LisaDec 19, 2023
Erik Moeller

A common refrain is that the web is _turning into_ garbage because of LLMs.

But that's not really true. It's just that the garbage is _drowning out_ everything else, especially in search engines that themselves have decided to go into the garbage generation business.

What can we do? We can promote the #IndieWeb right here. Highlight the good, perhaps obscure websites and blogs you come across, especially the ones that aren't loaded with ads & trackers.

The web is still full of awesomeness.

Dec 19, 2023 at 7:56amWeb
Show threadErik MoellerDec 19, 2023

To that end, I'm going to try to get into the habit of sharing cool, perhaps lesser known websites and projects under the hashtag #WebMadeThis. Perhaps others will do so as well. <3

Here's a first one, for fans of #retro computing:

https://deepsid.chordian.net/

This is wicked cool web-based player for C64 music (8-bit #chiptune stuff). It takes a while to explore its features but I'm just blown away by the love & attention to detail behind it.

DeepSID

A modern online SID player for the High Voltage and Compute's Gazette SID collections.

Show threadLiam O'SullivanDec 19, 2023

@eloquence

great idea, bookmarked!

probably not lesser known, but to help get the ball rolling… @cstross ’s blog

https://www.antipope.org/charlie/

Charlie's Diary

Show threadnaught101Dec 19, 2023
@eloquence We need something like digg, but federated. Decentralised searchable social bookmarking, with content driven by humans, not ad-optimised algorithms.
Show threadRoamin' ChemicalsDec 19, 2023
@naught101 @eloquence I wonder if there could be some kind of crowd-sourced curation system for search engines. Like a browser extension where people could click a button marking things as spam or quality. Maybe you could then filter Bing (ala/via Duckduckgo) such that you didn't get as much llm/ml garbage. I don't know how this could be done privately while still having a way to deal with bad actors abusing the system, or if people could ever hope to keep up with the deluge of trash, though
Show threadnaught101Dec 19, 2023

@roaminchemicals

Yeah. There's a bit of conversation on this over at https://mastodon.social/@naught101/109701742342424279

@eloquence

Show threadAdlangxDec 19, 2023
@eloquence yeah dude. That's why we are here.
Show threadLiam @ GamingOnLinux 🐧🎮Dec 19, 2023
@eloquence 👋👋
Show threadNiniDec 19, 2023
@eloquence Webrings and directories are the way to go, whatever gets us around the grey gooification process of LLM-generated content flooding everything.
Show threadTroed SångbergDec 19, 2023
@eloquence They wouldn't exists if we didn't have more or less shady ad networks that pay them for the (unintended) exposure. One solution is thus to make ad blocking so ubiquitous that their business model disappears.
Show threadBeko Pharm (deprecated)Dec 19, 2023

@eloquence oh hi - that's exactly my wheelhouse 👋

Yes, the web is still full of awesomeness. It's just no longer found on page 3 of G-Search.

BTW: The IndieWeb does have a webring and many have still have blogrolls that can bring one to the most amazing places.

…also, many started adopting ActivityPub as well 👌

Show threadDeep Voice DaddyDec 19, 2023
@eloquence wonderfully said
Show threadJer-Bear, Snakes-for-HairDec 19, 2023
@eloquence Look into competing search engines that aren't Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo (which is powered by Bing). I ended up picking one that actively tries to filter out SEO/AI spam sites. It also lets me filter out specific domains from my searches, which is a feature I didn't know I *needed* until I got it. Very happy with the switch
Show threadlunayeuxDec 19, 2023
@jb @eloquence sorry, but which one is that?
Show threadJer-Bear, Snakes-for-HairDec 19, 2023
@lunayeux @eloquence Kagi Search! https://kagi.com
Kagi Search - A Premium Search Engine

Better search results with no ads. Welcome to Kagi (pronounced kah-gee), a paid search engine that gives power back to the user.

Show threadCamilo BoteroDec 20, 2023

@jb
Which search engine are you using at the end?

I’m using a SearXNG instance (priv.au), it is useful, but still missing good results.

