Hey all,

Just skimmed the comments (I know, I know, never read the comments) but here are couple of facts in case you care about that sort of thing (but please don’t let these get in the way of a lively discussion) ;)

- re: drug dealers/users, see: analogy

- Yes, six years ago, we thought we could fix the problem with a phone. Then we started working on the problem and realised we couldn’t possibly raise enough money to do so, then we did a crowdfunding campaign that never included the phone (we promised the alpha of an initial peer-to-peer Mac-based social networking client and promised to keep working on the problem, both of which we delivered on). Also, anyone who asked for a refund from the crowdfunding for any reason got one. If I could do it again, we wouldn’t have held the crowdfunding and I wouldn’t have started on Mac. But this was all part of the process of us learning about the problem.

- It wasn’t on Kick Starter, we built our own crowdfunding system because I wasn’t happy with how Kick Starter, etc., were gathering data (we didn’t want your privacy violated for trying to support us)

- Since then, I’ve sold the three family homes we had (apartments in Turkey, total worth about ~€200,000 or so) and we’ve kept working on the same problem for the past six/seven years with the the initial crowdfunding + those funds + sales of our tracker blocker (Better Blocker) on Mac/iOS + professional speaking fees when we speak at conferences, etc. + donations to our not-for-profit (which basically pay our hosting fees every month).

- Unless IndieWeb is suddenly about building single-tenant web nodes as part of a peer-to-peer future / topologically decentralised Web for everyday people, I don’t see how it’s the same as Small Web. If that is what they’re about now, then sure but, last I checked, they thought we were deranged zealots for publicly calling out Google, Facebook, etc., for being surveillance capitalists.

- Re: not having done anything since: we created Better Blocker, I personally spoke at over 50 events to raise awareness of the issue, including three times at the European Parliament, I spearheaded the creation of progressive tech policy at one of Europe’s most progressive political movements, and we worked with the City of Ghent on evolving what is now Site.js and the Small Web initiative.

- Finally, someone mentioned that some “privacy projects” say “Don't trust others, trust us.” If anyone tells you that, don’t trust them. We know how to, can, should be (and are) building technology where you don’t have to trust us.

Also, PS:

Small Web is not about having your own Static Web page or having yet another tool for geeks. It’s not about going back to the 90s (been there, was fun, wouldn’t want to go back), it’s about taking the best of that ethos and implementing it for 2020 and beyond. Right now, I’m trying to build a tool for developers (including us) so that we can use it to build everything things for everyday people that don’t require a Faustian pact to give up your privacy, freedom of speech, or your personhood to use.

Whether or not this “succeeds”, who knows? But we’re sharing everything we make under AGPL and trying to share every brick in this bridge we’re trying to build between where we are (the sewer that is surveillance capitalism) and where we want to be in hopes that if the stuff we build doesn’t work, at least others can use the tools to build other solutions.

Here’s a recent talk if you’d like to learn more about what we’re working on:

https://small-tech.org/videos/eastern-partnership-civil-soci...

You don’t have to like what we do and you definitely don’t have to like me but I do hope that you will consider the ideas (and ideals) we’re working towards.