A conversation with a Fediverse core developer revealed the structural problem: donation models fail, and even specialized contributors can't make a living.…
The Missing Middle of Open Source
Why serious, maintainer-driven projects struggle to sustain themselves—and what it will take to fix it.
Custom Feeds Are Not Communities — A Design Theory of Feeds and Commons - Nightflight
Rethinking Bluesky's "Decentralization": An Assessment as of January 2026 - Nightflight
January 19, 2026
The Paradox of Open
Numerous organisations and initiatives have been launched with a belief in openness and free knowledge. Their proponents placed their bets on the combined power of networked information services and new governance models for the production and sharing of content and data. We – as members of this broad movement – were among those who believed it possible to leverage this combination of power and opportunity to build a more democratic society, unleashing the power of the internet to create universal access to knowledge and culture. For us, such openness meant not only freedom, but also presented a path to justice and equality.
From Attention to Intention - The Open Garden
Exploring business models for atproto and the open social web
Enshittification, Despotification, and the Open Internet
It’s not about whether technology is inherently good or bad, liberating or oppressive. Architecture shapes incentives; incentives shape outcomes.
AI, Agency and Protocols_ Power and Governance in Open Social Networks.pdf
The Internet Transition
The Internet is allowing us to build a richer, more complex society but the way in which we Internet today is failing to support the governance systems that a more complex world requires. I take a look at why these issues are related, try to develop an intuition for a way forward, and point at the emerging field that is coming together to build that future.
Call for Participation: AT Protocol Ecosystem Action Research - Ecosystem Action
A pilot program to facilitate cooperative, research-led innovation in the AT Protocol ecosystem.
FediMod FIRES on building better and decentralised social media applications
Continuing our monthly interview series "Building a Free Internet of the Future", we talked to Emelia Smith, who is a software engineer. “Building a Free Internet of the Future" highlights the experiences and perspectives of individuals and communities supported by the NGI Zero (NGI0) grants, funded by the European Commission.
How Open Protocols Are a Key Part of Regenerative Technology - Identity Woman
TLDR Infographic: What does it actually take for digital technology to be regenerative? The question matters because most of the digital tools being adopted right now in bioregional movements, community organizing, regenerative finance, and the broader systemic-change ecosystem are being chosen without anyone asking it carefully. The slide decks are beautiful. The intentions are sincere. […]
Mezzanine: An Information Network Built on Bluesky's Cashtags - Nightflight
Open Science Needs Open Compute
Why independent science will depend on compute, not just funding, and why providing it is the best bet we can currently make.
Open Science Needs Open Compute
Why independent science will depend on compute, not just funding, and why providing it is the best bet we can currently make.