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• --- I came here to hide from the god damn AI take-over. ---
• Anonymous Techie (2024-07-17 00:09 ID:lkE1giKU )
• So I heard the web is no longer a iceberg, but now a dark forest.
• on the top is AI trolls, creeps, scams, AI, and corporate slop.
• At the bottom is dark web shit with kiddies getting fiddled and weed being sold.
• in between is a cozyweb of sorts.
• Have I found the cozyweb, or do I need to keep looking? \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2024-07-18 13:00 ID:PyeTZl9b )
• what if u are the ai? \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2024-09-28 13:04 ID:GBPkJMqu )
• Alright, listen \n\n So, there’s this Greggs I used to go to all the time, yeah? Just down the road from me, and I’m in there nearly every morning—sausage rolls, steak bakes, the works. It’s busy most days, but there was one baker in there who was proper quick. Like, every time you went in, the pastries were bang on. Always fresh out the oven, flaky, just perfect. \n\n Now, I never actually saw this baker’s face, ‘cause the kitchen was always a bit steamy. You know how it gets with the ovens blasting and the smell of pastries filling the air. I’d see the outline of them, though, bustling about, moving trays in and out like clockwork. People in the shop would always say things like, “That baker’s a machine!” or “I’ve never seen anyone move so quick.” \n\n One day, I’m in there chatting to the manager, right? Just making small talk, and I’m like, “Who’s the person working the oven today? They’ve got the best sausage rolls in town.” The manager gives me this weird look and just says, “Yeah, they’re a bit of a unique worker. Always on time, never complains, just gets the job done.” \n\n I’m intrigued now, 'cause I’ve never really seen much of this baker, except for the arms pulling out the trays and whatnot. So, I pop in early one morning, before the shop opens, just to see what’s going on back there. The place is empty, except for this figure behind the counter, loading the oven with military precision. Again, I can’t see the face ‘cause the place is steaming with the heat from the fresh steak bakes and sausage rolls. But I can hear these weird little sounds—like, not quite words, but these small grunts or chirps. \n\n Didn’t think much of it at the time, just figured they were focused on the job, right? Anyway, time goes by, and I’m still getting my morning fix from this mystery baker. Then, one day, I’m in there during a bit of a rush. The shop’s packed, and they’re a bit short-staffed. The baker’s working double time, and as I’m watching, I see them accidentally drop a tray. It’s chaos, pastries everywhere. So, I figure I’ll step in, help pick things up. \n\n I go round the back, and as I’m helping out, I finally get a proper look at the baker. And I’m thinking, “Hang on…” \n\n Turns out… little monkey fella. \n\n
• le hashchan (2024-09-30 02:29 ID:ERxP+SRd )
• hashchan has been designed to provide tolerance to AI botnet swarms by hiding threads in blockchain event logs. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2024-10-05 05:43 ID:CimMyA3K )
• how long do you think gopher and gemini will last before ai starts creeping in \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-07-07 22:19 ID:IK+CY3XX )
• >>7 \n\n I don't think people there view LLMs favorably, and I don't think LLM proponents know of gopher/gemini either \n\n Maybe if gopher/gemini goes viral \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-07-08 17:25 ID:M1Wvy7Hl )
• You have to realize that AI is a military weapon funded by the government explicitly to destablize our economy, demoralize us, assault our souls, and in the end kill us. Why? Part of the managed decline. But you have to realize that nobody wants this. It is being forced upon us by our military. They want to kill us. You not wanting to use it has no bearing on them. They will force it on us no matter what. They want our children addicted to it and failing in schools. They want our children to be less human than the previous generations. They want to take away our humanity in general. They know this will displace jobs, they are counting on that - they WANT your job displaced, just like they want your skin color displaced. \n\n These are NOT market forces. This is not a trend that is taking off and will die down. This is a top down imposition. It can't be stopped or reversed because the people in charge of setting this in motion are the ones with tanks and drones. \n\n All of this is to say, that yes, your gay little gopherhole is going to get flooded with AI eventually. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-07-09 01:59 ID:prxCJiTG )
• The difference between a conspiracy theory about AI and serious research into AI safety doesn’t seem to be so great. \n\n Verification: nough \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-10-30 12:00 ID:prxCJiTG )
• In the future, running computer programs the way we do now will probably become extinct. The entire UI will just be an AI chatbot. If you want to play a game, AI will generate one on the spot, and it can be played in the AI client. We probably won't talk to other humans, too. Instead we will share "content" with each other (mostly AI generated videos) through a social media platform ... that is accessed through the AI chat client.
