web

this is not a platform (or service, product, ...).

this is template for self-hosting a personal social website, made to be as easy as possible, and rely on as few external services/platforms as possible.

requirements

domain name (~£10/year from most providers)
computer capable of running docker
internet connection
IPv6 support from your ISP (to bypass NAT and CGNAT complexity)

non-requirements

static IP (WAN or LAN). instead we use dynamic DNS via ddclient. this avoids having to talk to your ISP or configure your router.
wired internet connection
desktop/server form factor (laptop is fine)

this is so that it can be hosted on a windows/mac/linux wifi-connected laptop, which is pretty common and accessible.

why?

small marginal cost of the requirements, most people will already have access to them
when the advertising-based internet collapses, we should have an alternative ready
to allow and encourage a more homebrew, creative, and flexible web to flourish
accessible in cost and complexity
decentralisation means not relying on google/facebook/twitter, or linode/digitalocean/ovh/hetzner
why is relying on your domain name registrar better than blockchain decentralisation? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_xWvX1n9g
why is this better than activitypub/mastodon? maybe because it's self-host-or-bust, rather than relying on federated hosting

quickstart

register your domain name (namecheap seems to work well for this)
edit avagordon.name in docker-compose.yml to your domain name
install docker
docker compose up -d
edit ddclient/ddclient.conf to put in your domain name and dynamic DNS password from your domain registrar

content

modify the files in ./swag/www/, and/or put other .html, .css, .js files in there too.

your main page should be called index.html

legal and moderation

everything is owned, hosted, and/or registered by the individual. so they are responsible for the legality of the hosted content.