Rebuilding the Web with Blogs and RSS

The author proposes reviving the old web through personal blogs and RSS instead of algorithmic social media. They’re launching a Bear Blog with a public feeds page to encourage discovery and community, akin to web rings. With any RSS reader and platform, people can reconnect intentionally and bypass the dopamine-driven social feed model.

Key Points

• Modern social media is dominated by ads, infinite feeds, and addictive algorithms that undermine meaningful connection.
• Blogs plus RSS offer a simple, open, and decentralized way to share ideas and stay connected without a centralized platform.
• The author is starting a Bear Blog and a public feeds page to model discovery and recreate web ring-style linking.
• Readers can use any platform or RSS reader (hosted or self-hosted) to follow along and build their own feed lists.
• We have the autonomy to reject algorithmic platforms and rebuild community through personal sites and hyperlinks.

Sentiment

The overall sentiment of the Hacker News discussion is complex, characterized by a mix of nostalgia and appreciation for the article's critique of modern social media, but also significant skepticism and opposition regarding its historical accuracy, the proposed solution (blogs/RSS on a platform), and the practical feasibility of such a revival in today's internet environment. While there is broad agreement on the problems of the modern web and a shared desire for a more human-centric internet, there is substantial disagreement on whether the "old web" was truly the utopia depicted and if its direct resurrection is a viable path forward.

In Agreement

• There is a shared desire for a less noisy, addictive, algorithm-driven, and impersonal internet experience, akin to the article's critique of modern social media.
• The problems of modern centralized platforms, such as information silos, lack of searchability, and content driven by extrinsic motivations (profit, advertising, tracking), are widely acknowledged and lamented.
• The value of independent content creation, especially that which is intrinsically motivated ("for love of the game") rather than profit-driven, is highly appreciated.
• Self-hosting is widely considered the ideal path to true independence and avoiding platform "enshittification" and extensive user tracking.
• The concept of sharing and subscribing to RSS feeds is seen as a viable way to achieve a more curated and personal online experience.
• The existence of tools like Bear Blog, which simplify publishing for those without advanced technical skills, is viewed positively as a means to broaden participation.

Opposed

• The article's romanticized portrayal of the "old web" as universally "cozy," "ad-free," or inherently impersonal-less is challenged; many recall early internet days featuring widespread ads (banners, pop-ups), significant security flaws, clunky technologies, and platforms like Geocities.
• Blogs and RSS feeds are not uniformly remembered as the primary form of early "social connection"; many recall interactive communities like forums (phpBB, vBulletin) and chat rooms (AIM, IRC, ICQ) as more central to their initial online experiences.
• Using a hosted platform like Bear Blog, even with good intentions, is seen by many as contradictory to the spirit of true independence and risks platform "enshittification" or disappearance, which was a historical issue for previous web platforms.
• The "old web" model is argued to have died because it failed to effectively solve fundamental problems such as discoverability, spam filtering, and content moderation, which proprietary platforms (at least initially) addressed, catering to the preferences of "regular people" who never truly desired the fully "open web."
• Resurrecting the old web is deemed impractical and unsafe due to modern security threats (spam bots, DDoS attacks, malware) and significant legal liabilities (CSAM, DMCA, GDPR), making casual self-hosting unfeasible or dangerous.
• The current internet landscape's issues are attributed more to human behavior, network effects, societal desensitization, and the fundamental challenge of financial sustainability for content, rather than solely technology or protocols.
• This effort is often dismissed as "nerd nostalgia" that will not appeal to the overwhelming majority of internet users, who were introduced to the web through "shiny, addictive platforms" and continue to prefer their convenience and established social networks.
• The article's foundational anecdote about children choosing landline phones was exposed as an advertisement for a VoIP product, discrediting a key emotional appeal.