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What Is the Small Web?

ar.al

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Re: What Is the Small Web?

#61

Post by bergstromm466 »

dsign wrote: post #8
torgian wrote: post #3

I’m not sure if I’m 100% sold on this. The service sounds like ( in their own terms ) “Big WEB” but the in a server that is... “owned”? By the user renting that server. Honestly it just sounds like every other server farm out there. Rent a server, put your data on it, hope the service doesn’t go down and trust that the company isn’t selling your data behind your back. Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea they propose.…

I didn't get to that point in the article, but seriously for all the paragraphs I read I thought they were just making software that I could run in my old laptop at home acting as a web-server, or a Peer-to-Peer browser-based thingy. /sighs. Well not the first time I read a cleverly disguised infomercial that eats its tail. On a more positive note, running stuffs in my old laptop at home has proven a great way to kee…

Have you heard of FreedomBox? I’d like to start experimenting with it sometime since I’m only semi-technical.

Also there’s a cool project called CoBox [cobox.cloud] which I found recently, which is creating open source distributed software for a cooperatively run Dropbox alternative - you can effectively build a completely self-sovereign distributed network with friends (or with yourself).

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#62

Post by tokai »

imgabe wrote: post #18

I'm generally on board with the sentiment, but some of this rhetoric is a bit much, even for me. > The Big Web has “users” – a term Silicon Valley has borrowed from drug dealers to describe the people they addict to their services and exploit. Come on now, "user" as in "computer user" was a term in use since long before the web.

I have never met or heard of a drug dealer calling their customers for users.

Even if that was the case, is "(drug) user" a nice term compared to what else is used - like addicts, fiends, junkie, tweaker, etc. It kind of recognize the agency of addicts, instead of the dehumanisation following the other terms.

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#63

Post by scandox »

Whenever I have an idea where the goal is to decentralize and yet somehow I want the achievement of that goal to coalesce around myself then it's time to ask the question: is this not simply centralized on ego instead of a platform?

I think one of the greatest problems with achieving decentralized anything is that the egos that might make it happen cannot be satisfied because a really decentralized system should refuse to coalesce around any individual component, person or platform.

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#64

Post by dusted »

I'm entirely for "the small web" but we should be aware that it's difficult to be as energy efficient when running single-tenant servers than a megacorp for whom every penny saved per user results in millions of dollars in savings.

Ah, I've read further, and there comes the sales pitch, they're building something.. Thing is, everyone can go out today, buy a raspberry pi and get a server online in a few hours.. I don't think this is a problem that should be solved with MORE tools, I think it is one that should be solved with less tools.

A pi, nginx and a text editor is really all you need to make a nice home for yourself on the web.

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#65

Post by kgraves »

tokai wrote: post #62
imgabe wrote: post #18

I'm generally on board with the sentiment, but some of this rhetoric is a bit much, even for me. > The Big Web has “users” – a term Silicon Valley has borrowed from drug dealers to describe the people they addict to their services and exploit. Come on now, "user" as in "computer user" was a term in use since long before the web.

I have never met or heard of a drug dealer calling their customers for users. Even if that was the case, is "(drug) user" a nice term compared to what else is used - like addicts, fiends, junkie, tweaker, etc. It kind of recognize the agency of addicts, instead of the dehumanisation following the other terms.

The 'addicting' aspect of what the tech companies have created and the behaviours they are willing to go to get their 'users' hooked is why the 'user' comparison to 'drug users' makes sense.

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#66

Post by kgraves »

fierarul wrote: post #6

Coining up a new catchy term while simultaneously trying to sell your new and shiny thing rings all kind of alarm bells. At least their software is "non-colonial" which is the 1st time I've seen this term applied to software. Software has never been cheaper and easier to use. If anybody wants to put the smallest amount of effort they can do all this stuff. Maybe people are smarter and know the Internet is a Dark Fore…

What are they 'selling'?

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#67

Post by ForHackernews »

kgraves wrote: post #54
gonehome wrote: post #23

I think this is a good idea and I think making it easy for people to host their own services is valuable. [0] It’s also been tried a few times with little success (sandstorm.io). I think the problem is deeper, modern infrastructure is messy to run, it’s hard to configure, and every thing has to be specifically tweaked to work. Something that works for regular users will require extensive tooling to be useful and will…

Urbit is extremely cryptic but I do like the idea as long as they don't include any 'blockchain' nonsense.

Bad news for you: https://urbit.org/blog/urbit-and-the-blockchain/

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#68

Post by thinkingemote »

john___matrix wrote: post #16

This is the same guy who ran that complete shambles of a vapourware project a few years back to build a smartphone right? This sounds exactly the same in that it's some vanity project under the guise of being indie or privacy focused but all he's really looking for is some more cash. I'd probably continue to steer well clear.

My impression of Aral was that he was a startup founder but in the FOSS / Privacy world. He stood out for that reason. I saw him talk at a very small conference in the UK and he seemed to be genuine and believed what he said.

In other words startup founders evangelise to attract attention to grow fast and to try to get lots of VC funding. FOSS / privacy folks are more humble and quieter so it's very rare to find the loud enthusiasm more common to be found in the valley. Often there is no need to sell the idea and to stoke the hype up when it comes to volunteer organised open source projects. FOSS people tend to be in it for different reasons, in it for the long haul, or in it even if no one is interested.

The risk with any startup founder is that to be "lean" they have to be able to drop their products at a moments notice to try another one. The Small Web idea seems to be an minimum viable product idea and like any idea isn't without value but its possible that it might be more risky to invest time into it compared to a traditional open source idea? (or is it, maybe it will get more interest...)

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#69

Post by tokai »

kgraves wrote: post #65
tokai wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have never met or heard of a drug dealer calling their customers for users. Even if that was the case, is "(drug) user" a nice term compared to what else is used - like addicts, fiends, junkie, tweaker, etc. It kind of recognize the agency of addicts, instead of the dehumanisation following the other terms.

The 'addicting' aspect of what the tech companies have created and the behaviours they are willing to go to get their 'users' hooked is why the 'user' comparison to 'drug users' makes sense.

No it really doesn't. Are library users called users because the library preys of their patrons addiction to literature? This is a very weak wordgame, that at best muddies the point about tech companies.

Re: What Is the Small Web?

#70

Post by kgraves »

ForHackernews wrote: post #67
kgraves wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Urbit is extremely cryptic but I do like the idea as long as they don't include any 'blockchain' nonsense.

Bad news for you: https://urbit.org/blog/urbit-and-the-blockchain/

Urbit is now not a good alternative to decentralized applications.
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