@nicol@social.coop cover

Digital governance, community/civic tech, CSS, indie-media and the funding/tools/etc that supports it. Co-founded Netribution.co.uk in 1999, co-wrote 3 editions of a long book on indie film finance. UI designer for CiviCRM behind the new River theme framework. Dad, sleep-deprived, lapsed filmmaker, wannabe vegan, take the train whenever I can.

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@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

How many people know that was co-founded by a black man, Mike Little?

Or that he's from the north of England? A self-taught coder from , just south of ? Or that he never received so much as a share, cent or job offer from the $7bn+ valued Automattic after spending five months working exclusively with Matt Mullenweg on the B2 fork?

After @bevangelist told me about @mikelittle I interviewed him for a documentary I never got round to making. Back then I was left with two certainties: he's Wozniak to Mullenweg's Jobs. Among other things he added the one-click upgrade that's been central to WP's bonkers 45%-of-the-web-success. And he's one of the nicest people I've ever interviewed, which is also bonkers given that he not only didn't share in WP's financial success, but that he's barely known.

But he should be - so, better late than never - please meet , perhaps the most-influential-least-known person in … https://25.netribution.co.uk/nic/mike-little-the-british-co-founder-of-wordpress-youve-probably-never-heard-of/

nicol OP ,
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If anyone's struggling with the video embeds on the WordPress site (I am on my phone), there's direct links for both the videos on . If that goes down (and I’ve no reason to think it should) I have got Vimeo links - but 🤞

@Codeberg@social.anoxinon.de avatar Codeberg , to random

The first thing that people see when visiting https://codeberg.org is the following: "Software development, but free!"

However, projects hosted on Codeberg are not necessarily by developers of software—on the other hand, deciding on a new slogan can be difficult and contentious, as first impressions really matter (and there's not a lot of space there).

So, one of the people controlling the social media account decided to ask the fediverse: Any good ideas?

Cropped screenshot of the Codeberg homepage, but the header "Software development, but free!" has been replaced with "insert another catchy slogan here", modified using Firefox's Inspect Element feature. The screenshot intends to illustrate where such a new slogan would go. The description beneath the header, "Codeberg is a non-profit, community-led effort that provides services to free and open-source projects, such as Git hosting (using Forgejo), Pages, CI/CD and a Weblate instance.", has not been modified.
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nicol ,
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@Codeberg "fork around and find out"?

@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

RE: https://vis.social/@infobeautiful/115887892366419223

this is wonderful. I wonder if you could figure out where someone is from based on how they rank 'quite bad' / 'pretty bad' / 'somewhat bad' and 'somewhat good' / 'quite good' / 'pretty good'.

The results feel intuitively right, but I have no idea how you'd explain why to someone learning English.

"Obviously 'quite' is stronger than 'pretty' when something is bad, but the opposite if it's good, duh!"

@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

Yesterday, looking at moon, toddler: ‘I love all the moons’

@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

Curious how differently Labour responds to the polling success of the Green Party vs that of Reform.

The Heathrow third runway -that even Boris was against- is set to be fast-tracked.

Ht @ChrisMayLA6
https://zirk.us/@ChrisMayLA6/115421933956134144

@ricmac@mastodon.social avatar ricmac , to random

Let's take a trip back to the year 2000, 25 long internet years ago. A year in which Flash websites proliferate, blogging expands, social news sites like Slashdot gain influence — all of this while the dot-com bubble slowly deflates and Napster dominates headlines. https://cybercultural.com/p/internet-2000/

(special thanks to @GroupNebula563 & @Steve for suggesting Homestar Runner, the perfect Flash website suggestion for that year!)

nicol ,
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@ricmac @GroupNebula563 @Steve

> By the end of 2000, the web had settled into a strange dual state: the financial euphoria of the dot-com boom was gone, yet the culture of the web had never felt more alive.

Thanks for this sentence. 2000-2002 were the heydays for my website (https://www.netribution.co.uk/features/) and I've such glowing memories of that time online I'm often not sure if I'm just suffering nostalgiaitis.

@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

I'm drafting a diagram to try to explain to newcomers the relationship between , Server Apps, Instances and Client Apps… it's obvious once you've been here a while but not intuitive if you're used to the rest of the web. "It's a bit like email, but you also can get your Netflix shows in your inbox".

