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hamishcampbell People, community, the long struggle between the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a> and <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/dotcons" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> This is a mess that has been clear to see for 20 years, but people keep falling into the same traps instead of stepping off the cycle of control. We had something, we lost it, and we are still refusing to face why. Let’s use <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/Failbook" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Failbook</a> as a practical example of a monster that devours our dreams, fifteen years ago, the writing was already on the wall, <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/failbook" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#failbook</a> and the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/dotcons" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> would eat everything. It wasn’t some grand conspiracy, just basic power and control dynamics. People knew this. They saw the cage being built around them, yet walked in willingly. Why? Because in the small picture, it was “easier” to stay inside than to step outside. They thought they were users, but they were being used. Every attempt to “fix” <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/failbook" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#failbook</a>, the endless ethical tech debates, the “kinder, fairer” alternatives, the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/NGO" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NGO</a>-funded projects promising “a better social network”, misses the core issue: You don’t fix a monster. You stop feeding it and walk away. This is where the religious metaphor fits, people don’t want atheism (the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a>), they just want a nicer god (ethical <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/dotcons" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a>). They still kneel before centralized power, just hoping for a softer whip. We need to stop worshipping the digital feudal lords and start building something else entirely. One path is to reboot the original <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a> To do this we need some social history: The <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a> was murdered, and no one faced the consequences, we need a truth and reconciliation process for what happened to the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a>. Why? Because people refuse to learn from history, and that means they keep making the same mistakes. Look at the waves of migration from open to closed over the last two decades: The rise of blogs and open publishing (2000s) → The pull into social media walled gardens (2010s) The rise of the federated web (2000s, early 2010s) → The collapse into corporate-owned silos (late 2010s, 2020s) The rebirth of the Fediverse (Mastodon, PeerTube, Lemmy, etc.) → Now being co-opted by NGOs and <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/mainstreaming" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mainstreaming</a> interests Each time, the excuse is different, but the result is the same, we hand over power, they take control, we lose everything. Until we face the fact that we let this happen, that we were complicit, this cycle won’t stop. Every time we fail to call it what it is, the blood-letting/stains keep coming back. The problem with <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/NGO" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NGO</a> and Co-op models, people love to push the same “solutions” that failed before. Pushing a voluntary project into a hard “not-for-profit” structure kills it, this happened again and again. Look at <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/indymedia" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#indymedia</a>. It worked because it was messy, decentralized, built from the ground up. Run by volunteers, not controlled by a central authority. Rooted in the activist base, not an <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/NGO" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NGO</a>-funded agenda. Then came the push to “formalize” it, and what happened? Funding fights, bureaucracy, infighting. Projects being hijacked or forced into rigid structures. Most of the co-op/NGO media projects collapsed. There is nothing wrong with people building not-for-profit media, but stop forcing voluntary activism into structures that will kill it. The old mistakes aren’t new solutions. They are just mistakes waiting to happen again. The <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/OMN" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> and the need for diversity of strategies, the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/OMN" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> is built on a simple idea, diversity of strategies is strength. We need: Commercial models where they work. Not-for-profit structures where they make sense. Voluntary activism as the foundation. Then the basic <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/4opens" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#4opens</a> of them linking to each other. What we don’t need is people using their own narrow worldview as a <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/BLOCK" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#BLOCK</a> on other approaches in the guise of “helping”. This happens all the time, with the <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/NGO" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#NGO</a> crowd that wants everything formalized, structured, and professionalized, they see grassroots messiness as a problem. The geeks want everything to be purely about the tech, ignoring the social and political realities. The politicos want everything to align with their ideology, even when that means excluding actual working solutions. These proxy fights kill the meany projects before they even start. The solution is not ideological purity, it’s pragmatic diversity. If we want to break the cycle, we need to stop repeating the same mistakes, stop blocking each other, link and start building with what we have <a class="mention hashtag" href="https://mostr.pub/tags/KISS" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#KISS</a> One path to this, that needs support <a href="https://opencollective.com/open-media-network" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://opencollective.com/open-media-network</a>

Hamish CampbellPeople, community, the long struggle between the #openweb and #dotcons This is a mess that has been clear to see for 20 years, but people keep falling into the same traps instead of stepping off the cycle of control. We had something, we lost it, and we are still refusing to face why. Let's use #Failbook as a practical example of a monster that devours our dreams, fifteen years ago, the writing was already on the wall, #failbook and the #dotcons would eat everything. It wasn't some grand conspiracy, just basic power and control dynamics. People knew this. […] <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/people-community-the-long-struggle-between-the-openweb-and-dotcons/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://hamishcampbell.com/people-community-the-long-struggle-between-the-openweb-and-dotcons/</a>

