Mastodawn

the idea that the web ecosystem isn't "open" anymore because of complexity is ridiculous. anyone can still write basic html and javascript and get a site working. you don't have to use flexbox. you could just use nested tables. nobody gives a shit

the web ecosystem isn't open anymore because 5 planet spanning companies richer than god monopolize it now and you can't fix that by buying into the AI slop those very companies are peddling

https://www.techdirt.com/2026/03/25/ai-might-be-our-best-shot-at-taking-back-the-open-web/

AI Might Be Our Best Shot At Taking Back The Open Web

I remember, pretty clearly, my excitement over the early World Wide Web. I had been on the internet for a year or two at that point, mostly using IRC, Usenet, and Gopher (along with email, naturall…

Techdirt

Show thread

Hanneke

@eniko what a weird take. Making a website is easier than ever and you don’t need ai for that, not even close. There are plenty of free options where you don’t even need to know very technical things like html or ftp and you can just mess around in an online editor.

Show thread

Ratsnake Games 🔞3d ago

@h5e @eniko a lot of those options are technically controlled by companies (Squarespace, Wordpress dot com, Wix, Neocities and so on). I mean, they're far more open than Facebook, but still corporate and restricted by corporate decisionmaking.

Show thread

Hanneke 3d ago

@ratsnakegames @eniko that’s true but they don’t limit your expression (until you hit adult or illegal content) in the way that facebook for example does. And you’re always beholden to some other company and the more freedom you want the more you have to do yourself.

But ok, if you want the ultimate freedom and can spare a few bucks a month: the amount of resources to get started is vastly improved over the situation in the 90s.