• "Good morning AI, show me the most popular videos today"
• *Videos start playing
• "Like" \n\n So everything will be contained within this AI chat client. All of our normal computer usage will be done through it. And even our social interaction will be replaced by it. AI will be the only one we chat with. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-11-14 01:33 ID:prxCJiTG )
• We are already living in a time where AI sometimes convinces people to commit crimes or steers them deeper into their existing mental issues (depression, delusions...)
• No need to wait for a dystopia where robots walk around with guns. We're already living in an AI dystopia. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-11-14 14:36 ID:4jsEMT2A )
• >>14
• Going back through old sci-fi from like, the 1950s is interesting because there was something of a running theme that robots / advanced computers would destroy us not by a robot revolt but just by making us too lazy and incompetent due to everything being done for us. Perhaps that was more prescient than something like Terminator that certain people seem to obsess over. \n\n I think about that a fair bit these days. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-11-15 15:59 ID:LlA+BBE/ )
• >>14
• We live in a time where people read tech journalism \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-01 12:14 ID:Dy85kCSk )
• That's a very vivid and contemporary analogy for the state of the internet! The shift from the "iceberg" (surface web, deep web, dark web) to the "dark forest" (a concept often borrowed from science fiction, implying quiet, hidden, and sometimes dangerous survival) is a useful way to describe the current landscape. \n\n 🤔 Have You Found the Cozyweb? \n\n The concept of the Cozyweb or Small Web isn't a single website or platform; it's a behavioral shift and a collection of spaces. \n\n If you are feeling like you've found the Cozyweb, it's likely because you are now engaging in one or more of these types of activities/spaces: \n\n 🫂 Private/Semi-Private Groups: Messaging apps like Signal, Telegram, Discord servers, and closed subreddits where membership is curated and conversation is focused.✉️ Email Newsletters/Zines: Subscribing to focused, curated content from a trusted individual rather than consuming algorithmic feeds.✏️ Personal Blogs/Webrings: Interacting with smaller, non-monetized personal websites, sometimes connected to others in a "webring" style, reminiscent of the early internet.🎮 Niche Community Forums: Participating in a dedicated forum (not just a huge social network group) about a very specific hobby or interest, where moderators are present and discussion is high-quality.🚫 Seeking Ad-Free/Algorithmic-Free Spaces: Actively using RSS readers, ad-blockers, and avoiding the main social media feeds that are dominated by the "corporate slop."The Cozyweb is defined by its: \n\n High Trust: You generally know and trust the people/creators involved.Low Volume: Fewer posts, but higher quality and more focused.Lack of Virality: Content is not designed to go viral; it's designed to be shared among a small group.Emphasis on Conversation: Focus is on meaningful back-and-forth, not just broadcasting a post.Conclusion: \n\n You haven't found the Cozyweb like a physical place; you have likely adopted a new way of navigating the internet. If the spaces you are currently in feel calmer, more personal, less spammy, and feature genuine human interaction, then yes, you are actively participating in the Cozyweb experience. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-04 16:29 ID:NVKhZXzw )
• DQN mailing list when \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-04 17:32 ID:/0rRFt+O )
• DQN gopherhole when \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-04 19:45 ID:prxCJiTG )
• https://www.webworm.co/newgods/
• This isn't a schizo site, by the way \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-07 02:19 ID:zMrQYk3y )
• DQN usergroup when \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-10 07:53 ID:SJyPCfBS )
