Reclaiming Freedom in Social Media
A chronological, algorithm-free microblogging platform built on the principle that
users — not corporations — should control what they see and share.
Social media promised to connect us, but it has become a tool for manipulation and control. The platforms we use daily have fundamentally broken the social contract they built their empires on.
Remember when "following" someone actually meant something? When clicking "follow" was a deliberate choice to see someone's thoughts and updates in your feed?
That promise is dead.
Today's social media platforms use algorithmic feeds that decide what you see. The people you deliberately chose to follow? Their posts might never reach you. Meanwhile, content from accounts you don't follow—but the algorithm thinks will keep you scrolling—floods your feed.
The follow button still exists, but it's meaningless. It's a vestige of the old internet, kept around to maintain the illusion of user control while algorithms make the real decisions.
These platforms don't show you what's relevant, meaningful, or even what you asked to see. They show you what keeps you scrolling.
Algorithms are optimized for one thing: engagement. Not truth. Not quality. Not importance. Just engagement.
- Outrage gets engagement, so you see more outrage
- Divisive content gets engagement, so you see more division
- Clickbait gets engagement, so you see more manipulation
- Dopamine hits get engagement, so your feed becomes a slot machine
The algorithm doesn't care if the content is valuable. It cares if it keeps you on the platform. Your attention is the product being sold to advertisers.
Here's what should terrify everyone: A handful of companies now control what billions of people see, read, and think about.
- Want to share news about a political event? The algorithm decides who sees it.
- Want to organize a community around a cause? The algorithm decides if your posts reach your followers.
- Want to build an audience for your work? The algorithm decides if you're allowed to reach them.
This isn't a theoretical concern. These platforms have already:
- Suppressed political speech they disagreed with
- Promoted content that aligned with corporate interests
- Changed what people see during elections
- Decided which news stories "trend" and which don't
Whether or not they abuse this power today doesn't matter. The fact that they can is the problem. We've handed the keys to global human communication to a few profit-driven corporations.
It's like giving nuclear launch codes to a handful of people and hoping they never use them.
Modern social media gives you the illusion of control while making all the real decisions for you:
- "We're showing you what you want to see!" (No, you're showing what keeps us scrolling)
- "Our algorithm learns your preferences!" (No, it learns how to manipulate us)
- "You can customize your feed!" (No, we can make minor adjustments to your algorithmic prison)
The fundamental architecture is authoritarian: the platform decides what you see, not you.
This isn't just about convenience or user experience. This is about:
- Freedom of speech: Can you actually reach your audience?
- Freedom of association: Can you actually connect with communities you care about?
- Information access: Can you actually learn about topics that matter to you?
- Democratic discourse: Can society have real conversations, or only algorithmic simulacra?
When a few corporations control the flow of information at this scale, we don't have a free and open internet anymore. We have digital feudalism.
We can't fix Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube. They're working exactly as designed: to maximize profit by maximizing engagement.
But we can build something different. Something that puts users back in control. Something that honors the original promise of the internet: open, and user-directed communication.
That's Rawfeed.
Rawfeed returns control to users through radical simplicity:
-
Chronological Feeds Only
No algorithms deciding what you see. Posts appear in the order they were published. If you follow someone, you see their posts. Period. -
User Sovereignty
Your content, your rules. Own your profile. Export your data anytime. Host on your own domain if you choose. -
Text-First Communication
Ideas expressed through writing, not infinite scrolling of images and videos. Posts aren't consumption objects—they're thoughts meant to inspire action. -
RSS by Default
Every profile has an RSS feed. Use your favorite reader. Own your reading experience. No lock-in. -
Community-Driven
Open source. Transparent. No profit motive means no incentive to manipulate users for engagement.
- True Following: When you follow someone, you see their posts. Every. Single. Time.
- No Algorithmic Feed: Chronological order. The web as it was meant to be.
- Privacy-First: No tracking, no selling your data
- Open & Transparent: Open source code, open governance, open roadmap
Rawfeed is in active development and not yet ready for public use. We're building in the open because we believe transparency is essential.
See our development roadmap for current progress and planned features.
Rawfeed operates as a non-profit initiative:
- No profit motive: We're not here to make money
- No venture capital: No investors to please, no growth-at-all-costs mentality
- No user exploitation: Your attention is not our product
- Transparent funding: Server costs currently covered by founder. Future funding model (donations, cooperative structure, etc.) will be decided based on community needs
This platform belongs to its users, not to a corporation:
- Open Source: All code is public and auditable
- Open Governance: Major decisions made transparently with community input
- Open Data: Your posts, your data. Export anytime, host anywhere
We believe the best way to express complex ideas is through writing:
- No photos: This isn't Instagram
- No videos: This isn't YouTube
- No Stories: This isn't Snapchat
- Just text: 400 characters to share an idea worth spreading
Posts are not consumption objects. They're ideas meant to inspire thought and action.
We're not building "yet another social network." We're reclaiming the internet's original promise:
A global platform for free exchange of ideas, where users control their own experience and no single entity gatekeeps human communication.
This is idealistic. This is difficult. Many have tried and failed. But the alternative—accepting permanent corporate control over how humanity communicates—is unacceptable.
We need you. This project succeeds only as a community effort.
- Developers: See CONTRIBUTING.md for technical details
- Designers: Help make the platform beautiful and accessible
- Writers: Improve documentation and communication
- Testers: Use the platform, report bugs, suggest improvements
- Thinkers: Join discussions about governance, moderation, and community values
- Join the conversation: GitHub Discussions
- Report issues: GitHub Issues
- Submit code: Fork, develop, submit a pull request
- Spread the word: Share this project with others who care about communication freedom
We welcome all contributions, no matter how small. Every bug report, documentation fix, and thoughtful comment helps.
This project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0).
This means:
- ✅ You can use, modify, and distribute this software
- ✅ You can use it for commercial purposes
- ✅ You must disclose your source code
- ✅ You must license derivatives under AGPL-3.0
- ✅ Network use counts as distribution - if you run a modified version as a web service, you must make your source code available
We chose AGPL-3.0 to ensure that:
- Rawfeed remains free and open source forever
- Any improvements to the platform benefit everyone
- Corporate entities can't take our work and close it off
- The community maintains ownership of the codebase
See LICENSE for the full license text.
- Discussions: GitHub Discussions
- Issues: GitHub Issues
- Email: [email protected]
This project stands on the shoulders of:
- The early internet's promise of open communication
- RSS and open web standards advocates
- Everyone who believes the web should be open, chronological, and user-controlled
Special thanks to every individual and organization fighting for communication freedom in the digital age.
Rawfeed: Your feed. Your rules. No algorithms.
"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now."
We can't undo the damage of algorithmic feeds, but we can build something better. Together.