Okay, how can I add an entry for @versionvega to the wiki page (I just signed up but it's read only)?
My main interest is not so much re-inventing what we already have in a less evil way (although that is important too), but rather finding new communication patterns and apps that are hard to imagine with an archaic client/server mindset. Thanks for the pointers. "Who does that server really serve" is a question I have asked myself many times as well. I'll also take a close look at GNUnet! Markus On Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 11:21 AM, Rob Myers <[email protected]> wrote: > On 06/30/2010 11:51 PM, Markus Sabadello wrote: > >> >> I'm having doubts that something like GNU social or Diaspora will >> achieve a lot, because normal people don't know how to set up a server, >> > > GNU Social exists to be free software for its users, so it will achieve > that. :-) > > I gave a talk in France last year at an art & technology event and although > I only mentioned Social briefly it was the thing everyone wanted to hear > about afterwards. People *know* that there are problems with social > networking software. There is a demand for alternatives that solve those > problems, and Social is an answer to that demand. > > Many otherwise capable people can't install an operating system or a web > browser without assistance. We can bundle Social in any number of ways to > empower the greatest number of people to run it: desktop versions and > one-click installs from web hosting providers are easy to imagine. And as a > community we can help people install and run Social however they want. > People don't have to remain isolated. > > > and if we build something that only we geeks can use, then yes we're >> going to have a lot of fun discussing whether to name it "tiramisu" or >> "strudel", but ultimately we're just as selfish as the big, evil >> > > We are trying to produce software that takes a minimum of technical > knowledge and that has minimal requirements to install, relatively speaking. > Free Software exists for the freedom of all its users, not just its > developers. > > It's fun to discuss names for things. Anyone can get involved in it, and > finding more ways of getting people involved is good. We're running a logo > competition at the moment as well. > > > companies. I know, I know, the "normal" people can still "choose" some >> host to provide the service for them, but I believe such an approach >> will automatically create competition and turn evil. Just look at what >> > > I'd compare it more to the competition between web host providers that has > driven down costs and driven up quality of service without compromising the > freedom of users of Apache, Wordpress, etc. > > > happened to OpenID. Originally it promised that "everyone can set up or >> choose" their identity provider, but by now that system has been >> completely swallowed by the big companies, and today it mostly serves to >> give Google and Yahoo even more control over what we do. >> > > I have an OpenID script on my webserver. Occasionally I even remember how > to use it. ;-) > > Yes, it would be a problem if a single large player emerged who found a way > of economically exploiting the removal of users freedom. Coming up with > names for lots of different instances helps to encourage a plurality that > should guard against that. > > > So, the conclusion is to get rid of servers at all. >> > > Yes, servers are inherently problematic - > > > http://www.softwarefreedom.org/news/2010/feb/10/highlights-eben-moglens-freedom-cloud-talk/ > > http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/who-does-that-server-really-serve.html > > But Social can go on one of Eben's "wall wart" servers, and we got a lot of > experience of how to run a server that doesn't keep logs or other > unintentionally treacherous data with GNU FM. > > > I do not know too much about GNU social, but I have found your wiki a >> great source of inspiration and would like to ask if it was be OK to add >> @versionvega to the "On your computer" section of this list: >> http://groups.fsf.org/wiki/Group:GNU_Social/Project_Comparison >> > > If @versionvega is/contains a social network system then sure. The more > relevant comparisons, the better. > > > Any feedback (or pointers to related resources) would be sweet, feel >> free to e-mail or call me. I've been working on this on my own for quite >> a while and would like to become involved with a wider community. >> > > On the related resources front, GNU is working on a P2P platform, GNUNet - > > http://gnunet.org/ > > - Rob. > >
