20th century.
If re-elected, Trump can invoke the Insurrection Act, deploying the military to target political dissenters. With [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/sycophants/ )#sycophants rather than protectors of democratic institutions in key positions, there are few to push back against this, much like Mussolini purged opposition from Italy’s Parliament and judiciary. Trump’s base becomes a modern-day paramilitary force, following his promises to pardon January 6 rioters and uphold them as martyrs. This rhetoric is reminiscent of Mussolini’s “black shirts,” who terrorized Italians into submission.
Mussolini’s unchecked power obliterated Italy’s democracy within three years, in the era of [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/climatechaos/ )#climatechaos militarized politics will inevitably bring devastating consequences. If Trump is re-elected, the thread thin democratic safeguards are in jeopardy. The chilling lesson from history is that unchecked right-wing power corrupts. The current mess we call liberal democracy, is a poor defence of freedom, and history’s echoes warn us of the steep costs of complacency on this path.
We have already seen the mess that trump brings, let’s not repeat this history. Mussolini’s leadership in Italy was marked by glaring failures, with a historical consensus that he was an incompetent leader. Initially, he was a charismatic figure with an ability to mobilize the public, centralizing power and establishing a fascist state to “make Italy great again” he promoted a “modern” alternative to democracy and the “dark” path of communism. His early years in power saw a continues stream of propaganda, including infrastructure projects like roads and railways, which were more rhetoric than fact, this was about boosting national pride by expanding Italian “influence” rather than real benefit.
This failer of governance was quickly revealed, foreign policy blunders were particularly damaging: his decision to ally with Hitler and join World War II on Germany’s side resulted in disastrous military defeats, revealing Italy’s unpreparedness for prolonged conflict. His military leadership was marked by poorly planned invasions, such as those of Greece and North Africa, which ended in failure and stretched Italy’s resources thin. Furthermore, Mussolini failed to establish a self-sustaining economy capable of supporting Italy’s ambitions, leaving it dependent on German support during the war.
Domestically, Mussolini’s used violence to repression and silence dissent, this alienated the population over time, and his inability to foster genuine, stable economic growth led to widespread poverty and disillusionment. His propaganda machine masked Italy’s growing weaknesses, but as the war progressed, his lack of competent governance became undeniable. His removal from power in 1943 by his own [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/fascist/ )#Fascist Grand Council underscored the loss of faith even within his ranks.
Historians agree that Mussolini’s appeal and ambition could not make up for his incompetence, poor judgment, and reliance on authoritarian repression, all of which led to his countries downfall and contributed to Italy’s suffering.
Does the US want to take the world down this path with Trump?
[So, vote for the deathcult as the alternative is worse. ](https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=deathcult )
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftrump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism%2F&linkname=Trump%20is%20more%20Italian%20%23fascism%20than%20German%20fascism )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftrump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism%2F&linkname=Trump%20is%20more%20Italian%20%23fascism%20than%20German%20fascism )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftrump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism%2F&linkname=Trump%20is%20more%20Italian%20%23fascism%20than%20German%20fascism )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftrump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism%2F&linkname=Trump%20is%20more%20Italian%20%23fascism%20than%20German%20fascism )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftrump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism%2F&linkname=Trump%20is%20more%20Italian%20%23fascism%20than%20German%20fascism )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Ftrump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism%2F&linkname=Trump%20is%20more%20Italian%20%23fascism%20than%20German%20fascism )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/trump-is-more-italian-fascism-than-german-fascism/
#climatechaos #fascist #Mussolini #sycophants #Trump

