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

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RealGene ☣️3d ago

@eniko
Even if you just cut & paste some basic html, The Powers That Be have decreed that your site, even if completely static, won't be visible without TLS, and if you manage to overcome that, they're actively shortening the lifetime of certificates to add to the burden.

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Barktic Fox

@RealGene @eniko decent web hosting providers will generally give you one-click Let’s Encrypt certs, though, so this doesn’t really feel like it’s a roadblock? Sure if you’re self-hosting off a box in your house, that’s still a problem for ease of use, but at that point there’s at least four other things standing in your way too.

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RealGene ☣️3d ago

@alahmnat @eniko
Every time I mention certs, there's a reply, or several, like this, and every one mentions LE, and how easy it is, and everything else is hard too.

But nobody ever addresses that for those sites that made Web 1.0 fun and interesting, there's no need for TLS anyway, but your site will be still be treated like it's malware, and everyone scurries back to the walled gardens full of paid vipers.