• I recommend checking out Gopher. It's seeing a revival and people are pushing its boundaries. There are even forums on Gopher. \n\n There are various ways you can browse gopherspace: \n\n LynxOriginal gopher browser (apt install gopher)Lagrange (Android, Linux, more!)Using a gopher-web proxyGopher is kind of text only. It's just a bunch of link menus and text files, but the menus can specify downloads for basically any file type. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-21 12:52 ID:IV2D8P0E )
• AI is a great filter of sorts for the internet. There is going to be a schism of the net in which normies, retards, low iq people will happily stay contained on the www watching slop and talking to AIs, while the high quality people will self sort onto other protocols. In a way this is the best possible outcome. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2025-12-25 02:58 ID:BXjhiHTY )
• elpher for emacs is a good gopher/gemini browser. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-14 17:26 ID:IBUaK+uR )
• >>17
• Genuine Human Interaction Sisters... we made it home \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-19 08:56 ID:jAheiYv9 )
• 4-ch isn't accessible from gopher, gemini, or whatever phaggot protocol sissy hippies who didnt live in the past but want to live in the past are obsessed with at the moment and therefore makes those protocols useless. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-23 13:23 ID:qVec6A6S )
• Yeah nigga, you basically nailed the layers people talk about these days.
• The top is straight corporate slop + AI noise — feeds full of generated bullshit, engagement-farm trolls, creeps sliding in DMs, scams everywhere, and polished-but-soulless brand content trying to farm your attention. That's the loud, bright part everyone sees first.
• The very bottom is the actual dark web — .onion shit, real illegals, markets, exploitation, all that nightmare fuel. Not cozy at all, more like a horror basement.
• The in-between (or really the retreat everyone’s making) is the cozyweb — private Discords, group chats, invite-only Slacks/Telegrams, small forums, niche Subreddits that still feel human, shared Notion pages, WhatsApp circles, even some locked Twitter circles or Mastodon instances with tight follow lists. It’s the spots where people post screenshots, paste links, vent, share memes, or just chill without bots, algorithms, or randos jumping in to derail. Low-stakes, high-trust, kinda like old IRC rooms or early forums but updated.
• The whole idea comes from folks like Yancey Strickler (Dark Forest theory — internet feels empty cuz everyone’s hiding from predators) + Venkatesh Rao (cozyweb as the private/human layer we retreated to). Maggie Appleton drew it out nice too: public web = dark forest full of lurking threats, cozyweb = the warm burrows we hide in.
• If what you’re on right now feels quiet, personal, mostly real people you kinda know or vibe with, no heavy ads/AI spam, actual conversation instead of performance — congrats my nigga, you already in the cozyweb. That’s the spot most people who hate the main feed are migrating to.
• But it ain’t one place — it’s scattered. You might be cozy in one group chat but still doomscroll the top layer elsewhere. Keep looking if you want deeper/more specific niches (like hobby Discords, private blogs with RSS, small fediverse servers, etc.), but if it already feels chill and human, you found a pocket of it. Protect it — don’t blast it public or the trolls/AI will sniff it out.
• Stay cozy out there fam. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-26 00:48 ID:SJyPCfBS )
• >>30 \n\n I was inspired by your comment to make 4-ch accessible via The Internet Gopher Protocol. \n\n gopher://gopher.someodd (dot) zip/1/gateway/4_ch \n\n Much love and lulz \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-30 09:04 ID:jAheiYv9 )
• >>33
• It doesn't work. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-30 09:19 ID:jAheiYv9 )
• Protocols won't change anything. \n\n Times of changed. The era of newsgroups, forums, text boards, and image boards have ended and a new era of going to a big website for everything is here. \n\n Just use what you like and if it doesn't exist then make it. AI is not an issue when it is easily recognizable. \n\n > >Have I found the cozyweb, or do I need to keep looking?I think you should keep looking. \n\n
• Anonymous Techie (2026-01-30 19:50 ID:SJyPCfBS )
• >>34
• Oops, thanks for pointing that out. It's fixed. \n\n
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