Can we save free speech online? Yes, if we build it!
How to lay the foundation for a better cyberspace.
What would it be like to build something as radical as the printing press or the Internet today? Many of us take for granted that the World Wide Web already is the pinnacle of this achievement. We then erroneously assume that any improvement must be out of reach for us mere mortals. The good news is that there already is a blueprint for radically transforming the Web. This is no pie-in-the-sky fantasy. I will share the fundamentals of how to forge a path for a better cyberspace.
It is tragic that for many, the World Wide Web is entirely confined to a few social media sites and mainstream publications. There are many tools one could build to reshape our online experience, but there’s a single one that can change this dynamic entirely: a Content Management System. Yep, CMS tools are things that truly don’t get enough attention when it comes to building a better cyberspace.
What is a Content Management System (CMS)?
A Content Management System is the service that runs many functions for a website. It generally interfaces with a database and provides tools for non-technical users to configure and run the site. Without a content management system, one has to write every web part of their site “by hand”, or with the help of a static site generator. The CMS is the lifeblood of a website that effectively defines what features and functionality is possible. If one wants to have a dramatic impact on the future of the Web, building a great CMS is likely one of the best ways to do it.
Novel features can be designed to build a CMS that not only transforms cyberspace, but also makes it more resilient to censorship. There is a great deal of ’low-hanging fruit’ ripe for taking on many present challenges head-on. Building a truly transformative CMS is no small task, but the potential upside is immense.
WordPress: A proven record for decentralizing cyberspace
The History of WordPress is its own long story. WordPress is a very ubiquitous CMS that powers over 43% of the World Wide Web. There’s an entire industry around themes, plug-ins, and support as well as education. As a software project and community, WordPress is wildly successful. Thanks to its plug-in system, it’s hard to think of anything that can’t be done with it.
It certainly didn’t start out dominating the Web. WordPress was one of many open-source blogging platforms. Its flexibility and relatively high usability gave it real staying power. It’s a shining example of how much wealth can be made off building a fundamental public good. One doesn’t need to pay to use WordPress, merely install it and run it like any other Free and Open Source Software. Part of this permissiveness allowed it to be packaged by hosting providers even further lower the barrier to entry.
By its mere existence, WordPress has given many people the opportunity to participate in Cyberspace that otherwise might not have been able to. Its relatively accessible features and adaptability are what allowed a simple open source project to dominate the entire Web. If you’re somebody who does manage to move their attention beyond social media sites, odds are many of the sites you visit are running WordPress.
No matter how “big” WordPress is, it’s still a very useful tool for decentralizing the Web. It supports RSS out of the box, and even has a fediverse plug-in. Despite being over 20 years old, WordPress is still pushing boundaries and innovating. Practically everything you want to do with a web site can be built with WordPress, and if it can’t you can always build new themes and plug-ins to support it.
This isn’t to say WordPress is perfect. No software project ever fully breaks free from the assumptions it was built on. There are new innovations worth fully embracing from a fresh start. The greatest advantage a new competitor can offer is simplicity. WordPress itself can do anything, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to pull off. There are many competitors to WordPress, some open source as well, others fully proprietary. If one wants to radically transform cyberspace for the better, learning from WordPress’ example is a the place to start.
Can we do better?
Building a new CMS to forge a new Cyberspace is no small feat. If we truly want others to participate in a free and open web, we must ensure that the tools to do so are accessible and intuitive. It will take a fair bit of investment, lots of work, but it’s likely the best place to start. There are many great examples to learn from, and many new innovations to embrace. Building a configurable, user-friendly, pro-decentralization CMS is certainly an achievable goal to strive for.
Personally, I took a look at Ghost which is a newer CMS that also took a stab at decentralized social media. Ghost is trying to leverage itself to take on the independent creator economy, and includes payments as a first-class feature. The trouble is, I don’t believe payment features and a bolted-on social layer are quite enough to truly adapt to present-day troubles.
The beauty of a first-class free and open source CMS is that it can solve many problems at once. Once those problems are solved, others can then leverage those solutions. This is the mechanism that allows a truly revolutionary tool to actually reshape cyberspace.
Building the best: The ‘perfect’ CMS
If you’d like to hire a CTO to build a free software revolution in cyberspace my contact details can be found here.
😅 I’m (mostly) kidding. I plan to freely share the secret sauce here since I am currently unable to build such a tool on my own. I have some smaller projects in mind for this year, so I’ll be pleased if people beat me to it.