witchescauldronThe top ten posts on the website <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://hamishcampbell.com</a> Sorting the wheat from the chaffIn part, the USA shift to the right is due to the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#geekproblem</a> in tech<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Failbook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Failbook</a> Activist’s and the hamster cage<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/EU" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#EU</a> bureaucracy in tech fundingFree Software is PoliticalState Funding of <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/FOSS" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FOSS</a> and Open Source: Is it a Good Idea or a Bad Idea?Working with neo hippies for 20 years, they are now <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mainstreaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mainstreaming</a>Corporate presence in the Fediverse?The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/openweb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a>, the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/commons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#commons</a>, the real-world spaces we build are where the future liesThe victimhood narrative needs composting

witchescauldronMost of our crew have made this mess for the last 20 years. Life inside the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/dotcons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> algorithm is a trap—one that people fight for, troll for, and become addicted to. These platforms are designed to feed engagement through division, making people react emotionally rather than think critically.<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Failbook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Failbook</a> and the rise of victim culture isn't an accident. It's a feature, not a bug. The algorithm rewards outrage, amplifies conflict, and keeps people in a loop of reaction rather than action. People get stuck performing identities instead of building real alternatives.The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OMN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> approach? Step outside the algorithm. Build trust-based networks where people interact as humans, not as data points for corporate profit. The <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Fediverse" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Fediverse</a> and <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/ActivityPub" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#ActivityPub</a>-based platforms offer a path out, but we need to push harder to grow them in a way that challenges <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/mainstreaming" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mainstreaming</a> liberal control.We don’t need more “ethical” <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/dotcons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a>. We need an independent, federated media ecosystem. That’s what the <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/OMN" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> is about. <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/4opens" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#4opens</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/openweb" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/nothingnew" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#nothingnew</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/deathcult" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#deathcult</a> <a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/geekproblem" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#geekproblem</a>

Hamish CampbellThe stress of living in the remains of the commons, boaters in the UK The boater community is in rapid transition, with the pressures from gentrification, corporate control (#CRT), and online group dynamics (#failbook) colliding with a long-established scruffy, self-sufficient, and sometimes chaotic #liveaboard culture. This can be seen in the #failbook London Boaters group which has shifted away from its activist roots into more of a "management" role, shaped by #NGO-style moderation and back-channel conversations with #CRT. The shift from grassroots […] <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/the-stress-of-alt-living-in-the-remains-of-the-commons-boaters-in-the-uk/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank">https://hamishcampbell.com/the-stress-of-alt-living-in-the-remains-of-the-commons-boaters-in-the-uk/</a>

hamish campbell<a href="https://kolektiva.social/@rooftopjaxx" class="u-url mention" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@rooftopjaxx</a> think we have had that for the last 20 years since people jumped into <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/failbook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#failbook</a> and the <a href="https://mastodon.social/tags/dotcons" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> in general, what's next?

