Koto
A quasi-distributed ad-free open-source social network
Introduction
Koto is an open-source, ad-free, social network with a mixture of central and distributed control. Central control provides a common login across all nodes, and prevents bad actors from joining a network. Distribution provides individual ownership, and privacy, for messages, images, and pictures.
Koto is comparable to Facebook, rather than Twitter, as it is for closed circles of friendships.
Status
The alpha version should be ready in July 2020. You can check our progress here
Setup instructions
You can run the backend API's here:
Comparison to other social network projects
Koto is unique among social network sites and projects, which seem to fall into one of four categories:
- Failed (or failing) startups with no revenue
- Commercial products that serve ads or charge a fee
- Distributed OSS projects comparable to Twitter (Mastadon, Diaspora, Steemit)
- Centralized OSS projects comparable to Facebook (Buddy Press]
Koto blends these last two categories, offering both a distributed OSS approach, as well as more of a "closed circle" approach like Facebook.
Note: Minds is a similar blend, but relies on Blockchain, and an incentive model for posting, which seem unnecesary to us.
How the social graph works
You can read about Koto's social graph here. It's almost identical to Facebook. Friends can post / see your timeline, but nobody else can.
Our motivation
We want a functional alternative to Facebook that does not sell advertising or tolerate the distribution of lies to tilt elections, create chaos, encourage ignorance, and ruin civil discourse.
Who are you?
I am a product manager with 30 years of experience in the industry. I have been part of large software companies, and a few startups, one of which worked to measure Facebook video analytics. I am from Boston, lived in San Francisco for 20 years, and now live in Austria with my 2 kids and lovely wife. I work for Dynatrace and manage Koto in my spare time.
How you can help
There are a few ways you can help.
If you have some free time, I have all sorts of things you can do. Just get in touch via email at mreider at gmail dot com.
And of course, you can donate money. I am paying for a couple of engineers to help me, plus server costs, etc. You can donate here.
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