Mastodawn

#OMN Grounding (the roots as a story)

#techchurn is the endless cycle of adopting new platforms, tools, and technologies - not because they solve any real problems, but because novelty is mistaken for progress. It burns community trust, institutional memory, and activist energy, while leaving the underlying #nastyfew power structures untouched.https://hamishcampbell.com/?s=techchurn The #OMN uses #stupidindividualism to describe the culturally manufactured habit of prioritising personal gain and self-interest over collective […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/omn-grounding-the-roots-as-a-story/

#OMN Grounding (the roots as a story) – #OMN (Open Media Network)

#OMN (Open Media Network)Apr 17

Closed systems protect individuals, but they rarely build movements

People fight against or/and ignore the #KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) approach in tech because simplicity exposes power. Complexity, jargon, and process give cover - they make control look like competence. When paths are simple and transparent, everyone can see who’s blocking, who’s hoarding, who’s acting in bad faith. Many “experts” and institutions are emotionally and professionally invested in keeping things complicated; simplicity threatens their authority, their funding, and […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/closed-systems-protect-individuals-but-they-rarely-build-movements/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Apr 2

Why do we keep bringing this up?

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 […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/why-do-i-keep-bringing-this-up/

hamish campbell Apr 2

@NicelyManifest @_elena @laurenshof

It’s a growing mess, and we’re the ones left to compost it. There’s too much #techshit, and it ends up making everything stink. Why would anyone want to use the #openweb if it smells that bad?

We’ve seen this before - the #encryptionists and the whole #blockchain mess. And now there’s a big overlap with #bluesky.

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hamish campbell Apr 2

@_elena it's a mess that keeps growing, and we will be left to compost it, too much #techshit, and we all start to stink - why would anyone use the #openweb with that bad smell. The last time this happened was the #encryptionists with the #blockchain mess, there is a big overlap with #bluesky

#OMN (Open Media Network)Mar 17

A Note on “Security” for the #FOSS Crew

We need to have a clearer, more grounded conversation about “security” and what it actually means in the context of the #openweb. There is a long history of thinking in #FOSS spaces that security is something we can solve purely technically: better encryption, better protocols, better architectures. But in everyday life and practice, people need to work from a much simpler starting point - We do not trust client–server security. We only meaningfully trust what can be verified through […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/a-note-on-security-to-the-foss-crew/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Mar 6

A note to #FOSS funders

I’ve been working at the heart of this space for more than 30 years, funded and unfunded. In that time I’ve seen hundreds of alternative tech projects start with energy and good intentions. Most of them wither on the vine, a very small number flower. After watching this cycle repeat for decades, one thing has become clear: the projects that survive and grow almost always follow a simple pattern. I call this the #4opens. Other people describe similar ideas as open source development, open […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/a-note-to-foss-funders/

#OMN (Open Media Network)Feb 16

Trust, encryption, and the risk of “trustless” thinking

The #encryptionist movement has a blind spot. Not because encryption itself is bad - it isn’t. Encryption is a tool to protect dissidents, journalists, communities under threat, and everyday privacy. In the small picture, strong encryption is often necessary. But in the bigger picture, something more subtle is happening. Strands of crypto and decentralisation culture promote the idea of removing trust - replacing social relationships with mathematical guarantees, “trustless systems,” […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/trust-encryption-and-the-risk-of-trustless-thinking/

Trust, encryption, and the risk of “trustless” thinking – #OMN (Open Media Network)

witchescauldron Jul 26, 2025

What About Surveillance and Security?

We’re honest: the #OMN network can’t protect you from a fascist state. No tech can. But we can:

Use pseudonymity with known-good peers.

Whisper in the forest before posting.

Protect sources while keeping distribution open.

Use P2P crypto for the 20% of cases that need it — not the 80% that don’t.

Unlike the #encryptionists or #geekproblem crowd, we’re not building bunkers. We’re planting gardens.

#OMN (Open Media Network)Jul 22, 2025

If we close everything, we are left with the evil – A bad outcome

What should be open? What is okay to be closed? Let’s begin from a traditional liberal framing: Most social interactions should be OPEN, some private or sensitive interactions may be CLOSED. This isn’t radical. It’s been a functional principle across free societies for the last century. But in our current digital culture, this simple framing is often flipped or ignored. Many developers, activists, and even funders uncritically push for closure, often in the name of privacy, safety and […]

https://hamishcampbell.com/if-we-close-everything-we-are-left-with-the-evil-a-bad-outcome/