Small Web

The small web refers to protocols, services, and communities that prioritize simplicity, minimalism, and user control over the modern commercial web's complexity and surveillance.

The small web rejects:

• JavaScript bloat and tracking
• Advertising and behavioral analytics
• Corporate control of communication
• Centralized platforms and walled gardens

The small web embraces:

• Plain text and simple markup
• User-owned content and infrastructure
• Low hardware requirements
• Direct peer-to-peer communication

• Finger - Simple user information protocol (1971)
• Gopher - Hierarchical menu system (1991)
• Gemini - Modern encrypted protocol (2019)

• Browser Monoculture - Why browser diversity matters
• Clients - Terminal browsers and small web tools
• Old Hardware - Running on minimal hardware
• Solarpunk - Sustainable computing philosophy
• twtxt - Decentralized microblogging
• URI Schemes - Beyond HTTPS

• Return to protocols
• IndieWeb
• Tilde Communities