this post was submitted on 12 Oct 2026
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61
The punks trying to reclaim the internet from 'big tech' (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 1 day ago by budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net to c/australia@aussie.zone
7 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

A news article about Merri-bek Tech, a North-Melbourne community-hosting initiative, and discussing other digital sovereignty efforts including EU initiatives.

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[–] arbilp3@aussie.zone 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I'm a luddite so this sounds great to me, but people need to know more about the alternatives. I love 'the commons' idea.

But for everyday users there are already alternatives to major social media platforms or common word-processing software, he says, noting, however, that it can be hard to convince users to switch to something they're unfamiliar with.

And Ambrose agrees. Moving away from "big tech" introduces friction into daily life, he says, and only makes sense when it's being done for principled reasons.

[–] victorz@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

I'm a luddite

0 down votes

Love to see it. ❤️🤝✊

[–] budget_biochemist@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 day ago

Since the article doesn't have much info about the technology involved - the "boxes" they are talking about in the news article are LoRes Mesh nodes

LoRes Mesh is a project to provide digital services at local community facilities that meet genuine human needs.

Nodes run software for local people and community groups, like website hosting, email servers and more.

[–] Gorgritch_umie_killa@aussie.zone 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Good to see the movement is starting to make some waves in Australia. This is probably the first ABC I've read that mentions Solarpunk

[–] Nath@aussie.zone 4 points 23 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Gorgritch_umie_killa@aussie.zone 1 points 14 hours ago

Good article. The whole concept fills me with such enthusiasm to live in that way. But I repair shit for a living, so I suppose I already do to a degree. The concept of making things work without necessarily replacing for new, even if some 'rules' need to be bent to get there, I suppose is a normal day. I've found training new people, they find the idea contrary to their general expectations, to the point where it almost seems like theres a mental block they have to deconstruct at first.

I'm pretty sure I ran into the concept first when I found the community on Lemmy. Another great discovery from the fediverse for me.

[–] stib@aus.social 3 points 1 day ago

@budget_biochemist
I was reading it thinking "they've got to be on the fediverse" and yep. Hi
@jadehopepunk, well done.