Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Future of Techrights

Future
Just bear with us...



Summary: Futures are difficult to predict, but our general vision for the years ahead revolves around more community involvement and less (none or decreased) reliance on third parties, especially monopolistic corporations, mostly because they oppress the population via the network and via electronic devices

The title isn't clickbait (I could think of much more click-worthy titles), it's just a descriptive explanation, a concise one, of the subject to be tackled here.



Lately we've been having internal (albeit public, fully transparent, to be found in IRC logs) discussion about the future. We're been observing the gradually-deteriorating state of the World Wide Web (just "Web" for short) and collapse of the media (as in journalism) -- a subject we tackled hours ago. On Monday we had a complete breakdown of storage (meltdown of the whole OS) in the self-hosted (from home) Gemini capsule, IPFS and other essential services, but we recovered fully within less than a day owing to a good backup regime and Git (all the bits and pieces are there, version-controlled too), leaving us with both a hardware upgrade (twice as much storage) and an OS upgrade (Bullseye). We'll improve our disaster recovery and contingencies strategy as a result of Monday's incident, probably using a few "hot spares" and quasi-redundancy.

"To quell or calm down concerned readers (Mogz is among them), we are not leaving the Web!"Looking ahead at our crystal ball, we envision a move away from WordPress some time over the horizon. The trajectory of the project isn't bad for some users, but we're not among those users. I myself played a big role in the project in its earlier days (around 2004-2008), I'm among the first dozen users in WordPress.com (I was a beta tester), and I care for WordPress deeply. In fact, I maintain nearly a dozen WordPress sites. I'm not a big fan of more recent versions of WordPress, but that's a matter of personal preferences if not an eccentric opinion. The direction the Web has taken puts us off more and more over time; we want to seek alternatives, even if they're just optional. To quell or calm down concerned readers (Mogz is among them), we are not leaving the Web! We're not leaving! It'll be fully supported probably for decades to come (if we last decades more... or even a whole decade longer; decades is a huge amount of time in the context of technology).

"Last year we moved to Gemini, we took our IRC network 'in-house', and during the pandemic's first year we also added bulletins, then IPFS and a bunch of other things."In terms of our focus, we're trying to produce only accurate and properly fact-checked material, both in short and long form (even memes are checked carefully for accuracy). We strive for quality, not quantity, and we try to produce original material of interest to the general population. We focus on issues we know well enough and we meticulously check blog posts for typos, too (unlike IRC; IRC is super-informal and we don't do social control media, not in our capacity as a site anyway).

Last year we moved to Gemini, we took our IRC network 'in-house', and during the pandemic's first year we also added bulletins, then IPFS and a bunch of other things. The site is no longer limited to just a Web site. It's a lot bigger than that. The code we have in Git is a testament to that (we took that repository public only months ago).

"Software freedom remains our foremost priority."We still have a lot to say and to show regarding GitHub/Microsoft, the EPO, and the FSF, which will soon announce its new chief (not Board). We heard speculations that it'll be Greg Farough, but it's just hearsay and we have no way to prove it. Richard Stallman suggested that a decision had been made already.

Software freedom remains our foremost priority. The fight against software patents is closely connected to that priority and we study angles that others barely touch, e.g. the devolution of cars. One of the best way to help us is to join us in IRC; not some "like" in social control media or even money. Our operating costs are as minimal as can be, but the scarcity is human effort. We want to get more people involved because the more of us work together, the greater the output (and impact) will be.

So, in short, the future of Techrights will hopefully revolve around expansion in terms of the number of people involved.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Wikipedia Can Lower Its Hosting Bill by Going More Static, Not Just by Caching, But It Would Not Solve Its Biggest Problems (Bribes and AstroTurfing)
For about 15 years we had a Wiki in this site
Urgent Need for SLAPP Litigation Transparency
Microsofters really want to shut us up
On Shutdowns and 2,000 More Layoffs at Microsoft (10,000 Microsoft Staff May Have Already Been Laid Off in 2025)
Microsoft tries to hide and belittle mass layoffs; its data centre business also flounders, so it issues puff pieces about some anniversary over and over again
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Privacy Fiasco in Detail: A "Deep Dive" Into the Complaint at the California Privacy Protection Agency
There are many facets to it and it may be the first complaint of several
Microsoft Problems in Europe Even Before the Cheeto Tariffs
The case of Romania, Europe's notorious Microsoft fan
Oman in 2025: GNU/Linux Growing to 5%
what can Microsoft do about it except sabotage the PCs?
Microsoft Shares Collapse Again (Down $101), Fifth Round of Microsoft Mass Layoffs in Less Than 100 Days in 2025
disaster
 
