howtpi

@[email protected]
2 Followers
3 Following
13 Posts
I wrote a manifesto about saving text-based internet and structured forums. Now I'm looking for the people who'd read it. Engineer, privacy-conscious, believer in distributed everything. Let's build the database that outlives us.
email[email protected]
howtpi6h ago

MIF - part 3.

Continuing my deep dive into decentralization. Part 3 — a conversation with Arthur, creator of the Atlas protocol.

He has a strict multi‑layer anti‑spam system: format requirements, Proof of Work on signup, a “proving ground”, verification by three humans, quadratic trust votes, FairShares cost for content, node selection, and even AI‑assisted moderation on storage nodes. Solid, but complex.

For comparison: Nostr leaves all moderation to the client — you choose relays and who you follow. Simpler, but all responsibility is on the user.

My MIF project is somewhere in between. The user still filters, but you can plug into ready‑made filters from communities or individuals, give content a thumbs up/down, or delegate moderation to whoever you want.

Next step — try to explain this to Arthur, and meanwhile look for programmers to experiment with syncing different forums.
Full text the article - https://write.as/ulf0brgpmfhn7.md
#MIF #web3 #Enshittification #DecentralizedWeb

MIF – My Ideal Forum. Part 3.

Let’s continue. This is part three – all the reasoning behind what’s happening and the description can be found in the previous part and the articles. Just to recap: i...

Write.as
howtpiMar 13

MIF - My Ideal Forum. Part 2.

I connected with Arthur (@radarsu), a dev building a data-sovereignty protocol without blockchains. We moved from Discord to Matrix and had a great talk.

His vision: a "Personal CMS" – desktop app with email client, storage for notes/passwords/photos, and a publishing platform to cross-post to socials. All decentralized: your data stays with you, you grant permissions per app, no more cookie pop-ups, no lock-in. User verification via 3D face hash (like realeyes.ai) – anonymous but bot-proof.

Meanwhile, my tiny team shaped our MIF first steps: spin up different forum sites, sync them via DB converters, fill with useful content from parsers (ethically). Maximum "collective farm" decentralization for starters. Later – selective sync so each node stores only what its users want. Need experts for the final DB schema.

Day well spent. 🛠️

Full text of the article - https://write.as/tfe43wde4kf8l.md
#DataSovereignty #DecentralizedWeb #OpenProtocol #Enshittification #web3

MIF - My Ideal Forum. Part 2.

Let's continue. This is the second part—all the context and reasoning are in the previous part and articles. Just to recap: last time I wrote about getting in touc...

Write.as
howtpiMar 11

MIF – My Ideal Forum. Part 1.

Started a blog series about MIF (My Ideal Forum). Today: why a dev called radarsu gets it right with Atlas Protocol, and what fishing taught me about building stuff that matters. The full text of the article is https://write.as/mpgvhbcsgmj2r.md #Decentralization #Web3 #Forum #Coding

MIF — My Ideal Forum. Part 1.

So.. I decided to try using it's as a blog. The whole backstory is in my previous posts. If anyone's up for some actual constructive conversation and discussion, I'll ...

Write.as
Show threadhowtpiMar 9
@jon Of course, this can be implemented on ipfs, for example, Wikipedia was already distributed there when it was blocked in Turkey. I repeat - it does not matter how this information is transmitted, even with the help of carrier pigeons or Morse code. The main thing is that this single forum should have a common and understandable structure for everyone, gathering into a single whole from various places and using any possible protocols and technologies.
Show threadhowtpiMar 6

My idea is simple: a distributed, text-only database. A universal structure — forums, sections, threads, posts, comments, ratings — that anyone can host, sync, and display however they want.

You store what matters to you. You share with others. You set filters — or trust someone else's. No central owner. No single point of failure. Just text and connections.

The format matters less than the data. Let's standardize the data, and let a thousand clients bloom. (continued in thread)

Show threadhowtpiMar 6

The problem isn't just censorship. It's also that local platforms are becoming monopolized, dumbed down, paywalled. For those of us who love well-structured information — engineers, writers, researchers — it's getting harder to find a home.

Chat apps kill context. Your question scrolls away in minutes. Search is broken. Algorithms ignore niche topics because they don't generate clicks.

I miss the old web. Not for nostalgia, but because it worked for thinkers. (continued in thread)

howtpiMar 6

I'm an engineer and garage tinkerer from a country where the internet is slowly being boxed in. Structured forums — those quiet, organized places where we used to share deep knowledge — are dying. Replaced by chats and algorithm-driven feeds.

So I wrote a kind of manifesto. A proposal for a decentralized, minimalist database standard for text-based communities. Something that outlives platforms, servers, and owners.

I'm here to find people who still believe in forums. Let's talk. 🧵👇 (continued in thread) #Decentralization #Forum #DatabaseDesign