__        ___   _    _  _____   ___ ____    ____   ___  ____ _____  __        _______ ____ ___ 
      \ \      / / | | |  / \|_   _| |_ _/ ___|  |  _ \ / _ \/ ___|_   _| \ \      / / ____| __ )__ \
       \ \ /\ / /| |_| | / _ \ | |    | |\___ \  | |_) | | | \___ \ | |____\ \ /\ / /|  _| |  _ \ / /
        \ V  V / |  _  |/ ___ \| |    | | ___) | |  __/| |_| |___) || |_____\ V  V / | |___| |_) |_| 
         \_/\_/  |_| |_/_/   \_\_|   |___|____/  |_|    \___/|____/ |_|      \_/\_/  |_____|____/(_) 
                                                                                    
    

Post-Web is an emerging ecosystem agnostic, research-oriented movement for the future of internet connectivity that prioritizes local-first, peer-to-peer, private, resilient, and interoperable networks. Privacy and individual sovereignty over personal data are paramount. Additionally, we anticipate the use of multiple cryptocurrencies through a heterogeneous, privacy-preserving financial transport layer.

This endeavor will take the form of a decentralized systems engineering experiment, drawing upon open knowledge and community-driven research as the core of its sensemaking process. To guide this research and provide a framework for analyzing projects and protocols, we have identified:

1. Privacy & Security: Privacy is upheld by minimizing unwanted exposure of data and metadata for individuals and organizations alike, ensuring end-to-end security. There are fine-grained information and data disclosure capabilities, with the ability to control what, where, when, and to whom, information is disclosed. Financial transactions are private by default. Remote services handle only encrypted content without access to sensitive details, such as user location.


2. Local-First: Protocols and applications implement local-first data access, when feasible, enabling offline and asynchronous information access, especially for essential services such as communications and knowledge networks. Users can search and discover information on their devices, within their communities and groups, as well as globally via privacy-preserving protocols that are connected from the bottom up and interoperable. Focus on designing robust tools effective in real-world, local contexts before considering global standards and remote services.


3. Autonomous Identities: Organizations, individuals, and non-human agents alike can exercise full control over their identities and associated data. Context-dependent pseudonymous cryptographic systems are employed to establish privacy-preserving relationships without relying on biometric data or other personally identifiable information. While it is difficult to design a unified identity system, standards are in place to facilitate interoperability and portability across various identity systems.


4. Organizational Rights Portability: Organizations are recognized as unique digital entities that leverage interoperable permission models for encoding organizational structures, roles, and access rights, to enable efficient interactions and portable user rights across ecosystems of applications used by an organization. This emphasizes organizational agency, where interconnected digital ecosystems are fostered, enabling organizations to adapt, self-regulate, and thrive within a network ecology.


5. Resilience: Adaptive synchronization protocols with built-in fault tolerance and recovery mechanisms, will ensure connectivity even in the face of attacks and network disruptions. Additionally, protocols are scalable, capable of adapting to growing user bases and network demands, ensuring consistent performance. Protocols are designed to use resources efficiently, minimizing overhead and maximizing throughput.


6. Pluralistic Interoperability: A diverse ecosystem of protocols, applications, and tools developed by various teams is essential. There is not one common programming language nor one common software stack, hence the use and exchange of multiple cryptocurrencies and data formats is facilitated by ensuring interoperability through common protocols, data formats, or transport layers. Community-driven funding and decision-making processes, which distribute power across diverse stakeholders and jurisdictions, is expected for the protocol commons, thereby enhancing the system’s resilience and adaptability to evolving needs and priorities.

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