i love the idea of hosting sites as part of a ring, but i don’t love the idea of having to add my full name and address in the about section, which i’d be legally required to do… i think that’s part of the issue for some people at least.
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meejle@lemmy.world 21 hours agoI think it’ll happen, but I don’t think it’s happening yet.
The unease is already there (“the internet used to be a place”/“why isn’t the internet fun any more?” sentiments and #OldWeb #SlowWeb hashtags), but I don’t think people are ready to do anything about it.
I’m only one guy, with a small internet following, but I recently had a go at launching a small “Gaymers” webring (well, a simplified version of one). I promoted it on my socials, I laid out why I think it’s a good idea, I paid to “Blaze” it on Tumblr – I even emailed some like-minded creators directly.
I rewrote the webpage multiple times, to try to make it more persuasive and more concise. I added a contact form in case people felt uncomfortable emailing me. I loosened the rules to allow commercial websites, as long as they were still independent. I worked hard on the widget and incorporated feedback (made it respect prefers-reduced-motion and made a static version for sites where animation would feel out of place).
I got some good feedback; lots of people said it was interesting, and a good idea. But literally no one joined or expressed any interest in joining. 🤷♂️
I’m going to have one more go at promoting it next time I’ve got money to spare, but I’ll most likely end up quietly deleting it along with any evidence it existed, because a webring of one is fucking embarrassing. 💀
I guess if you build it, they will not necessarily come lmao
TerHu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 hours ago
mesamunefire@piefed.social 21 hours ago
Where are you seeing that? I only see email address.
Jesus_666@lemmy.world 18 hours ago
“Legally required”, so they’re seeing it in the local laws. Some countries require websites to disclose who operates them.
For example, in Germany, websites are subject to the DDG (Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz, “digital services law”). Under this law they are subject to the same disclosure requirements as print media. At a minimum, this includes the full name, address, and email address. Website updated by companies or for certain purposes can need much more stuff in there.
Your website must have a complete imprint that can easily and obviously be reached from any part of the website and is explicitly called “imprint”.
These rules are meaningless to someone hosting a website in Kenya, Australia, or Canada. But if you run a website in Germany you’d better familiarize yourself with them.
TerHu@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 hours ago
this^ thanks for explaining it so well :D
MagicShel@lemmy.zip 20 hours ago
I’ve been thinking about something like this but I’m not gay or really much of a gamer any more, so… different webrings I guess.
jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 18 hours ago
I love this idea. Do you mind if I promote it with some queer folks I know?
Myself I’m pretty straight and don’t have a website, but maybe one day.
meejle@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
I’d love it if you did that! Thanks!
mesamunefire@piefed.social 21 hours ago
You may have more luck with neocities and their sites. Lots of webrings around there and a lot of people having fun.