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A simple web we own

rsdoiel.github.io

231–240 of 240 posts

Re: A simple web we own

#231
We do not have a supply side issue. We have a worsening discovery and discoverability issue. People publish on platforms because that is where they might be FOUND / or pushed by the algorithm into the feeds of others. RSS is subscription, not discovery. Search / suggest / IR requires scaled centralization. Then there are the network effects and activation cost to moving.

Yeah, sure we need this. The time for it was back in like 2005 at the latest.

The real issue is more existential. Right now we're about to lose the war that requires digital connectivity to live and use modern services. We're going to lose cash payments. If you're going to fight a fight, that is where the effort matters in 2026.

Re: A simple web we own

#232
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In short: there's no hope of getting a world-wide, free, uncensored, unlimited IP4/6 network back. We never had it in the first place. We can build such a society. I am not sure why you think this is never possible. People can work for a better world. That sometimes works, too.

The technology is the easy part, the people are the hard part. The reality is that we simply don't have thought leaders in charge anymore, there's no innovations or anything that are coming to correct course, very few if any channels even exist anymore for good ideas to flow upwards that result in good & proper solution implementations that positively preserve/protect/harden what we want the web to be. I think a lot…

An alternative internet would be possible: maybe you could setup a kickstarter campaign and aim to ride on the back of Starlink, or Amazon's upcoming Leo.

One problem you face are high profile leaders apparently being "replaced" with ones that are a lot more "conformist." So yesteryear's Bezos might've said yes, today's Bezos: no. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqlEtPBNgLc (members only)

Re: A simple web we own

#233
post #72

As someone who is roughly in the same age group as the author and who was running a BBS, has witnessed the rise of IP4 networks, HTTP, Mosaic etc. let me provide a counter-point. The democratization ends at your router. Unless you are willing to lay down your own wires - which for legal reasons you most likely won't be able to do, we will hopelessly be dependent on the ISP. (Radio on free frequencies is possible and…

"If you are being targeted even the Rasperry Pi you just ordered might be compromised."

Is that like owning a car and having some third-party (who?) remotely cut the brake cable because the manufacturer fitted that "feature" in stealth? Or maybe they did something more benign (ie disable car speakers) just as a reminder as to "who is the boss?"

Re: A simple web we own

#234
post #72

As someone who is roughly in the same age group as the author and who was running a BBS, has witnessed the rise of IP4 networks, HTTP, Mosaic etc. let me provide a counter-point. The democratization ends at your router. Unless you are willing to lay down your own wires - which for legal reasons you most likely won't be able to do, we will hopelessly be dependent on the ISP. (Radio on free frequencies is possible and…

> For decades ISP have throttled upload speeds

This seems to be changing somewhat; even cable ISPs are adopting full duplex via DOCSIS 3.1 (now rebranded as 4.0?) and later.

Re: A simple web we own

#235
post #72

As someone who is roughly in the same age group as the author and who was running a BBS, has witnessed the rise of IP4 networks, HTTP, Mosaic etc. let me provide a counter-point. The democratization ends at your router. Unless you are willing to lay down your own wires - which for legal reasons you most likely won't be able to do, we will hopelessly be dependent on the ISP. (Radio on free frequencies is possible and…

> In short: there's no hope of getting a world-wide, free, uncensored, unlimited IP4/6 network back. We never had it in the first place. We can build such a society. I am not sure why you think this is never possible. People can work for a better world. That sometimes works, too.

The world has actually become worse over time - especially the Internet, when it comes to free speech, freedom, the ability for individuals to make a difference etc.

Re: A simple web we own

#236

I am in the process of co-founding a new protocol which creates a decentralized root of trust using normal plain-text names (i.e. `foo.bar`). One of the goals I hope to obtain is allowing domain-style lookups of private websites hosted on P2P networks. It's lofty, but the dialog used by OP is _very_ close to why I think it's necessary.

If I understand you right, you’re talking (partly) about a distributed name system. Conceptually, I’m generally skeptical of such things. Maybe you can clarify what I’m missing or why your plan is different.

You generally need to trade off two things:

1. A global namespace 2. Users being able to choose names without contention/disagreement about who owns which name

The only way to cut that knot is for an authority arbitrate access to names. That’s what we have now with the DNS and its registrars.

Re: A simple web we own

#237
post #205

Start by making a website that works on mobile. You can't just talk to part of the audience.

You can't sell a product or an idea and put random nonsensical limitations on who may buy or listen to it.

Re: A simple web we own

#238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What does “bringing (RSS) back properly” entail in your eyes? It’s still alive. Many sites still use it. Many people still subscribe to those sites. RSS reader apps are still being created to this day.

RSS directories perhaps, instead of relying on search engines.

There are a few. Try this one: https://ooh.directory/

Re: A simple web we own

#239
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The technology is the easy part, the people are the hard part. The reality is that we simply don't have thought leaders in charge anymore, there's no innovations or anything that are coming to correct course, very few if any channels even exist anymore for good ideas to flow upwards that result in good & proper solution implementations that positively preserve/protect/harden what we want the web to be. I think a lot…

An alternative internet would be possible: maybe you could setup a kickstarter campaign and aim to ride on the back of Starlink, or Amazon's upcoming Leo. One problem you face are high profile leaders apparently being "replaced" with ones that are a lot more "conformist." So yesteryear's Bezos might've said yes, today's Bezos: no. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqlEtPBNgLc (members only)

The alternative internet already exists: http://geminiquickst.art/

Re: A simple web we own

#240
post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An alternative internet would be possible: maybe you could setup a kickstarter campaign and aim to ride on the back of Starlink, or Amazon's upcoming Leo. One problem you face are high profile leaders apparently being "replaced" with ones that are a lot more "conformist." So yesteryear's Bezos might've said yes, today's Bezos: no. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqlEtPBNgLc (members only)

The alternative internet already exists: http://geminiquickst.art/

I think what would be cool is to have a device with all of Gemini's content available for offline browsing. Every few hours changes can be downloaded to keep it current.

This is similar to Bill Joy and his unlimited music device in about 2000.

Having something local means superfast response times, even if there's a delay in freshness.

The key is moderation. I suppose it could end up like a magazine. Maybe charge micropayments to have content included with that fee changing according to a slop-scale?

It's a good idea to couple with something like the upcoming Linux handheld - Mecha. Need multi-TB SSDs - maybe AI can help navigate? Have different versions according to how much storage the user has available.

Maybe there's demand for something local that new AIs can train from. Something other than Internet Archive.

Are there any products that can minimize online-time by building a backlog of jobs to run when online, but also enabling a pause for offline-time?

Also, websites could queue requests, eliminate the AI thumping, and notify the client when their request is allowed? It's like queuing up for a niteclub and eventually getting passed the droid-hostile bouncer.

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