If you’re posting on Aether, you’re publishing content directly on your device, and other devices connect to your device to get that content, and then they share that content forward. So there’s no central server involved. Everyone keeps a copy of the data, and when new posts are added, everyone gets the new post and passes it on.
You can create a community for your friends, or for strangers that are interested in similar things. All communities are public, and everyone can write to any community. Because there is no central server (like Facebook or Twitter) there is no hosting costs that have to scale up as more users join, or a central authority censoring what is posted, or algorithms deciding what you see, or adverts inserted into your feed.
If you’re familiar with Reddit, Slashdot, or Usenet, it’s pretty similar. Aether does two main things differently though. The first is that it’s ephemeral. The content disappears after a while. The other is, the communities are democratic, they elect their own leadership. Even the community creator can be voted out if they are not judged to be moderating in the best interests of the group.
It’s an ex-Goolger who created it and the UI reminds me a lot of Mastodon. Because there is no website though you cannot reshare links to Twitter etc, you need to install the app for Windows, Linux or macOS and participate that way. An Android app is still being worked on.
More on how it works at https://getaether.net/docs/
#opensource #collaboration #forums
#^Aether
? Hey there! The documentation, alongside the app, is in early beta. If you see any mistakes or typos, please let us know. Docs Index Aether is an app that gives you fresh, new content about the things you’re interested in. You can create a community for your friends, or for strangers that are interested in similar things. All communities are …