Keep the Web Weird  ## Metadata - Author: [[jazzsequence]] - Full Title: Keep the Web Weird - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: - #webdevelopment - #opensource - #community Author: Courtney A. Robertson Source: Jazz Sequence — "Keep the Web Weird" (2025-05) Reference: https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-web-weird/ date created: 2025-05-24 11:30 --- # Title: Keep the Web Weird ## Table of Contents:  - 🌐 [Summary](#-summary) - 📖 [Main Content](#-main-content) - 🗒️ [Notes](#-notes) - [00:00 - Introduction to the Web's Unique Spirit](#0000---introduction-to-the-webs-unique-spirit) - [04:12 - The Evolution and Commercialization of the Web](#0412---the-evolution-and-commercialization-of-the-web) - [08:45 - The Value of Open Source and Decentralization](#0845---the-value-of-open-source-and-decentralization) - [13:30 - Challenges Threatening Web Diversity](#1330---challenges-threatening-web-diversity) - [18:50 - Community-Led Efforts to Preserve Web Weirdness](#1850---community-led-efforts-to-preserve-web-weirdness) - [22:15 - Call to Action for Developers and Advocates](#2215---call-to-action-for-developers-and-advocates) - 📖 [References](#-references) - 🗣️ [Paraphrase](#-paraphrase) - 📰 [Newsletter](#-newsletter) - ✅ [Action Items](#-action-items) - 🧪 [Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - 📊 [Methodology](#-methodology) - ❓ [Questions](#-questions) - 🔮 [Future Research](#-future-research) - 💡 [Implications](#-implications) - 🧠 [Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - 📊 [Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - 🌍 [DEIB Assessment](#-deib-diversity-equity-inclusion-and-belonging-assessment) - ✅ [Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - 🔍 [DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis-prompt) - 🔍 [SEO Evaluation](#-seo-evaluation) - 🎯 [Conclusion](#-conclusion) ## 📝 Summary: This article celebrates the quirky, open, and decentralized spirit that made the web a uniquely creative and democratic space. It reflects on the web’s commercialization and increasing centralization, which threaten this spirit by narrowing control and homogenizing content. The author argues for renewed commitment to open-source software, decentralization, and community-driven innovation to "keep the web weird." It includes a call to developers, advocates, and everyday users to preserve the web's diversity through conscious choices in technology, hosting, and contribution. The article interweaves historical context, cultural critique, and practical suggestions for sustaining a free and vibrant internet ecosystem. ## 📖 Main Content: The author opens by reminding readers of the early web's chaotic charm — a place where individual creativity, odd ideas, and experimental sites thrived without gatekeepers. This “weirdness” was not just aesthetic but structural, grounded in openness and interoperability. As the web matured, increasing commercialization led to dominant platforms and gatekeepers. This centralization threatens the web’s diversity by enforcing uniform user experiences, business models, and content control. The article traces this shift through major industry milestones and highlights the growing tension between corporate interests and grassroots creativity. Central to the article is a celebration of open-source software and decentralized technologies (like decentralized hosting, federated social networks, and peer-to-peer systems) as antidotes to centralization. These tools empower users and communities to maintain autonomy and innovate outside corporate constraints. Challenges abound: funding difficulties for open projects, user experience trade-offs, and the need for technical literacy among users. Despite these, the article underscores ongoing community efforts, such as grassroots projects, decentralized hosting providers, and standards groups that champion an open web. Finally, the article calls for a proactive stance: developers should prioritize open technologies and accessibility; advocates must educate and organize; users should support independent creators and hosts. The web’s weirdness depends on collective vigilance and engagement to resist homogenization. ### 🗒️ Notes #### [00:00 - Introduction to the Web's Unique Spirit](https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-web-weird/#0000) - Emphasizes the web’s origins as a free-form space for experimentation and personal expression. - Highlights the importance of interoperability, open standards, and decentralization in enabling diverse voices. - Celebrates quirky personal websites, artistic projects, and niche communities that defined early web culture. #### [04:12 - The Evolution and Commercialization of the Web](https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-weird/#0412) - Describes the rise of dominant platforms (social media, mega-corporations) that concentrate power and data. - Notes how monetization and algorithmic curation push toward homogenized content. - Discusses user data commodification and loss of control over personal digital spaces. #### [08:45 - The Value of Open Source and Decentralization](https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-weird/#0845) - Defines open source as a political and social movement protecting user freedom and innovation. - Explains decentralized tech (blockchains, federated servers) as tools for resisting control. - Shares examples of successful open-source projects and federated networks preserving autonomy. #### [13:30 - Challenges Threatening Web Diversity](https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-weird/#1330) - Addresses funding and sustainability challenges facing open-source projects. - Notes barriers to entry like technical literacy and infrastructure costs for users and creators. - Recognizes the ease and appeal of centralized platforms despite their drawbacks. #### [18:50 - Community-Led Efforts to Preserve Web Weirdness](https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-weird/#1850) - Highlights grassroots initiatives such as decentralized social media, indie web movements, and independent hosting. - Encourages cross-community collaboration to share knowledge and resources. - Advocates for education on privacy, security, and open protocols. #### [22:15 - Call to Action for Developers and Advocates](https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-weird/#2215) - Urges developers to adopt open licenses, prioritize accessibility, and contribute to open standards. - Calls advocates to educate users on choices and risks of centralization. - Invites users to support indie creators and resist platform lock-in to maintain a diverse web ecosystem. ## 📖 References: - Tim Berners-Lee, “The Original Vision of the Web” - Open Source Initiative (OSI) documentation - IndieWeb movement resources - Decentralized social networks (Mastodon, Diaspora) - Various open-source web hosting projects ## 🗣️ Paraphrase:  **Original 1:** *"The early web was a place of messy, chaotic creativity — a wild frontier with no centralized gatekeepers and infinite room for experimentation and personal expression."