A little while ago, I wrote a thread on glitch.social about ephemerality of posting on social media as compared to Usenet. It got a little bit of traction, and one person asked if I could post more about Usenet clients. I haven’t gotten to it until today, and I thought I would post on my blog instead of on glitch. The original thread wasn’t really about Usenet clients; it was mainly about how posts on Usenet expired, which is contrary to people’s current expectations about social media, but actually worked very well.
Usenet
Usenet, short for User's Network, is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was established in 1980. Users read and post messages to one or more topic categories, known as newsgroups. Usenet resembles a bulletin board system (BBS) in many respects and is the precursor to the Internet forums that were developed after the introduction of the World Wide Web. Discussions are threaded, as with web forums and BBSes, though posts are stored on the server sequentially.
I drew a bunch of dots to explain why social media is broken.
Two years ago last month, I shut down This., a social media platform that allowed each member to share just 1 link a day. The service was…
Why I'm betting on ATProto (and why you should, too)
Social media was supposed to connect us, but most of it has turned into ads, division, and loneliness. I'm betting on ATProto as a way to fix that, and not just for developers. Whether you're a scientist, journalist, or just someone who wants the internet to feel human again, I think ATProto matters for you too.
Leaflet, Blogging, and How to Fix Social Media - Aaron Ross Powell
Decentralization, network overlap, and why we should all blog, too.
What We Lost When We Quit Using Crappy Old Web Forums
Old web forums were poorly coded and rough around the edges, but maybe we gave up on them too quickly in the social media era.
A New Social
Our mission is to liberate people's networks from their platforms, enabling The Last Network Effect and leveling the playing field across the open social web.
A New Social
Our mission is to liberate people's networks from their platforms, enabling The Last Network Effect and leveling the playing field across the open social web.
Rebuilding Social Media From Scratch!
Rebuilding Social Media From Scratch!
Social Media is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It. - Interlinked
Breaking down the AT Protocol for normies.
Social Media is Broken. Here’s How to Fix It. - Interlinked
Breaking down the AT Protocol for normies.
W Social's Beta Is Live. The Problems Didn't Wait. - Ewan’s Blog
I am definitely not touching W.
How is the emerging post-platforms internet like the early days of blogging? @gruber.foo sat down with @jimray.bsky.team to go long on this question, with a few other digressions along the way. atproto.com/off-protocol/2026-09-11-make-…
Make Your Own Thing - AT Protocol
atproto.comgood heavens, she's BLOGGING now?? i've been playing around with migrating to independent, open-source social networks for a while now. the tech is really maturing! but the space is still awkward to discuss. i talk about this issue here, and how it applies across matrix, activitypub, and ATproto.
communicating open social networks to normies
spacegirl.pckt.blogOkay I had to do it: I'm spinning off my blog posts about ATProto and the importance of decentralized social media into its own blog: What The Function!? Where we answer "WTF is this" and "WTF does it matter" Subscribe to WTF today! wtf.samclemente.me/whats-the-function-of-what-th…
What's The Function of What The Function!?
wtf.samclemente.meWhy and how I'm embracing open social blogging (and less traditional social media). I've been working on this post for ages, rewriting etc because things keep changing/improving! Have decided to just post it as is. 😁 #Atmosphere
Embracing open social blogging in the Atmosphere (and less traditional social media)
debbieohi.leaflet.pub