Hamish CampbellMany years ago, I wrote on my blog sidebar: “A river that needs crossing—political and tech blogs: On the political side, there is arrogance and ignorance; on the geek side, there is naivety and over-complexity.” Decades later, we still to often find ourselves standing on opposite shores of this river, struggling to bridge the understanding gap between human-centric communities and the techno-centric mindset of the “geek class.” This divide is a core challenge for anyone invested in building a better, decentralised <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a>.This battle isn’t just about technology—it’s a deeper, unspoken struggle between openness and control. It’s about whether our social networks and communities will empower human trust and collaboration, or continue to be shaped by closed systems that reduce people to passive users.To touch on this, it’s worth looking at a tale of two projects: Diaspora vs MastodonThe history of the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#openweb</a> provides stark lessons. Consider <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/diaspora/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Diaspora</a> and <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mastodon/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Mastodon</a>, two decentralised platforms with very different outcomes.<ul><li>Diaspora had significant funding, public attention, and a large team of coders. Yet, it failed completely. Why? It was built with a <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/foss/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#FOSS</a> closed mindset—trying to replicate the control features of corporate platforms but within a decentralised framework.</li><li>Mastodon, by contrast, had no funding, minimal publicity, and just one dedicated coder. It succeeded because it embraced openness—allowing communities to organically grow and evolve based on shared principles rather than top-down control.</li></ul>The lesson is clear: projects rooted in openness thrive, while those built on closed fail.The <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> path is human trust networks over algorithms. One of the core goals is to learn from these past successes and failures. From these focuses on growing federated human communities by prioritising openness, trust, and collaboration over technical “perfection.”A counterintuitive path – Why Spam and “Bad Content” Matter. It might sound counterintuitive, but spam and irrelevant posts are a necessary part of building communities. Without the challenge of sorting and filtering content, there’s no reason for humans to reach out, form trust networks, and collaborate on moderation. Geeks often see spam as a technical problem to be solved with algorithms, but this approach misses where the value is. Algorithms centralise power, when we rely on black-box technology to handle content moderation, control shifts to the people who design and manage these “boxes”. This creates invisible hierarchies, as seen with <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/failbook/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Failbook</a> and other <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> platforms. By relying on human moderation and trust-building, communities become stronger and more self-sustaining. People are motivated to engage, connect, and contribute to a path they help shape.Spam and low-quality content must flow into the network as part of the process, but the network itself should flush this out to organically push valuable content to the top through human effort. Of course there is a balance here, this decentralised approach keeps power in the hands of the community balanced with the coders. With this flow of data and metadata established, we put some federated structure in place.Scale through federation creates organic grow. <ul><li>Base Sites: These are narrow, local, or subject-focused publishing sites where content creation happens. They are small and community-driven, and their true value lies in their specificity and grassroots community engagement. </li><li>Middle Sites: This aggregate content from the base sites, adding value by curating, tagging, and filtering. They act as the core of the network, sifting through content to ensure quality and relevance.</li><li>Top Sites: These are broad outreach platforms designed for <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#mainstreaming</a> content. They are easy to set up and administer but add little original value. Instead, they highlight and amplify the best content from the base and middle layers. These sites are the change and challenge.</li></ul>This structure reverses the traditional value pyramid, where top-down platforms dominate. In the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> model, the true value resides at the grassroots base, while the top merely reflects the collective effort below.Moderation as a feature, not a problem, for the network to thrive, it must scale through human connections and trust, moderation is the fuel for building the trust networks.<ul><li>Trusted Links: Content flows through trusted networks, where moderators ensure quality.</li><li>Moderation Levels: New contributors are moderated until trust is established. Over time, as trust builds, moderation becomes less/unnecessary.</li><li>Failure Modes: Without trust-building, sites will either become overwhelmed by irrelevant content or collapse under the weight of unmanageable workloads.</li></ul>The only way to maintain a useful site is to build, either a large, healthy community with diverse moderators and administrators, or a small, focused group based on high-quality, trusted connections. Both outcomes are desirable and reinforce the decentralised ethos of the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a>.Why automation fails, the temptation to automate everything is a hallmark of the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/geekproblem/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#geekproblem</a>. While algorithms might make a network “technically” better, they erode the human element, which is the entire point of decentralisation. Automation creates middling-quality networks with mediocre outcomes, leading to Signal-to-Noise problems, reduced motivation, if everything is automated, why bother forming trust networks and engaging deeply?Less is more should be a guiding principle. By focusing on simplicity and human collaboration, the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> avoids the pitfalls of over-engineering and maintains the integrity of its community-driven mission to build a better future. The <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> isn’t just about technology; it’s about creating spaces where people can connect, collaborate, and build trust. It’s about empowering communities to take ownership of their networks and their narratives.This road won’t be easy. We’ll need to fight against the inertia of the <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> and resist the urge to repeat the mistakes of the last decade’s failed alt-tech projects. But by embracing the #4opens principles, we can create a web that serves people, not corporations. The tools are already here. The open internet still exists, for now. The choice is clear, build for humans, not for algorithms. Trust people, not black boxes. Decentralise, federate, and grow organically. The <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#OMN</a> provides a roadmap—now it’s time to follow it. <a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/mastodon?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb%2F&linkname=Bridging%20the%20gap%3A%20Building%20a%20human-first%20%23openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/bluesky?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb%2F&linkname=Bridging%20the%20gap%3A%20Building%20a%20human-first%20%23openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/threads?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb%2F&linkname=Bridging%20the%20gap%3A%20Building%20a%20human-first%20%23openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/x?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb%2F&linkname=Bridging%20the%20gap%3A%20Building%20a%20human-first%20%23openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb%2F&linkname=Bridging%20the%20gap%3A%20Building%20a%20human-first%20%23openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fhamishcampbell.com%2Fbridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb%2F&linkname=Bridging%20the%20gap%3A%20Building%20a%20human-first%20%23openweb" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a class="" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://hamishcampbell.com/bridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb/" class="" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://hamishcampbell.com/bridging-the-gap-building-a-human-first-openweb/</a><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/4opens/" target="_blank">#4opens</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/diaspora/" target="_blank">#diaspora</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/dotcons/" target="_blank">#dotcons</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/failbook/" target="_blank">#failbook</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/foss/" target="_blank">#FOSS</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/geekproblem/" target="_blank">#geekproblem</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mainstreaming/" target="_blank">#mainstreaming</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/mastodon/" target="_blank">#Mastodon</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/omn/" target="_blank">#OMN</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://hamishcampbell.com/tag/openweb/" target="_blank">#openweb</a>

witchescauldronFailbook Activists and the Hamster CageA bit of history, activists who rely on platforms like Facebook (<a href="https://kolektiva.social/tags/Failbook" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#Failbook</a>) for organizing, where the platform’s algorithms limit real impact. The "hamster cage" metaphor talks to, activists are stuck in a cycle of activity that feels productive but is ultimately controlled and contained by corporate interests.

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