Show threadvctrDec 19, 2023
@eloquence #webmadethis Check out https://solar.lowtechmagazine.com/ a solar powered website, full of articles about sustainability in tech and especially low tech solutions to modern problems.
LOW←TECH MAGAZINE

This is a solar-powered website, which means it sometimes goes offline

LOW←TECH MAGAZINE
Show threadBennettDec 19, 2023

@vctr @eloquence This is now a link sharing thread. #webmadethis

https://100r.co - a blog from two artist's/open sources devs that live in a sailboat, created the UXN emulator

https://32bit.cafe - indieweb community that regularly runs events and has free services (such as email and a pubnix)

https://Jinteki.industries - cyberpunk media related link aggregator

https://namelessrumia.heliohost.org/w/doku.php - a personal wiki, tons of internet history and Touhou stuff

Hundred Rabbits

Hundred Rabbits is a software studio aboard a sailboat.

Hundred Rabbits
Show threadMark HurstDec 19, 2023
@vctr @eloquence see also my interview with Low Tech's founder https://mastodon.social/@markhurst/111448304401186940
Show threadWorldsEndlessDec 19, 2023
@eloquence I love this 100%. I'm not sure I have seen the effects of LLMs yet, but focusing on the good and filtering things has always been the task; it is just evolving a bit, right?
Show threadTopKnotDec 19, 2023

@eloquence

Pop-ups and massive ads were making the web garbage. And then I started using Firefox on my Android devices and Bam!

Show threadBuffaloResearchDec 19, 2023
@eloquence
Then I'll jump in. BuffaloResearch.com, a portal for local history & genealogy in #Buffalo, NY, is celebrating its 30th birthday this month, curated by yours truly for 27 of those years. No ads.
#IndieWeb
Show threadChrisAshtearDec 19, 2023
@eloquence so basically we need stumbleupon to make a comeback
Show threadSheldonDec 19, 2023

@eloquence when I read this, I think, "Wow, we really are going to go back to the early days when influential people curated Links pages and knowing where to find the best Links pages for various topics was your key to discovering useful information."

Finding information on the early days of the Web, but especially the early Internet in general was a very social exercise. If you knew who to ask or who to go to, you could find just about anything you wanted.

Show threadrobosocksDec 19, 2023
@eloquence this is why I miss StumbleUpon. You could say "I like turtles" and it would just let you fall doen a rabbit hole of turtle related content, not always showing you the same top 10 websites' articles about turtles.
Show threadNatrisDec 19, 2023
@robosocks @eloquence you could say "I like turtles!?". I just stumbled wherever it sent me. Way too few turtles
Show threadJulianoëDec 19, 2023
@eloquence also this kind of statement makes it look like there was not bots, trolls and content farms, spam, SEO squatting and other form of flooding the internet with content-shaped manure. bad actors did not wait for LLMs to flood the web with shit.
Show threadwet noodleDec 19, 2023

@eloquence Hey I have a fun lil website I work on with my music and art and links to many other fun indie sites!
https://wetnoodle.org

#IndieWeb #webmadethis

Wet Noodle

Show threadMark HurstDec 19, 2023

@eloquence totally agree. I run a volunteer radio show covering the threat of Big Tech and the possibility of indie tech. The show is called Techtonic - find it at https://techtonic.fm - broadcast (and podcast) via @WFMU .

Speaking of Low Tech Magazine, I interviewed the founder, Kris De Decker, on Techtonic recently:

- Stream the interview: https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=134134&archive=244329&starttime=0:7:9

- Episode links:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/134134

- More Techtonic episodes: https://techtonic.fm

Techtonic with Mark Hurst on WFMU

Techtonic with Mark Hurst is a weekly radio show from WFMU about technology, how it's affecting us, and what we can do about it.

Techtonic with Mark Hurst on WFMU
Show threadPixelJonesDec 20, 2023

@markhurst @eloquence

Just subscribed, followed & boosted, thanks!

Show threadMark HurstDec 20, 2023
@PixelJones @eloquence thanks!
Show threadVijay PremaDec 19, 2023

@eloquence

I'm not sure whether generated content will take over but who knows. So far I saw it start to happen on YouTube months ago then it seemed to nearly stop, so maybe they tweaked the algo.

Either way, even without generated content and with ads blocked, the "captive web", as I call it, is already full of such shallow and endless algo-fed dopamine-farming "content" for the masses.

I'm just glad the truly "free web" is alive and kicking thanks to us all.