left_adjoint recently wrote a bit about, well many things[1]... but the basic gist is coming to terms with the complexity of web browsers and how that complexity prevents all of us from having an experience disentangled from capitalist goals set by a few mega-corporations. That is my summation anyway.

[1] Mozilla and the tradeoffs of complexity

This feeling has been echoed around the small internet a lot from all sorts of people. I, of course, support this concept wholeheartedly. Sadly though, I think it goes much much deeper. In their post left_adjoint says:

> we're hitting the point in the computational world that we hit in manufacturing

> two hundred years ago: people can't do things on their own to the same degree anymore,

> and when you don't get to have say in how the things around you are made, when there's

> higher and higher degrees of complexity and specialization & you're in a capitalist

> system that means that there's going to be accumulation of means of production.

This lack of say in how things get made, in how we consume information (some would argue: in what information we are allowed to consume), etc. is a real problem without a viable solution; at least as far as I can see. It ties in with globalization, history, capitalism, corrupt systems, etc.

Forming small communities, in person where possible online where not, that can provide for themselves could be a solution. For it to have an effect on the world at large though, it would have to become the norm (if large swaths of the world were willing to live their life differently - ie. it isnt going to happen). Whole towns (virtual or real) where people produce and consume mostly the goods, services, etc from the town itself, while providing a support network to said town members to help and share knowledge would do the job (and bring back local industry to small communities allowing humanity to use land more appropriately and less destructively - at least in theory). This concept is, of course, not new and ties in to some degree with anarchist ideals (affinity groups and whatnot).

The small internet has largely figured this out. We, I include myself as a contributing part of the small internet, create and share the tools that let us engage with each other and the world outside the small internet. This occurs in many forms: protocols, clients, servers, text editors, syntax highlighters, languages, text and image manipulation programs, poems, essays, stories, friendships, advice/help, etc. Most of the works that comes from this space on the internet can be understood by an individual that wants to set aside a weekend and figure them out (some in far less time than that). There seems to be reasonable and natural consensus on simple tools that solve actual problems. Even someone with no coding experience can quickly gain enough knowledge to meaningfully contribute software or patches to software. or at least make little modifications that suit their use case. This works here. People use the things they like and modify them to suit their needs. Developers in this community often help those that do not find themselves able or willing to approach software development. This is all done with _extremely_ loose connection between many projects and people. There are all sorts of people with all sorts of idea(l)s on the small internet. Yet, it works. What lessons can we take about how it works and why and how can we apply those to other spaces in the world? I wish I had answers and plans. If things other than coding, for what many would call retro or obsolete platforms, could work in this way I think the world would be a happier freer place. Though it is very possible my view is naive and I really just want to start a commune somewhere where I grow my own food and tinker with the things that help support my life (electronics or otherwise). At this point I'd take the commune OR a great societal change... but something is gonna have to give sooner or later lest we crumble further into dystopia.

In the meantime, I am glad to have the small internet (gemini, gopher, pubnix, etc).