faq.html

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				<h1>
					Thimbl is a Manifesto for the Open Web written in code.
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				<h3>
					There is plenty to say about Thimbl. Find out why we're doing this and how. 
				</h3>
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		<h3>
				So Thimbl, huh? What is it?
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			<p>
				Thimbl is free, open source and distributed micro-blogging. You can be followed at your own domain.
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			<h3>
				Will Thimbl be an alternative to Twitter?
			</h3>
			<p>
				Well, proprietary, centralized platforms like Twitter are exactly what we're trying to illustrate as unneeded. They are a step backwards from what we already have in the classic internet platforms, and exist only to capture profit. While we certainly hope that Thimbl is useful and grows, like all other <a href="http://www.telekommunisten.net">Telekommunisten products</a>, it's purpose is primarily symbolic. We're not implying that all some unfunded collective of activists needs to do to defeat web2.0 is write some nice software. That is simply not the case.
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<p>
If there can be an alternative to Twitter, a very well funded and positioned corporation, it must be a platform, not simply an alternative service or some clone-ware.</p>

<p>That being said, pushing Thimbl as a far as we can is part of the performance. If somehow, despite our overt rejection of finance capital, Thimbl explodes beyond it's art/hacker/activist community target audience and turns from artwork into a legitimate platform... well, we would have a party.
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			<h3>
				Isn't this just like identi.ca/ostatus.net?
			</h3>
			<p>
			The similarity is only superficial, in that we draw upon similarities with web2.0 platforms in how we communicate our use-case.</p>

<p>Diaspora, Crabgrass, NoseRub, StatusNet, identi.ca and the rest are just web-apps with some sort of federation bolted-on. None of them are truly distributed multi-tier systems like the classic internet applications such as email, usenet, irc, or finger. Thimbl, on the other hand, is just a finger & SSH client that illustrates that "microblogging" has already been possible on the internet for decades. It's done by simply presenting the data differently and making it look like the now-familiar Twitter interface. You don't need anything from the Thimbl project running on your server to participate in Thimbl, just the software that is already in your repository - namely SSH and xinetd/finger or compatible alternatives.</p>

<p>Like the classic internet applications, each of Thimbl tiers are themselves distributed, scalable and transparently interoperable with other instances. As a result, Thimbl has far fewer barriers to adoption, it can be hosted cheaply on existing, commonly available infrastructure, and extends widely available and supported platforms. This also means that Thimbl requires a lot less development than those others.</p>

<p>Another major difference is that those projects are delusional, utopian undertakings that seek to overthrow proprietary platforms by simply writing software, which is why they will remain marginal, used only by niche users. Thimbl is as much performance as a platform, it incorporates the critical message of Telekommunisten and doesn't loose track of the fact that Capital is a much bigger factor than software in determining the adoption of a platform. The idea of Thimbl is much more important than Thimbl itself.
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<h3>
				OK, so what do I need to make this work?
			</h3>
			<p>
				Finger and SSH. Really.
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			<h3>
				Will you be part of the federated web?
			</h3>
			<p>
				Yes, once we get Thimbl kickstarted, we hope to convince all these people that the way forward is not to throw out everything the working internet and it's millions of running servers are actually based on, and replace it all from the wire up with something invented yesterday, using code, that if it exists at all, is not part of even a single software repository on the planet anywhere except (maybe) some guy's github account. Instead, let's use what we currently have and make that more awesome.
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			<h3>
				Can this approach be used with other social networks? 
			</h3>
			<p>
				We'd like to think so, yes. Maybe one day the open web will be all there is. Time will tell. ;)
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			<h3>
				Why are you guys doing this?
			</h3>
			<p>
				In short: We value our social networks and the things we want to share - but we don't want the service providing corporations hi-jacking our data and turn it into money. For a thorough answer check out <a href="/manifesto.html">the manifesto</a> we have written.
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			<h3>
				I can't wait to start using Thimbl. When can I?
			</h3>
			<p>
				We can't wait to, either. We're still putting the finishing touches on Thimbl. We'll share updates on several social networks - keep an eye on them and you'll be among the first ones to know when we're done. Deal?
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				"The <b>idea</b> of Thimbl<br>is much more important<br>than Thimbl itself."
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				<h2> 
				What is Thimbl?
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				<a href="presentation.html"><img src="presentation_small.png" alt="Presentation"></a>
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