Pick a Plot
Want to take up residence in the town of Satyadāsa? You can do so here by first picking out a plot! There are some pre-made houses here you can claim, but alternatively if you want something unique, you can also build your own house to sit atop the empty turf and submit it for residency. Once accepted, your hyperlinked house will be shown on the front page of the Town, with your resident ID, name, and a brief description about you and your space. Each house will also have a code that can be copy/pasted to display it on your site. Please read the notes within the code carefully as part of the code is only to be used by the resident, and the other part of the code is to only be used by neighbors. Send off your neighbor requests, and add many houses to your site to create a neighborhood – it’s a lot less lonely with community!
Please read over the application page thoroughly before you submit your residency application.
Click on one of the plots below to get started!
If you’re already a resident and want a quick and easy copy/paste neighborhood layout for your page, click the button below. Just modify the code and replace the placeholders with your house code and your neighbors house codes. Notes on where to place things are inside the code to help you along.
Introduction To The ‘Web Revival’ Movement
If you’re reading this, you’re probably wondering “What on earth is the Web Revival? What does it mean”? This movement goes by a few different names. It is also known as the Indie Web, Old Web, Small Web, Personal Web, and many other names, which all ultimately have the same goal in mind; it’s time to return the soul/spirit back to the internet that was present before big tech corporations took over.
![](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image.png)
What was the Web 1.0?
During the Myspace era, and earlier years, the internet was vastly influenced by people and creativity rather than profits. Youtube, in it’s early years before it was acquired by Google, was solely for user creativity and was a fun new medium of communication to a vast audience of people. Creators were free to express themselves without the fear of censorship, because there were no advertisers or aggressive political agendas to pander to. Myspace was at its peak, and everyone’s Myspace page was a fun, creative space with quirky backgrounds, music, and various customization options that allowed users to fully express themselves. Geocities and Angelfire were also very popular around this time as website hosting, and it was very common place for folks to make websites on these platforms, share them around, and gain traffic through webrings. This period of time, as well as earlier years, is known as Web 1.0, and it was this period of time that we as a collective got to witness a version of the internet that had soul/spirit, because at this time it was we the people who greatly influenced it. It was a period where creativity was put over profits and self expression flourished.
![](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-1.png)
What is Web 2.0
This is it; this is the era of Web 2.0. It began when big corporations started moving in, when Google acquired Youtube, when Facebook and Twitter came onto the scene. People started trickling into these big tech corporate silos, and they started monopolizing off of our personal data to advertisers. Creativity and freedom of speech and expression began getting stifled because it didn’t meet the standards of advertisers, and big tech wanted control over narratives, and ultimately, people’s minds. Aside from the major privacy issues, data monopolization, and freedom of expression issues, we also now have all these algorithms that determine who/what we’re going to see and when we’re going to see it. If the algorithms detect the content you’re sharing goes against the social/political narratives certain platforms want to promote, your posts get buried and unseen in people’s timelines. This is known as ‘shadow banning’. This is not just present in social media platforms, but even search engines.
![](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Comparison.jpg)
What is Web 3.0
Unfortunately, it gets worse. Currently, we are collectively at a crossroads where big tech wants to introduce Web 3.0 – which in a nutshell, is a massive pyramid scheme. Web 3.0, in a nutshell, is the Metaverse, where people buy and sell virtual “real estate”. The rich buy and sell “virtual land” to you because what good is the internet if the rich can not monopolize more off of you using it? NFTs, most crypto, digital ID, the end of online anonymity, this is all part of Web 3.0. It boasts users will have more control over their own data, but our data is still monopolized, just in a different way. It also fails to mention all the security issues, lack of privacy, and how the mega rich are the ones who benefit most from this system.
While the political bias and colorful language of this content creator is very strong in this video, I highly recommend taking the time to watch it and try to see past any conflicting political bias and language as she gives a very thorough rundown of what Web 3.0 is and how it is a giant pyramid scheme. Web 3.0 is not without controversy. It aims to leverage blockchain technology, smart contracts, and decentralized applications to reshape the digital landscape.