2024-10-17 12:00:40 CEST

In the postmodern mess we inhabit, “truth” becomes deliberately obscured by those who view it as subjective, fragmented, and relative. This is more than denying an objective reality; it’s an embrace of [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/nihilism/ )#nihilism, where the concept of truth dissolves into endless, conflicting, interpretation. Combined with [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/neoliberalism/ )#Neoliberalism, which blurs the lines between fact and fiction while commodifying knowledge, we find ourselves in a world where power and influence, rather than evidence, define what passes for truth.
This distortion is evident in how conflicting “truths” clash with each other. Instead of an honest pursuit of understanding, debates become competitions of influence, narratives backed by the most powerful voices are treated as “truth.” For example, corporate media giants and political power politics shape public discourse by determining which facts matter and which are dismissed. Consider [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/climatechange/ )#climatechange, where scientific consensus is downplayed or outright ignored by industries whose profits depend on denial. The truth, in this case, becomes buried under the weight of vested interests.
Sophism, using clever but misleading arguments, has replaced honest discussion. Truth is no longer about what is empirically verifiable, but about what can be sold as convincing in a highly fragmented, pluralistic space. This problem of competing narratives, all shaped by power, leads to a collective confusion where “truth” is more mess than ground to build on.
Ultimately, this is not a sustainable path for society. A world where truth is shaped by power rather than facts is a path of instability and distrust. To change this path we need to take simpler, grounded approaches—what you might call [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/kiss/ )#KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)—where clear thinking and evidence-based understanding are our guides.
It’s time to unearth the truth, stripped of neoliberal distortions and postmodern doubt. We need to reject the noise and focus on reality, a (social) truths that exist in communities outside of power games and manipulative sophistry.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomposting-mess-truth%2F&linkname=Composting%20mess%20%28truth%29 )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomposting-mess-truth%2F&linkname=Composting%20mess%20%28truth%29 )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomposting-mess-truth%2F&linkname=Composting%20mess%20%28truth%29 )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomposting-mess-truth%2F&linkname=Composting%20mess%20%28truth%29 )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomposting-mess-truth%2F&linkname=Composting%20mess%20%28truth%29 )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fcomposting-mess-truth%2F&linkname=Composting%20mess%20%28truth%29 )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/composting-mess-truth/
#climatechange #KISS #neoliberalism #nihilism

2024-09-24 15:55:37 CEST

The [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/fediverse/ )#Fediverse and [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/foss/ )#FOSS communities stand in sharp contrast to Big Tech [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/ )#dotcons platforms through their values, which are rooted in openness, decentralization, and community control. While Big Tech thrives on centralization, data extraction, and profit-driven control.
However, the grassroots path is always under threat. On the [Fediverse](https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=Fediverse ), stagnation at [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/socialhub/ )#socialhub and a rise in [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ngo/ )#NGO influence, the original ethos of decentralized and open governance is stifled by the normal paths of fear and control. This shifting imbalance reflects tension within the [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/ )#openweb, where native grassroots paths are often at odds with institutionalized power structures.
https://socialwebfoundation.org/
The challenge now is how to reclaim and sustain these values while avoiding the dilution that the spread of the [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ngo/ )#NGO mess brings. What strategies do you think could re-energize these communities while maintaining their grassroots authenticity?
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnative-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power%2F&linkname=Native%20grassroots%20paths%20are%20at%20odds%20with%20institutionalized%20power )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnative-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power%2F&linkname=Native%20grassroots%20paths%20are%20at%20odds%20with%20institutionalized%20power )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnative-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power%2F&linkname=Native%20grassroots%20paths%20are%20at%20odds%20with%20institutionalized%20power )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnative-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power%2F&linkname=Native%20grassroots%20paths%20are%20at%20odds%20with%20institutionalized%20power )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnative-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power%2F&linkname=Native%20grassroots%20paths%20are%20at%20odds%20with%20institutionalized%20power )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fnative-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power%2F&linkname=Native%20grassroots%20paths%20are%20at%20odds%20with%20institutionalized%20power )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/native-grassroots-paths-are-at-odds-with-institutionalized-power/
#dotcons #fediverse #FOSS #NGO #openweb #socialhub

