What is the IndieWeb?

Recently, I had a conversation with the wonderful IndieWeb curator and Infosec specialist [Mike Sass a.k.a. Shellsharks](https://shellsharks.com/). He wrote about how he found Medium to *not* be a part of the IndieWeb after someone else shared my [Medium article praising omg.lol](https://blog.brennan.day/omg-lol-is-the-internet-we-need-right-now-3538199d5dea).

He ended up writing a blog post attempting to [define what the HumanWeb](https://shellsharks.com/human-web) exactly is. It is a really good write-up and I suggest you read it if you're curious about the IndieWeb, as I think it covers things better than I could.

But, just for fun, I thought I'd write out what I think this part of the Internet is, and why it's important. If nothing else, I think it's a fun blog post to publish!

## A Note on Terminology

In his blog post, Shellshark uses the term "Human Web" to identify the distinct, non-corporate and human-made Internet. I like it a lot! He mentions there are a few terms used like the small web, or the old web. I also know of [smolweb](https://smolweb.org/) the [Good Internet](https://goodinternetmagazine.com/) and [cozyweb](https://maggieappleton.com/cozy-web) (which is actually very different and a rabbit hole unto itself for another time).

I'm just going to be using the term IndieWeb throughout this article, as it is the most popular term. I enjoy seeing this term as an **umbrella definition** that encapsulates all of the above, since it is the most popular, but YMMV.

Now, let's get into things.

## Starting From Base Principles

If we are to assume [IndieWeb.org](https://indieweb.org/) is canonical, then, as Shellsharks iterated, the three core principles are:

1. Your content is yours, and in your control. > 2. You are in control of your site and your content. You can post what you want, in any format you want. > 3. Your site is connected. Your content can be distributed anywhere else on the web and your site can facilitate replies, likes, and other status messages.

I think these are excellent points, but I disagree that they ought to be the fundamentals. For me, I think the fundamentals of the IndieWeb should be:

### 1. Good faith code. Good faith writing.

This, I believe, is the biggest separation from mainstream corporate oligopoly social media platforms and the IndieWeb. If you're on the IndieWeb, you're not publishing your site with invasive trackers, annoying advertisements, bloated webpages or a11y-hostile design.

Likewise, you aren't writing from a place of bad faith, such as assuming the worst in others or having a general misanthropic view of things. To be a netizen on the IndieWeb, you have to have the belief the Internet can *still be* good and a tool for empowerment and creativity.

I believe if this is the fundamenta