![](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-3-1024x576.png)
So How Do We Fix It?
I really love this quote by Mahatma Ghandi, and feel it is the perfect opening to how we should address change.
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” —Mahatma Gandhi—
Change starts within the individual, and the changes we as individuals make creates a ripple. Those of us who are not happy with Web 2.0 or Web 3.0 remember the soul/spirit that was present in 1.0, and it’s time to bring it back. Web 1.0 was by no means perfect, but we are taking what we’ve learned and loved about it; the fun, the creativity, the human spirit, freedom of expression over profits (money is not the goal), freedom of speech, control over our own data, and restoring a culture where people weren’t so divided and we could really connect with other people.
It is unlikely we can take down big tech giants by force, they have grown to be too powerful – BUT, we can disintegrate the pyramid from the bottom up by going independent, no longer relying on their systems to socialize online, and this is an organic process that requires no force. It simply requires a spark of inspiration within yourself to create a fun, unique space of your own, connect with others in the movement, and eventually through this process as it grows, we can get to a place where we don’t need big tech anymore. We can create our own online culture again, free from their control and influence. If you feel inspired by the soul/spirit of what the Web 1.0 was, if you miss freedom of expression, creativity and people over profits, freedom from privacy invasive data harvesting monopolies, if you miss a time when manipulative algorithms didn’t control whom/what you saw and when you saw it – you, yes YOU have the power to create a ripple amongst a vast sea of growing ripples in this movement whom all want the same things.
Change starts within, and you can start creating this change by taking back your own freedom of expression online! This can be by creating your very own website filled with all the things you love. Give it a funky background if you want to, customize it to completely suit your aesthetic. Express yourself however you like, it can be as organized or messy as you want it to be, share your favorite things, make it YOU. Create an authentic space that is by you, for you, where money is not the goal.
![](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/image-4-1024x614.png)
Socializing In This Movement
Joining this movement doesn’t mean you have to drop all your big tech social media accounts. Some people feel inspired to do that and dive into this movement head first, and that’s valid, but I’m of the belief this is a shift that will not happen overnight for most people. This is an organic process that will take time and continue to grow as more people feel inspired to start bringing back the heart of the old web and break free from big tech forces that try to control, influence, and monopolize on us for their personal gain.
And lastly, don’t be fooled that individual websites are lonely in the social aspect – they’re anything but! You likely will not find our indie sites on big tech search engines such as Google, because again, their system is based on profits and who can compete to win over the algorithm’s favor. This movement does not operate under big tech rules, our goal is not profits and we do not care about winning over any algorithms, it’s different system of organic discovery, created by the people for the people. Join webrings and directories. This is a great way to discover other people in this movement, you can go to their sites and interact with them, and often times they will come back to your site and interact with you as well. You can join my webring as well as the many other webrings listed on this page. You can also find new people via other people’s “links” pages, which often features other people’s websites that they love or are friends with. You can also find many folks on the Fediverse who share the same passion. There are even Fediverse servers completely dedicated for people in this movement.
Ready to Get Started?
After reading all of the above, if you feel the spark of inspiration brewing, head over to the ‘Getting Started’ and ‘Resources’ tabs of this page. I also recommend checking out the ‘What Is The Fediverse’ tab because if you would eventually like to replace your big tech social media accounts with people-empowering alternatives, the Fediverse is a fabulous alternative that will fill that void. 🙂
I hope this post has been informative and able to inspire you. If it did, leave me a comment letting me know, and feel free to leave a link to your own indie website for myself and anyone else reading the comments of this post to visit!
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What Is The Fediverse?
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What Is The Fediverse?
