@BeAware we had to shut down the two instances we had been running for 5 years because of this "shouting into the void" issue. its getting much worse, yes I understand It's still better than the #dotcons, but it's a very real issue if you have been her since the beginning #OMN
There's very few of us active 'users', who knows how many others are lurking?
In terms of those donating towards the funding of the OMN (which in turn funds and administrates/moderates the 'campaign' instance) there are 10 Financial contributors https://opencollective.com/open-media-network
Yep this is a shame as the fluffy spiky debate is key to real rather social change and challenge, it's basic stuff.
If we can all build a community to sustain the instances then we can reboot activism as a different codebase than mastodon, the are a lot so the ida is still good, can we build a community of use rather than individuals "shouting into the void" as we unkindly like to say at the #OMN
@rooftopaxx we have been running these instances for admin and mod #UX for the #OMN projects rather than the power for social change, as you say the instance community failed a year or more ago.
We now face a funding crunch due to none of the funding applications going through for the tech projects... so it's supporting community or closer #OMN
@Hamishcampbell OK, leaving the #OMN thing aside and limiting this to any Mastodon instance, wondering more whether this discussion reaches 'users' such as eg @LMN - looking around in the Profiles directory https://campaign.openworlds.info/directory most here are either inactive or possibly lurking. One day they'll wake up and find their instance dead or perhaps they'll never even notice ¯_(ツ)_/¯
The openclective is the funding side of the #OMN and
campaign openworlds info? is an instances that is a part of this wider #openweb activist project #OMN
The problem we face on the #fediverse is the "shouting into the void" that the #mainstreaming brings with it. This is affecting all new social networks, the signal to noise is degrading everyone's #openweb experience. I think in part this is a failure of copying #dotcons that we need to move past soon #OMN#OGB#makeinghistory#indymediaback
🤩 Aren't you just delighted by all those proprietary software apps for the #Fediverse?
😮 Don't be. Each time you choose proprietary you help turn the fedi slowly in the direction of the usual corporate hellscape that the rest of the Web already is.
😨 And then we end up in an online space where for years we can complain to each other how we squandered an opportunity and how #capitalism won once more.
🎯 Use #FOSS apps instead, created by the public for the public.
Introducing OMN: A Trust-Based Project for Federated Networks
In the ever-expanding digital landscape, where information overload and spam are commonplace, there's a crucial need for a trust-based project that emphasizes human moderation and community cooperation. Welcome to OMN – a unique initiative that aims to leverage the power of human moderation to foster federated networks and genuine online communities.
The concept is simple: every piece of content, known as a "flow," goes through a trust-building process. When users create content, it's either trusted – indicating a consistent track record of quality contributions – or moderated when the content varies in quality. This dynamic approach ensures that the system scales effectively by encouraging users to build trust links with one another.
Without this human touch, a network's workload quickly becomes unmanageable, or it's overwhelmed by irrelevant or spammy content, rendering the sites useless. This core feature of OMN is designed to encourage the growth of human-scale federated trust communities.
To maintain a useful site, two key outcomes are possible: the creation of large, diverse communities with a broad spectrum of admins and moderators, or the establishment of smaller, tightly-knit trust groups focused on quality connections. Both outcomes are valuable and central to the essence of #OMN.
While automation might seem tempting, it risks creating countless middling-quality sites, leading to a signal-to-noise problem. In the end, this could undermine the entire network. OMN's philosophy is rooted in the idea that "less is more" – a deliberate move away from the #geekproblem of endlessly improving tools.
OMN addresses the challenge of managing spam and low-quality content by allowing them to flow into the network and then guiding them away from the quality areas of the network.
One unique feature of OMN is its organic growth model. New sites may need to be set up to allow new content to flow in, spreading the network wider and narrowing the focus. This leads to an ecosystem where base sites feed into middle sites, which in turn feed into top sites, creating a robust network interconnected by quality tags, subject feeds, and editorial articles.
Surprisingly, OMN inverts the traditional value pyramid: the top sites are easier to set up and manage but hard to add value to. The core of the project lies in the middle sites, where content is sifted and aggregated. The real value, however, remains at the base where content is created.
OMN operates on the principle that there is nothing entirely original in its approach – it draws inspiration from how plumbing, electrical grids, and even the neurons in our brains function. This embraces the concept of #nothingnew as a fundamental pillar of the project.
In the next step of the #OMN project, the focus is on stepping away from the dominant ideologies of the 20th century and building social technology based on a different vision of human nature. Unlike other projects, #OMN is all about simplicity and decentralization, emphasizing people and community control and social connections. It's an invitation to break free from the confines of the past and shape the future of online communities.
The is an unspoken negative effect of traditional foundation funding agendas on grassroots #openweb projects. These grassroots projects often have different priorities and goals than traditional organizations, and the formal processes used by existing #NGO projects, such as decidim.org and loomio.org, may not be well-suited for them.
#The#OMN team aims to address this issue by focusing on empowering communities through decentralized decision-making processes. Their experience and track record make them well-suited to carry out this mission.
If successful, the #OGB project could have a significant impact on the way communities make decisions in the future. By empowering grassroots movements and organizations, it could help to ensure that their voices are heard and that their needs are addressed.
Yes, well, we kinda fucked it up before #failbook came along. The #ossification of #indymedia network from my memory comes to mind. Technology as individualism over technology as social, the blogging revolution and years of pointless #encryptionists projects are good examples. Then the #dotcons puts shiny on their poison pill, and we all swallowed heaps of “social media” and here we are deep in the #deathcult with a vernier of the #openweb on the edge #OMN
#modteam The #OMN activism instance has shut down due to payment cancelled from lack of funds. We received no direct donations for this instance for the last year on #opencollective or #bitcoin and funds were far beyond exorsted.
We would like to restart the instance based on a different codebase if donations could cover the ongoing costs of servers and hosting #DIY
Our culture is currently not strong anufe to support alt media hosting or production.
We are shutting down our mastodon activists instance next month. We are going to look at the sustainability of the campaign instance, but think it's half paying it hosting costs, activism covered no costs over a year. Will do funding outreach for this campaign instance over the next few months, we plan to keep it online, but it would be nice if it covered its hosting costs and help cover the costs of the wider #OMN
We have shut down 3 servers over the last year #DIY only works if...
@rooftopaxx yep, we are going to look at the sustainability of the campaign instance, but think it's half paying it hosting costs, activism covers no costs over a year. Will do funding outreach for the campaign instance over the next few months, we plan to keep it online, but it would be nice if it covered its hosting costs and help cover the costs of the wider #OMN
We have shut down 3 servers over the last year #DIY only works if...
@witchescauldron
Okay, I just can't do it like this. I'm sorry, but I have a much more urgent call to advertise in my repo. I am really sorry about your instance. I don't believe you personally endorse cryptocurrencies, but there are lots of individuals in your inner circle who do, and that raises my concerns. I'm not advertising donations to your instance in DroidRec's README anymore. I apologize for being very misleading.
Resource use is an issue with the #mastodon codebase, it's not a #block on using it but is an issue to think about using a different #activertypub codebase instead.
With Mastodon going down the #ngo path and wedded to feudalism as "governance" we also face these common issues for tech projects.