Aim high
Imagine a radically better cyberspace, and build the tool that people would actually use in that reality. Recognize that for every person, business, or group a “website” can be all kinds of very different things. Come up with as many different “use cases” for your software and hone those insights into requirements for a truly flexible platform. This defined flexibility will guide the construction of a truly revolutionary tool.
Despite what the defeatists will tell you, there’s a bright future in building real solutions to present-day problems. The endeavor itself will make anyone involved a powerful force for shaping cyberspace in a better direction. Armed with an ambitious goal, some diligent testing and experimentation, programmers can become a real force to reckon with.
Security
A fundamental pillar of this project has to be strong security. As a tool for even the technical novice, it must not create opportunity for costly mistakes. Recognizing that this system may be operating in hostile cyberspace, it’s crucial that security is at the foundation of every decision. One way to enable decentralization without compromising on security would be a layered module approach.
Instead of giving every plug-in or custom module access to everything, modules should have defined roles and be granted only what is necessary to fulfill those roles. A custom theme shouldn’t need direct access to your database, and a new video player shouldn’t need to connect to remote sites. Strong authentication will be needed to protect users and resources. Adopting the latest and greatest in security practices will yield great results moving forward. The plan from the beginning should be to be adaptable to future security upgrades.
Decentralization
A great deal of software today is written to build a monopoly around. Instead, there is an opportunity to build a truly revolutionary tool. Building a CMS with censorship resistance from the ground up can be a powerful advantage. Instead of “reinventing the wheel” the system can gracefully connect with existing censorship resistance technologies. By defining alternative transports, the entire idea of “the Web” can be broadened further beyond what it is today.
There are many alternative transport mechanisms for websites. Some people use the “dark web” with Tor & I2P, but there are even more options. Veilid and Reticulum are both fascinating new ideas for revolutionizing cyberspace. For all the reasons existing content management systems are adopting federated social plug-ins, it makes sense to build this kind of decentralized social layer directly into the software. Mitra supports cross-federation over the web and darknets alike.
By designing the system with decentralization in mind, there must be a concept of a “remote user”. Recognizing that somebody commenting on, or engaging with your site must be able to define their own profile on their own systems. There are ways to leverage decentralization for better content as well. PeerTube uses decentralized technologies to enable peer-to-peer streaming. RSS and Podcasting 2.0 should be first-class features of the CMS.
Beyond this, it should be a goal of the system to provide the capability to help guests & contributors migrate their work to their own platform. Many fascinating systems could be built to allow multiple publications to collaborate over the open web. With this in place, people could gradually move from being guest contributors to eventually having their own body of work on their own platform as they learn.
Modularity
The CMS should be designed to open as many doors as possible without drowning the user in abstract decisions. Instead, it should be designed to have an opinionated approach to things to serve the user. Learning from WordPress’s modularity is important, but that flexibility needs to be harnessed properly. A great many things that can be done with plug-ins should be able to be done with the software itself.
With a strong baseline set of features, and defined modularity, the CMS can be in an excellent position to adapt and grow over time. Modules that users don’t want or need can be disabled. When beginning to use the software, basic questions can be asked about what they would like to begin with various “profiles” of pre-set defaults.
Efficiency
Above all, the tool should work for the user. There are many solved problems that are unnecessary to make the user toil with. Properly converting and sizing media, transcribing audio & video are all things that can be easily done automatically today. Focus on assisting the user do what they want to, rather than making them fight the CMS to get basic things done. Performance is another critical objective. A great deal can be done to optimize for speed without the expense of quality. Being blazing fast at different scales is no small feat. The CMS should be as responsive as possible and find ways to optimize speed without dependency on third-parties.
Accessibility
Administrating the CMS should assume very little technical knowledge. This requires some strong design skills to ensure the software is intuitive as well as powerful. In addition to this, every effort should be made to use progressive enhancement to be adaptable to a wide variety of viewers.
New innovations are a great way to differentiate itself. A companion app could make it easy to publish content on the go. With the proper open protocols, this companion app could make updating one’s own space in cyberspace as easy as posting to social media.
Can we build it?
It would certainly require a great deal of work, but the opportunity is there. This is likely outside the scope of a single person, and would need a broader team or community to turn into a reality. Difficult is a far cry from impossible. It’s worth remembering that online free expression can be safeguarded by deliberate innovation if we put our minds to it. Instead of falling for the next big platform that promises to be better, we can truly build a foundation for a better outcome.
Have you heard of Alex Krainer’s Trend Compass? He’s on Substack. Apparently his system was built by a Croatian guy called Boris Brec, using a pencil and a piece of paper. It never falls over or breaks according to Alex. There are some very clever people out there who can build amazing things.