The Fediverse is made up of a bunch of decentralized social networking platforms. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of decentralized social networking platforms, it is very different from the standard ‘walled garden’ social media structure you’re used to (such as Facebook, Twitter, etc), which is centralized; meaning a single company or entity owns and calls the shots for the platform. Instead, the Fediverse is not owned by any corporate entity or individual. It is owned by everyone, because anyone (even you, yes you!) can create a server and host a platform in the Fediverse – so long as you have the technical knowledge to do so!
Imagine having a Facebook account, and being able to directly follow and communicate with your friends and favorite content creators who have their account on Tiktok, Twitter, Youtube, Instagram, etc. without having to make a bunch of separate accounts on those other platforms. That would be pretty neat, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, due to the centralized nature of those platforms, that is not possible. However, the various social networks that are part of the Fediverse can do that! The Fediverse connects a bunch of different social networks together so that people can communicate with each other no matter what platform they are on. This is all made possible through a protocal known as ActivityPub.
Another major benefit of the Fediverse is that all these different social platforms have hundreds and even thousands of clones hosted by individuals like me and you. This gives users the freedom to leave one hosted server for another without losing your connections/following. If you don’t like the rules, the community, or the admin who hosts the server you’re on, you can simply transfer your account to someone else’s server who hosts the same social platform. OR, you could even create and host your OWN server of your favorite platform with your own set of rules, if you have the technical knowledge. That is the beauty of the Fediverse. It’s a very different structure of social media, in which our means of communication are no longer owned and operated by big tech companies who dictate the rules for everyone and dominate the internet. Instead, the Fediverse is owned and operated by individuals like you and me who host their own copies of various platforms, empowering people with the freedom to choose communities and hosts that are best suited for them.
How The Fediverse Ties In With The Web Revival Movement.
The Web Revival movement is primarily based on individuals seeking alternatives to big tech social media. There are some folks who maybe aren’t ready, don’t have the technical knowledge, or simply don’t want to create an entire website of their own, and that’s valid too. Maybe you’re someone who’s just seeking alternative social media solutions to get away from the abuses of big tech, and that is where the Fediverse comes in. The Fediverse is owned by no one, but rather, it is owned by everyone. It can not be bought, and its decentralized nature makes it immune to big tech infiltration as they can never take control of it; they can only control the servers in which they may choose to host.
Things To Watch Out For.
No one is forced to be anywhere that makes them uncomfortable, or put up with abuses of admins we don’t like. However, always make sure to review each server’s rules before you join, as well as make sure the platform is one that is an actual open source Fediverse platform. Any platform can implement that ActivityPub protocol which allows users in the Fediverse to interact, but that does not mean that every platform allows you to leave and transfer your following. So if you care about your online freedom, be sure to stick with platforms that are open source and allow you the freedom to transfer your account and following.
Choosing a Platform and Server to Join.
To help you decide which open source Fediverse platform is right for you, see the list below for more information. Each section also includes links to help you choose the server best suited to your social media preferences.
![Bookmark This Page (Button) | TheCozy.Cat](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/bookmark_this_page.gif)
Mastodon is a free and open-source software for microblogging, and features many similar functions to Twitter. You can find a full list of their features here.
•Official Mastodon Promoted Servers
These servers follow the Mastodon Server Covenant and are known to be well moderated more reputable.• ALL Open Mastodon Servers.
Do be mindful of the servers/instances you join from this list. Remember, ANYONE can host a server, and not all servers are well moderated. This means some some server hosts may allow offensive and even disturbing content. If you’re pro-freedom of speech/anti-censorship oriented, you will find a lot more communities supporting this outside of Mastodon’s official promoted servers list. Be sure to look over the rules/guidelines of any server you consider joining before you join.
Pixelfed
Pixelfed boasts tons of features similar to Instagram, as well as some that are exclusive to its platform. It includes: album posts, direct messaging, likes, comments, filters, stories, and more! You can find a full list of their features here.
• Official Pixelfed Endorsed Servers
These servers are endorsed by the developers of Pixelfed. Official endorsed servers tend to be active, moderated and more reputable.