* **Paraphrased 1:** The web’s beginnings were marked by unruly, vibrant inventiveness—a boundless digital frontier free from centralized control, where individuals could freely explore and express themselves. --- **Original 2:** *"To keep the web weird, we need a collective effort: developers building open tools, advocates educating the masses, and users making intentional choices to support decentralization and diversity."* **Paraphrased 2:** Preserving the web’s unique character requires joint action—developers creating open-source solutions, advocates spreading awareness, and users consciously choosing to uphold decentralization and variety online. ## 📰 Newsletter: 🌟 **Keep the Web Weird: Why Open Source and Decentralization Matter More Than Ever** This month, we dive into the pulse of the web’s soul: its beautiful weirdness born from openness and diversity. Our featured article explores how commercialization and centralization threaten this spirit, urging us to reclaim it through open source, decentralized tech, and community activism. Learn why your choices as a developer, advocate, or user shape the future of the internet. From indie web projects to decentralized social platforms, discover practical ways to support a freer, more - Summary: I’ve seen a lot of doomsaying about the death of the internet. - URL: https://jazzsequence.com/2025/05/keep-the-web-weird/  I’ve seen a lot of doomsaying about the death of the internet. Last night, I was reading about how integrated AI answers in search results leads to a drastic drop in clicks to the actual sites from which AIs derive the information to answer those questions or make those suggestions. It’s been noted that AI is writing an increasing amount of the content on the internet (and even [print media](https://apnews.com/article/fake-book-list-ai-newspaper-summer-reading-fcdf454a5b467dad3adfed6ca1a224d2)). This leads to a potential future where AI is slurping up garbage that AI itself generated. We’re all doomed, SEO is only for AI, people will lose their jobs, etc. Now, the thing is, I’ve recently felt compelled — for unrelated reasons — to blog more. Something about “building my personal brand” or whatever now that my actual job is a lot more public facing. And, honestly, there have always been a lot of ideas zipping around my brain and this gives me a place to put them. The idea that’s been zipping around in relation to this specific problem is this: If AI is consuming all of the factual or SEO-optimized content of the internet, I’m actually okay with that. Because what it leaves behind, what AI might ingest but maybe not know what to do with, is the *human parts of the internet*. Opinions, rants, thought pieces — the stuff that we used to do before we got all hyped about SERPs. In other words, *if AI is eating everything else, let’s fill the internet with **human ideas***. Obviously, this was an idea that informed [Community + Code](https://communitycode.dev) (shameless plug), but even as we were recording [Binary Jazz](https://binaryjazz.com) during the rise of AI domination, a running joke was that we were creating content that would only ever be consumed by AI that wouldn’t know what to do with it (or the aliens of the future that find relics from 20th century Earth internet culture). Maybe blogging is more than self-indulgence or an exercise in nostalgia but rather active resistance against an AI-generated coup for dominance of the internet. Remember webrings? Remember guestbooks? Those were ideas that facilitated communication and community between the rising population of netizens that evolved into things like forums and social networks. If we want to save the internet from large language models, I think we need to go back to the foundational roots of the internet. The things that made the internet weird and interconnected. Apparently AI can [change people’s minds](https://www.science.org/content/article/unethical-ai-research-reddit-under-fire) on social media, but can it express heartfelt opinions without directly plagiarizing? It can generate [music that sounds reasonably decent](https://suno.com/@jazzsequence), but it can’t simulate the intensity or heart of live recorded music by humans. I don’t think that AI gets much value out of this blog (as an example) — other than perhaps using it as a way to build a profile of who this `jazzsequence` person is. And that’s a good thing. Maybe SERP clicks are crashing because of AI-generated answers and maybe that hits at the very core of what SEO was built for. Assuredly, it will affect the businesses that try to draw attention to themselves from search results. It means there has to be a shift, but I think (maybe I’m idealistic) that this shift must be a *human* one. Relationships are key (and it’s generally relationships that sell). I don’t think we can fabricate real relationships with artificial intelligence. Maybe that will come in time, but for now, let’s fill the internet with humanity if we want to thwart the AI revolution. Let’s make content for the sake of itself, not *utility* but rather just *free expression*. One of the things that I remember from web 1.0 (or earlier?) that made the internet feel human was sharing what you were listening to recently. In that spirit, I’ve been listening (and adding) to [this playlist of goth-y/dark cover songs](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6ca8b6vBfIYG2OgVhFDnzE?si=6c697ed3fc544a51) that I created a while ago., Keep the Web Weird, jazzsequence, 01jw1j9fw5p0gxcch9srrq14j7.