2024-09-20 21:10:58 CEST

**DRAFT**
A resent forum thread on [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/socialhub/ )#socialhub brought up a powerful parallel between the radical demands of the [Black Panther Party](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Panther_Party ) (#BPP) and the underlying values of the [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/fediverse/ )#fediverse and [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/activitypub/ )#activitypub communities, especially in their attempts to build outside the corporate-controlled paths. The metaphor is striking because both seek liberation, self-determination, and the creation of alternatives to oppressive systems. <li>Freedom and self-determination, the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/bpp/">#BPP</a>’s call for freedom to determine their community’s paths, has a native overlap to the motivations behind the fediverse, which is a path to free people from the <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/">#dotcons</a> corporate control. This empowering of people to manage their communities, and engage in social media on their own terms, much like the BPP sought to control their community’s political and social future. But there is a problem, this self-determination is undermined by the “narrow and intolerant” behaviour, in the fediverse communities which are still shaped by power dynamics, gatekeeping, and elitism. Much like the BPP’s fight against internal and external forces, we need to challenge these invisible embedded paths in tech spaces.</li><li>Ending exploitation and economic Injustice, the BPP’s demand to end capitalist robbery mirrors the desire within the fediverse to reject the exploitative model of <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/">#dotcons</a> who profiting off users’ data, labour, and attention. Projects like <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mastodon/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mastodon/">#Mastodon</a> and the wider <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/">#openweb</a> reboot offer an alternative that resists the centralization, monetization and control of user information. Yet, despite this anti-capitalist ethos, there’s still a tendency for devs and leaders in these communities to pursue funding, recognition, or status that mimics the capitalist incentives of the <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/">#dotcons</a>. The challenge is to remain vigilant about how easily a “safe” or “open” community can be co-opted by external economic pressures, just as the Panthers struggled to protect their movement from state infiltration and capitalist influence.</li><li>Housing, education, and technology as commons, the BPP’s demands for housing and education highlight their belief in basic human rights, which could be translated into the tech metaphor as the right to access technology and information as commons. The <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/4opens/">#4opens</a> represent this principle, ensuring that tools, processes, and knowledge remain transparent and accessible. It’s about creating “decent housing” for digital life and an “education” that uncovers the true nature of our technological paths. The struggle, that many open communities drift toward becoming insular, where the tools and education are not readily accessible to newcomers. It requires more effort to lower the barriers and broaden participation beyond the <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/geekproblem/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/geekproblem/">#geekproblem</a> to genuinely serve as commons, much like the Panthers sought to broaden political education beyond academic elites.</li><li>Community defense and police brutality, the Panthers’ emphasis on ending police brutality and defending their community aligns with the need for safe spaces in the digital world, spaces free from corporate surveillance, trolling, and abuse. In the fediverse, moderation and safety tools often resemble a kind of “community defense” against harmful actors, trying to keep the space healthy and productive. This policing of communities within the fediverse can take a rigid, intolerant form, which creates an exclusionary culture where non <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/">#mainstreaming</a> voices are marginalized. Just as the Panthers sought accountability and fairness in how their communities were policed, Fediverse communities need more humane and community-led governance models, like <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ogb/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ogb/">#OGB</a>, to avoid replicating the authoritarian systems they’re fighting against.</li><li>Radical ideals vs. narrow paths, both the BPP and the Fediverse, in their own ways, strive for radical change, whether it’s systemic racial justice or the liberation of the web from corporate interests. But both face the dilemma of narrow paths. In the BPP’s case, the movement’s radical vision was met with state repression, which forced them into narrower, defensive stances. In the fediverse, the movement for open, decentralized media is often constrained by internal divisions, ideological rigidity, and an intolerance of diverse views. The key here is not to narrow the vision to protect it, but to expand it, making space for more people and voices. This means mediating conflicts through trust and transparency, rather than exclusion or elitism, a struggle shared by both the BPP and the <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/">#openweb</a> movement.</li><li>The path forward, to “compost the mess” in the fediverse, we need to apply some of the same principles the BPP fought for, building movements that are rooted in collective empowerment, community defence, and transparent, accountable governance. This means, challenging the internal hierarchies that mirror the broader social structures we’re resisting. Expanding participation and avoiding the elitism and exclusionary paths that can choke out growth. Emphasizing practical tools (like <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ogb/"></a><a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/ogb/">#OGB</a> and <a rel="tag" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/4opens/">#4opens</a>) to manage conflicts, maintain openness, and ensure the tech commons remains genuinely for the people.</li>
By looking at the BPP’s history, we see both a radical vision and the internal/external challenges that can derail a movement. The fediverse can learn from this, the real threat to its growth isn’t just external corporate forces, but the narrow, rigid paths it sometimes enforces within. To stay true to the “native” path of liberation, it must embrace messiness, diversity, and openness. The Panthers’ slogan “Power to the People” resonates deeply here, digital power should truly belong to the people, not gatekeepers.
[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb%2F&linkname=The%20Panthers%E2%80%99%20slogan%20%E2%80%9CPower%20to%20the%20People%E2%80%9D%20resonates%20on%20the%20%23openweb )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb%2F&linkname=The%20Panthers%E2%80%99%20slogan%20%E2%80%9CPower%20to%20the%20People%E2%80%9D%20resonates%20on%20the%20%23openweb )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb%2F&linkname=The%20Panthers%E2%80%99%20slogan%20%E2%80%9CPower%20to%20the%20People%E2%80%9D%20resonates%20on%20the%20%23openweb )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb%2F&linkname=The%20Panthers%E2%80%99%20slogan%20%E2%80%9CPower%20to%20the%20People%E2%80%9D%20resonates%20on%20the%20%23openweb )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb%2F&linkname=The%20Panthers%E2%80%99%20slogan%20%E2%80%9CPower%20to%20the%20People%E2%80%9D%20resonates%20on%20the%20%23openweb )[](https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fthe-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb%2F&linkname=The%20Panthers%E2%80%99%20slogan%20%E2%80%9CPower%20to%20the%20People%E2%80%9D%20resonates%20on%20the%20%23openweb )[](https://www.addtoany.com/share )
https://hamishcampbell.com/the-panthers-slogan-power-to-the-people-resonates-on-the-openweb/
#4opens #activitypub #BPP #dotcons #fediverse #geekproblem #mainstreaming #Mastodon #OGB #openweb #socialhub
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2024-08-24 15:21:07 CEST