• ALL Open Pixelfed Servers
Do be mindful of the servers/instances you join from this list. Remember, ANYONE can host a server, and not all servers are well moderated. This means some some server hosts may allow offensive and even disturbing content. If you’re pro-freedom of speech/anti-censorship oriented, you will find a lot more communities supporting this outside of PIxelfed’s official promoted servers list. Be sure to look over the rules/guidelines of any server you consider joining before you join.
Friendica
Friendica is a social network that features many of the beloved features found on the Facebook platform, plus more. You can find a full detailed list of their features here.
• Official Friendica Endorsed Servers
This list features the most active and reliable Friendica servers.
• ALL Open Friendica Servers
Do be mindful of the servers/instances you join from this list. Remember, ANYONE can host a server, and not all servers are well moderated. This means some some server hosts may allow offensive and even disturbing content. If you’re pro-freedom of speech/anti-censorship oriented, you will find a lot more communities supporting this outside of Friendica’s official promoted servers list. Be sure to look over the rules/guidelines of any server you consider joining before you join.
Peertube
Peertube is a tool for sharing online videos developed by Framasoft, a french non-profit. It is ethical, open source, and not subject to the monopoly of any company. With PeerTube, no more opaque algorithms or obscure moderation policies! PeerTube platforms you visit are built, managed and moderated by their owners. You can find a detailed list of their features and FAQ here.
• Official Peertube Endorsed Servers
These servers are endorsed by Peertube’s developers. Official endorsed servers tend to be active, moderated and more reputable.
• ALL Open Peertube Server
Do be mindful of the servers/instances you join from this list. Remember, ANYONE can host a server, and not all servers are well moderated. This means some some server hosts may allow offensive and even disturbing content. If you’re pro-freedom of speech/anti-censorship oriented, you will find a lot more communities supporting this outside of Peertube’s official promoted servers list. Be sure to look over the rules/guidelines of any server you consider joining before you join.
This section is still under construction – check back later for more!
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![What Is The Fediverse - Page 4 | TheCozy.Cat](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Page-4-Fediverse.png-e1701538941404-768x1216.png)
Still have questions? I know this concept of social media may feel confusing if you’re discovering it for the first time. It took me awhile to understand it as well as it is quite a different system from the social media platforms we’re all used to. If you’re intrigued but still don’t quite get it or have questions, feel free to shoot me a message and I’d be happy to help!
Web Revival: Getting Started
Getting Clear On Your Intentions.
![Web Revival | TheCozy.Cat](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/pexels-photo-3817672-e1702857659914.webp)
Before getting started, it’s important to get clear on what you want out of this movement. What has drawn you here in the first place? Are you looking to get away from big tech platforms? Are you wanting to create an online homestead free of limitations where you can creatively express yourself? Are you unhappy with the status quo of social media? Do you want a space free from censorship? There could be many reasons why you feel drawn here, whether it be just wanting to have a creative space of your own, or feeling some level of dissatisfaction with what the web has turned into. Regardless of the motive, I think you will come to find the journey into this movement a very rewarding one, both creatively and liberating!
The reason it is important to get clear on what has drawn you to this movement, is because there are different mediums of creativity, self expression, and liberation in this movement. Not everyone has the time, patience, energy, or even wants to create an entire website such as this one, while some of you probably do! Some of you will just want alternatives to big tech social media, and to those people, I highly recommend checking out the “What’s the Fediverse?” tab at the top of this page; from there you can choose a social media platform that is most suited to what you are looking for!
For those of you who DO want to have a creative web space (or online homestead) of your very own, keep reading because I’m going to equip you with everything you need to get started!
Web Building for Beginners
![Web Revival | TheCozy.Cat](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/pexels-photo-4050359-768x512.jpeg)
So you’ve decided to dive into the world of web weaving for the first time and don’t know where to start. This section is designed to hopefully answer all of your questions and get you started.
