𝕮
@chrisshank.com
𝒻𝑜𝓁𝓀𝒾𝒻𝓎𝒾𝓃𝑔 how we create and commune on the web with @folkjs.org
The foundation of personal computing is the filesystem.
The foundation of the internet is a networked filesystem.
The foundation of a new social web will likely be a social filesystem. (It remains an ope question if atproto is such a foundation)
The foundation of the internet is a networked filesystem.
The foundation of a new social web will likely be a social filesystem. (It remains an ope question if atproto is such a foundation)
It seems a fork lies ahead, is atproto a portable database for a bunch of apps or a new type of post-app, social filesystem?
January 13, 2026 at 6:23 AM
Just to clarify, is this in relation to atproto being fully public atm?
January 13, 2026 at 5:40 AM
Just to clarify, is this in relation to atproto being fully public atm?
Not that surprised that that is the case. “Freely addressable surfaces” is a direct reference to this paper about the open authorial principle! Such surfaces are far and few in computing.
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
bsky.app/profile/chri...
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
bsky.app/profile/chri...
The filesystem of the personal computer is a freely addressable surface for accessing data saved in memory. Desktop applications used to be the ways that we interact with such data. Such a filesystem symbolizes *your* data.
January 13, 2026 at 5:29 AM
Not that surprised that that is the case. “Freely addressable surfaces” is a direct reference to this paper about the open authorial principle! Such surfaces are far and few in computing.
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
bsky.app/profile/chri...
dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...
bsky.app/profile/chri...
Certainly a important gap that becomes apparent!
January 12, 2026 at 10:12 PM
Certainly a important gap that becomes apparent!
As implied i think it‘s a flaw for every app creator to take their best guess what everyone might want for their app.
Let’s make the happy paths a few clicks and the rest reasonably possible for everyone.
Let’s make the happy paths a few clicks and the rest reasonably possible for everyone.
January 12, 2026 at 9:04 PM
As implied i think it‘s a flaw for every app creator to take their best guess what everyone might want for their app.
Let’s make the happy paths a few clicks and the rest reasonably possible for everyone.
Let’s make the happy paths a few clicks and the rest reasonably possible for everyone.
We need to figure out how materialize social graphs across the network and provide better computational affordances for exploring/searching/grouping/sorting/filtering/projecting/combining social graphs. They can't remain computationally passive lists.
January 12, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Let's create a tldraw or something and riff on it
January 12, 2026 at 7:55 PM
Let's create a tldraw or something and riff on it
The foundation of personal computing is the filesystem.
The foundation of the internet is a networked filesystem.
The foundation of a new social web will likely be a social filesystem. (It remains an ope question if atproto is such a foundation)
The foundation of the internet is a networked filesystem.
The foundation of a new social web will likely be a social filesystem. (It remains an ope question if atproto is such a foundation)
It seems a fork lies ahead, is atproto a portable database for a bunch of apps or a new type of post-app, social filesystem?
January 12, 2026 at 7:55 PM
would love to see any posts so i can link them in the future!
January 12, 2026 at 7:53 PM
would love to see any posts so i can link them in the future!
A social filesystem for a new social web is a freely addressable surface for *our* data and relationships. Applications will be the default way to interact with such data, but I think will ultimately reduce such potential. Such a filesystem should symbolize our interconnected identifies.
January 12, 2026 at 7:51 PM
A social filesystem for a new social web is a freely addressable surface for *our* data and relationships. Applications will be the default way to interact with such data, but I think will ultimately reduce such potential. Such a filesystem should symbolize our interconnected identifies.
The Internet’s networked filesystem is a freely addressable surface for accessing other people’s files. HTML pages are the default applications to interact with such files. Such a filesystem has come to symbolize destinations to visit.
January 12, 2026 at 7:48 PM
The Internet’s networked filesystem is a freely addressable surface for accessing other people’s files. HTML pages are the default applications to interact with such files. Such a filesystem has come to symbolize destinations to visit.
The filesystem of the personal computer is a freely addressable surface for accessing data saved in memory. Desktop applications used to be the ways that we interact with such data. Such a filesystem symbolizes *your* data.
January 12, 2026 at 7:46 PM
The filesystem of the personal computer is a freely addressable surface for accessing data saved in memory. Desktop applications used to be the ways that we interact with such data. Such a filesystem symbolizes *your* data.
indeed a favorite paper, it's unfortunate open source is stuck on licensing as a theory-of-change as opposed to figuring out a intersectional, emancipatory politics
January 12, 2026 at 7:57 AM
indeed a favorite paper, it's unfortunate open source is stuck on licensing as a theory-of-change as opposed to figuring out a intersectional, emancipatory politics
We'll have this working on Linux one day
It exposes accessibility trees via a websocket server, so you'll be able to create your own overlays from HTML files
bsky.app/profile/chri...
It exposes accessibility trees via a websocket server, so you'll be able to create your own overlays from HTML files
bsky.app/profile/chri...
What would it look like if accessibility infrastructure became the foundation of malleable computing? Here's a demo by @orionreed.com that adversarially adds find and replace functionality to a hermetically sealed messaging app.
January 12, 2026 at 7:51 AM
We'll have this working on Linux one day
It exposes accessibility trees via a websocket server, so you'll be able to create your own overlays from HTML files
bsky.app/profile/chri...
It exposes accessibility trees via a websocket server, so you'll be able to create your own overlays from HTML files
bsky.app/profile/chri...
Another aspect of social graphs is understanding how you've interacted with someone in the past.
bsky.app/profile/pevo...
bsky.app/profile/pevo...
Reupping a 🧵 from this summer:
This product is supposedly about conversations, but it's missing a key feature which highlights the interactions we've had
The most useful tab I could have when viewing your profile is a timeline focused on *our* conversations:
quotes, replies, reposts, likes, etc.
This product is supposedly about conversations, but it's missing a key feature which highlights the interactions we've had
The most useful tab I could have when viewing your profile is a timeline focused on *our* conversations:
quotes, replies, reposts, likes, etc.
For example, what if MY view of YOUR profile included an affordance which let me chronologically browse the intersection of:
- everything you posted + I liked, or
- vice versa
Would those two be separate timelines, or just a single conversational flow of all our mutual interactions?
Hmmm...
- everything you posted + I liked, or
- vice versa
Would those two be separate timelines, or just a single conversational flow of all our mutual interactions?
Hmmm...
January 11, 2026 at 9:51 PM
Another aspect of social graphs is understanding how you've interacted with someone in the past.
bsky.app/profile/pevo...
bsky.app/profile/pevo...
This shouldn't be another app, it should be embedded everywhere in the network.
bsky.app/profile/boss...
bsky.app/profile/boss...
I think you do need a universal graph somewhere, and a well-defined interface for leveraging it - but it doesn't have to be that it gets used as the follow graph everywhere
you could have it permissioned to each app e.g. and present a 'follow here', 'follow everywhere' concept
you could have it permissioned to each app e.g. and present a 'follow here', 'follow everywhere' concept
January 11, 2026 at 8:41 PM
This shouldn't be another app, it should be embedded everywhere in the network.
bsky.app/profile/boss...
bsky.app/profile/boss...
We need to figure out how materialize social graphs across the network and provide better computational affordances for exploring/searching/grouping/sorting/filtering/projecting/combining social graphs. They can't remain computationally passive lists.
January 11, 2026 at 8:39 PM
We need to figure out how materialize social graphs across the network and provide better computational affordances for exploring/searching/grouping/sorting/filtering/projecting/combining social graphs. They can't remain computationally passive lists.