**DRAFT**
The mess we have made in modern “thinking” and action among some people is to blindly reject critique and instead frame themselves as victims of persecution. This defensive posture, adopted by narcissists, is a path of refusal of engagement in the meaningful exchange of ideas, essential to intellectual growth and social progress. Rather than seeing criticism as an opportunity to refine their arguments or reconsider their positions, these people construct a storey where they are instead under attack. This narrative of victimhood is powerful because it taps into broader societal fears—of being silenced, of losing freedom of expression, of falling prey to what they perceive as the tyranny of the majority, in the end of being bullied. It’s the [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/stupidindividualism/ )#stupidindividualism I talk about a lot, playing itself out as broken social psychology.
This [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/blocking/ )#blocking of criticism is problematic because it shuts down the possibility of constructive dialogue. Instead of fostering a space where ideas can be debated and challenged on their merits, it creates a polarized environment where any dissent is viewed as an assault on personal freedom. This is antithetical to the path of intellectual inquiry, which thrives on the back-and-forth exchange of ideas, even when those ideas are uncomfortable or challenging. The blocking of discourse leads to social stagnation, when individuals or groups refuse to engage with criticism, they insulate themselves from the feedback that leads to the improvement of the paths they take in life. In doing so, they become increasingly disconnected from reality, trapped in echo chambers where their views are continually reinforced by the current mess without question. This in part is why we worshipped a [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/deathcult/ )#deathcult for the last 40 years.
This [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/ )#mainstreaming is making a very nasty mess of the current paths, when those who grab and hold positions of influence and authority dismiss criticism as persecution, they fail to address the urgent substantive issues. Contributing to a culture of, conformity, fear and anti-intellectualism, the bullied becoming the bullies is an old story. This growth of the culture, that disdains critical thinking, thus shapes a preference for simplistic, comforting narratives over complex, sometimes uncomfortable truths, is the path to [](https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/fascism/ )#fascism so good to focus on this messy we think of as “common sense”, it’s a path we need to step away from.
The current generation are far down the path of “political correctness” which is used as a tool by those who feel their ideas are under siege. On this path the term is often misleading, while there are instances where concerns about offending others may lead to excessive caution in discourse, the path of political correctness is frequently used as a catch-all to block any challenge to entrenched viewpoints. This misuse of the concept creates a false dichotomy: either you are committed to free expression and thus opposed to political correctness, or you are a part of the “mob” enforcing a narrow orthodoxy. In reality, the situation is far more messy. Engaging with criticism and being open to changing one’s views are not signs of weakness or conformity, but of simple integrity.
To move beyond this mess, we need to be willing to listen to criticism, to consider the validity of opposing viewpoints, and to refine our ideas and paths in light of fresh views and differing perspectives. A collaborative process aimed at discovering truth and advancing understanding. By growing the space where criticism is not seen as persecution but as an essential part of the social process, Intellectual discourse should not be a battlefield where ideas are either victoriously defended or ruthlessly attacked, let’s compost the mess, not burn it to ashes please.
We need spaces for this to happen https://opencollective.com/open-media-network please support this native #4opens path, thanks.
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https://hamishcampbell.com/the-victimhood-narrative-needs-composting/
#4opens #blocking #deathcult #fascism #KISS #mainstreaming #stupidindividualism
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