Before diving in, know that with all new things, there will be a learning curve. There are a lot of great and easy options available for beginners, but Rome also wasn’t built in a day. I want you to shift into the mindset now to be ready to learn, don’t rush the process, don’t get frustrated if you don’t understand everything right away. The more time and energy you put into it, the more comfortable you will ultimately become. So be patient with yourself, enjoy the process of learning, creating and start building a vision of the kind of space you want to create!
Some of you might already be familiar with HTML, and if you are, you can head over to the ‘Basic HTML Knowledge’ tab.
If you’re not familiar with HTML at all, then please see the ‘No HTML Knowledge’ tab to get started.
Once you are finished reading the tab that’s applicable to your technical level, be sure to proceed to the Resources tab at the top of this page.
If you are unfamiliar with HTML and CSS, the following web creation tools are for you!
► MMM (FREE with upgrade options)
MMM Is a free, creative drag-and-drop builder with the idea in mind to make your website like your digital canvas! No coding knowledge is required, it is extremely easy and intuitive. So have fun exploring and experimenting with your projects!
While the free version is limited, I think it offers as much as is needed for absolute beginners. Give it a try, dabble with it a bit, and if you decide you want even more out of it, their upgrade options are cheaper than a Starbucks frap.
For a live example of a webpage created using MMM, see my sample page here.
► HotGlue (FREE)
► WordPress (FREE, but requires hosting)
WordPress is one of the most popular website creation tools out there, and best of all, it’s FREE and open source! You don’t need to know any coding in order to have a WordPress website, though, if you know even very basic html or CSS, you can create a site similar to mine! There are great free and paid plugins that can add functionality to your website as well and help you along the creative process, such as Elementor’s drag and drop page builder, and Yellow Pencil for easily editing CSS if you have some technical knowledge. The dashboard can be a bit intimidating as a beginner, but after a bit of tinkering and getting to know the space, it becomes second nature.
While WordPress itself IS free, you will need to purchase hosting in order to get it online so people can see it. I am an affiliate with Hostinger and have been using them for several years. Their hosting is cheap, reliable, has an automatic self installation for WordPress, and they have the best customer service I have ever come across in a Hosting company. I’ve been hosting with them for nearly half a decade and customer service always goes above and beyond for me, so if you’re a total beginner, I highly recommend them as well because customer support will be more than happy to provide guidance if you need it on your web building journey. To get started with Hostinger, click here.
There are also two different versions of WordPress. The one I am recommending is WordPress.org, NOT WordPress.com. WordPress.org does have a bit of a learning curve, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn, it is free. WordPress.com on the other hand is very limited. It is a bit simpler, but you will be paying more money with WordPress.com in the long run for functionality than you would if you simply chose to get a cheap hosting provider.
If you’d like to get started with WordPress on Hostinger, I recommend first watching this video to walk you through the hosting setup process, and then watch this video after to get comfortable with the WordPress dashboard and its features.
Fun fact, this website was created using WordPress – just to give you some ideas of the power and capabilities WordPress has to offer.
If you are familiar with HTML and CSS, the following web creation tools are for you!
► WordPress (FREE, but requires hosting)
WordPress is one of the most popular website creation tools out there, and best of all, it’s FREE and open source! You don’t need to know any coding in order to have a WordPress website, though, if you know even very basic html or CSS, you can create a site similar to mine! There are great free and paid plugins that can add functionality to your website as well and help you along the creative process, such as Elementor’s drag and drop page builder, and Yellow Pencil for easily editing CSS if you have some technical knowledge. The dashboard can be a bit intimidating as a beginner, but after a bit of tinkering and getting to know the space, it becomes second nature.
While WordPress itself IS free, you will need to purchase hosting in order to get it online so people can see it. I am an affiliate with Hostinger and have been using them for several years. Their hosting is cheap, reliable, has an automatic self installation for WordPress, and they have the best customer service I have ever come across in a Hosting company. I’ve been hosting with them for nearly half a decade and customer service always goes above and beyond for me, so if you’re a total beginner, I highly recommend them as well because customer support will be more than happy to provide guidance if you need it on your web building journey. To get started with Hostinger, click here.
