Techrights at 20 (Soon)
We are now 3 weeks away from our annual community gathering (one of us will be the host) and one month away from part of an order coming to an end, which gives us a good opportunity to remind people what Techrights is and what it stands for. Here is a rough (draft) outline of what Techrights is.
Techrights began in 2006, was renamed in 2010, and began focusing on video publication around 2020 in response to lock-downs across the world (more indoor time). It is a large hub for investigative journalism and critical assessment of tech monopolies, patents on software, and all forms of corruption.
Techrights exists and thrives owing to its large community, including informants and whistleblowers. It does not seek popularity or affirmation from "Establishment" outlets; it serves as an independent alternative to these.
In spite of technical attacks (e.g. DDoS attacks since 2008), legal attacks, and well-sponsored attacks on the reputation of Techrights, the platform continues to deliver information and attract new sources of information.
While a lot of its operators prefer to keep their anonymity (if unmasked, they would face harassment and reprisal) the public faces of the site are not publicity-shy and have devoted their entire time to the cause.
Techrights promotes self-hosting, publication that is robust to censorship, absolute protection for whistleblowers, and resistance to injustice in all its forms.
Curation of links (news) by Techrights is an activity nearly as old as the Web site and it's regarded as increasingly relevant due to rapid decline in quality online, due primarily to spamfarms, SEO, social control media clickbait, and LLM slop. █
Image source: 20 miles per hour speed limit