How Corporations Such as Microsoft Try to Crush Critics and Dissolve Activism
Stay focused
At 50, Microsoft Has Over 100 Billion Dollars in Debt and Less Than 25% "Market Share" (Windows)
statCounter basically sees less than a quarter of Web requests coming from Windows
linuxhint.com Died 12 Months Ago (After Adopting Image Slop)
Zombie sites
LLM Slop Will Eventually Stop Due to High Costs, Worse Training Sets (Polluted Models Ingesting Their Own Junk), and No Real Returns
This too shall pass
Courage is Contagious
I became a witness to acts of great courage from EPO examiners
Gemini Links 08/04/2025: Gabbro 0.1.4 and Disillusioned With Social Control Media
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows in Jordan: From 99% Down to 10%
This is becoming more "normal"
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 07, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 07, 2025
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Stock Market, Galène, and DMT Entities
Links for the day
During the Weekend We Said Fedora DEI Requires Proprietary Software, Now the Chat About It Is No Longer Accessible Over the Open Web
is this just a coincidence and an habitual change in Element?
Links 07/04/2025: US Measles Fatalities and China Launches HDMI and DisplayPort Alternative
Links for the day
Links 07/04/2025: More Cuts to Science Funding, Snail-speed Internet in Germany
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/04/2025: Leasehold and Safe Gifts
Links for the day
In Some Countries, Laptops and Desktops Become a Dying Breed (Even Before Tariffs), Windows Has Nowhere to Go
expect more GNU/Linux on new and existing laptops
When the Credibility or 'Quality' of Clients Ceases to Matter, It's About Helping Rich Companies Like Microsoft Censor Critics (No Matter the Risks)
Bad ideas typically result in undesirable outcomes
UAE: GNU/Linux and Android at Record Levels, Windows at New Lows and Falling Below Apple
Even iOS is measured as bigger than Windows this month
Links 07/04/2025: Reddit Occupied (Social Control Media Controlled by Oligarchy), Demise of Globalisation Ongoing
Links for the day
Windows Has Fallen to All-Time Lows in Switzerland Since GNU Celebrated 40th Anniversary (GNU’s 40th Birthday in Biel, Switzerland)
GNU/Linux has been doing well in Switzerland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, April 06, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, April 06, 2025
Links 07/04/2025: Leaving Gemini/smolweb and Mastodon Migrations
Links for the day
In Iraq, Windows 3.1 (Percent)
There's also zero
One Person's Take on Jef Spaleta, the New Fedora Project Leader
"With a little searching, I wonder what else may be found regarding Microsoft."
Links 06/04/2025: Flood, Cool Gemini Capsule, and Long Form
Links for the day
Links 06/04/2025: Science, Politics, and Pricier Goods
Links for the day
LLM Slop Has Virtually Killed unixmen.com and Many Other Sites
There's no longer any incentive to write real articles in there
Sharp Declines for Microsoft Windows in Bangladesh (Pop. ~175,000,000), Big Gains for GNU/Linux
Microsoft Windows has been having a really hard time in poor countries
Links 06/04/2025: Fake Reviews, Privatisation Heists, and "AI" as Smokescreen for Impoverishing Humans
Links for the day
Taking a Moral Stand Against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and the Worst Offenders/Facilitators
Any other stance would sidle with moral depravity or moral hazard
Links 06/04/2025: Many New Acts of Repression and Elements of Financial Depression
Links for the day
In Qatar GNU/Linux Rose From Under 1% to Over 4% in Two Years (or Over 5% If Counting ChromeOS)
It's a big improvement compared to what we saw last year
LLM Scrapers Are a Nuisance, But They're Also a Reminder It's Time to Make Your Site Static
Perhaps the best protection is the ability to endure surges
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, April 05, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, April 05, 2025
Links 06/04/2025: Attacks on Education, Fake Patents, and Fake (Illegal) Patent Courts
Links for the day
France: Apple and Microsoft Down, GNU/Linux Up to New Record Levels
How will tariffs against France impact things in the coming months?