There are also two different versions of WordPress. The one I am recommending is WordPress.org, NOT WordPress.com. WordPress.org does have a bit of a learning curve, but if you are willing to put in the time and effort to learn, it is free. WordPress.com on the other hand is very limited. It is a bit simpler, but you will be paying more money with WordPress.com in the long run for functionality than you would if you simply chose to get a cheap hosting provider.
If you’d like to get started with WordPress on Hostinger, I recommend first watching this video to walk you through the hosting setup process, and then watch this video after to get comfortable with the WordPress dashboard and its features.
► Neocities (FREE with upgrade options)
Neocities is a social network of 627,600 web sites that are bringing back the lost individual creativity of the web. They offer free static web hosting and tools that allow you to create your own web site. With Neocities, you do not need to pay for web hosting or a domain name. So long as you know how to code, you can dive right in to creating your online space right away. Neocities is one of the leading website creation tools for this movement, as it encourages freedom of expression, is open source, and doesn’t pander to advertisers. It also has built-in community features that allow people to easily follow and interact with other website creators using Neocities.
► Leprd (FREE with upgrade options)
Leprd is a small free web hosting service launched in November 2016, specifically aimed towards hobby websites! They provide an online presence to people who just want to have fun. While they don’t seem to have documentation for getting started, if you’re familiar with FTP and HTML/CSS coding, it should be pretty straight forward for you to get started with them! They also have an FAQ which you can check out here.
► Teacake (FREE with upgrade options)
Teacake Hosting is a small and affordable hosting service primarily focused on providing web space for personal and hobby-focused sites. There are a plenty of web hosting providers around—and all very competitive—but this is for those who just want a small site for their personal lives or their interests.
► Ichi (FREE)
Ichi is a tiny internet community where people can create their homepages for free. These pages are listed on Ichi’s index, allowing everyone to explore, discover, and engage with one another. For more information on getting started with Ichi, visit their Help Guide!
► Codeberg Pages (FREE)
Host static websites with Codeberg Pages! It’s quick, easy, free & fast – just put your open source project’s homepage, developer blog or web experiment into a Git repository at Codeberg, and they’ll do the rest. For more information on how to use Codeberg, visit their documentation guide.
► Github Pages (FREE)
Build your own site from scratch or generate one for your project. GitHub Pages is a static site hosting service that takes HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files straight from a repository on GitHub, optionally runs the files through a build process, and publishes a website. For more information on how to use Github, visit their documentation guide.
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Make It Yours – Ignore The Haters.
![Web Revival | TheCozy.Cat](https://town.thecozy.cat/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/pexels-photo-3894557.jpeg)
The last piece of advice I will leave all newcomers whom are entering this movement, is don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t create or share on your own website. As with anything else, you will stumble across gatekeepers in this movement, you will encounter people who believe you need to adhere to a certain set of rules, beliefs, and behaviors in order to be part of this movement. I am here to tell you to throw all of that garbage in the trash where it belongs. Ignore those people. The only things that matter in this movement is that your web space is truly a creative expression of yourself, and that money is not the goal. You can include elements on your site that can make you money, sure, but your site needs to be personal in nature – not a business. No one has the right to tell you what you can or can’t put on your own website, or gatekeep this community and movement based on differences in ideologies. Can’t find a space in which you fit? Create one. I guarantee there are others like you who are looking for the same thing. If you make it, they will come.
In every community, you will find groups who like to gatekeep and try to control others to be a certain way in order to participate. So don’t ever get discouraged by those people. Do what you want, create what you want. Be the creator you were destined to be, and people who are similar will naturally gravitate towards you over time.
And with that, I wish you good luck! If you have any questions at all about web building, feel free to shoot me a message and if I get enough questions I’ll make an FAQ for this page.