Obviously I'm missing lots out here - anything really obvious I should add, please let me know? Comments/thoughts /additions/etc welcome… (and apologies in advance to any I've offended).

A diagram of ActivityPub and the Fediverse as a series of concentric circles - ActivityPub is at the middle, then Server Apps like Mastodon and PixelFed, then Instances, grouped under each Server App, then user accounts, then, finally Client Apps…
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@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

Tiring how the ’s story is leading with a photo and headline of the anti-refugee EDL group over the far larger counter protest, who get a small photo 2/3rds down.

I’ve never been nervous on a march before. There was 700 or so of us but it was a long walk twice thru a town where lots of people have been turned against the hostel ‘for the kids’ and so think we’re somehow therefore ‘against the kids’. But just as many people seemed to wave and cheer, tho with visible apprehension.

A field outside an asylum seeker hostel in Epping. A line of police officers wearing yellow vests stands in the foreground, while a crowd gathered behind barriers holds signs. Some individuals wave St George’s flags, and there is a police vehicle in the background.

A field outside an asylum seeker hostel in Epping. A line of police officers wearing yellow vests stands in the foreground, while a crowd gathered behind barriers holds signs. Some individuals wave St George’s flags, and there is a police vehicle in the background.
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@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

The level of fury in the pub over yesterday’s massacre was beyond anything I’ve seen since this began.

Part of the anger was at media indifference. But there’s a natural injustice to it that’s deeply triggering. 59 hungry people killed by a tank shell while trying to get food. You can see skinny arms and emaciated faces in the hospital photos. And every day a similar story. Yesterday at two sites. Hard not to believe it comes from viewing Palestinians as less than human.

nicol ,
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@_elena@mastodon.social avatar _elena @nic@25.netribution.co.uk avatar nic thanks! I’m trying to introduce some of our film readers to the Fediverse - and starting with you and @dilmandila@mograph.social avatar dilmandila . Only regret is I didn’t have the time to do something more in depth. (I’m also trying to get my head around ActivityPublishing from WordPress!) If you DM your email address I can send the newsletter when it goes out too.

@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

USA's isn't just cutting off classified satellite imagery to , but commercial unclassified services. How long until Starlink follows?

I'm not sure if the White House has thought thru the signal this is sending the world:

If you use American tech, cloud or telecoms, it can be turned off on a whim while you're being invaded & bombed to strongarm your country to sign a deal you don't want.

Imagine how many govts are currently frantically trying to migrate away from US services.

Oliver Alexander - @oalexanderdk.bsky.social - Maxar has cut off satellite imagery access to Ukraine, undoubtedly due to pressure from the U.S. government. This means that not just classified, but commercially available unclassified intelligence products are being cut off. I now fully expect Starlink to be next. 7 March 2025 at 07:56
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@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random

🤡 A suspected new undersea cable break has occurred in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden’s Gotland Island, Yle News reported on Friday, citing the Swedish Coast Guard. https://meduza.io/en/news/2025/02/21/sweden-reports-new-telecoms-cable-break-in-baltic-sea

nicol ,
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@kevinrothrock will this Starlink marketing campaign ever stop

@nicol@social.coop avatar nicol , to random

Remember the time negotiated to end the war in ? Now women aren't able to speak in public or have a job.

This is why many Europeans are near Defcon1 over his full capitulation to Putin over . Putin's goal of restoring the USSR's borders through expansion and undermining their democracies is well documented; he won't settle for 20% of Ukraine & security 'guarantees', he'll keep going. As a friend said: "why is it countries on his border are so desperate to join NATO?".

@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random

how is this real life

nicol ,
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@kevinrothrock have had a working theory for a few days that MAGA see themselves as Homer and liberals/'the-woke' as Ned Flanders… and it all feels a bit less puzzling. This arrives like Exhibit A for the theory.

@kevinrothrock@infosec.exchange avatar kevinrothrock , to random

What’s your favorite Mastodon app for iOS? I’ve got an old iPhone to play around with and I want it to be special. 🪄

nicol ,
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@kevinrothrock IceCubes was my fourth app and the only I’ve stuck with. I plan to try OpenVibes someday.