Why Org Social when you can use... anything?

It is a good question. There are a lot of popular social networks like X/Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or nerd networks like Nostr, Twtxt, Matrix, etc. So why would anyone want to use a niche social network like Org Social?

Well, I have a few reasons:

1. It is more similar to Git: The entire system works with interconnected Org files. Your posts will be on your hard drive. Ok, you can export your data from Mastodon or Bluesky, but only if the servers are working. Org Social can work offline and sync when you are online (like Git).

2. You edit your posts with any text editor: You can use Emacs, Vim, VSCode, or any text editor you want.

3. Upload your file anywhere: You can upload your org file to any server you want. You can use Apache, Nginx, GitHub, GitLab, Cloudflare, Dropbox, or any other server or service you want.

4. Without signup: You don't need to create an account to use Org Social. You can just upload your org file and start posting.

5. Rich formatting: Org mode is a powerful markup language that allows you to create rich content with ease. You can add dynamic tables, images, executable code, and more.

6. You decide how much you want to interact: You can choose to follow people and read, write, or interact with the community. The more you want to do, the more or fewer tools you will need (HTTP Server, client, and/or Relay).

7. Unifies good ideas: The relay system is inspired by Nostr, the best syntax of Emacs (Org mode), plain text files of Twtxt, and the federated system of Mastodon (groups).

8. Integration with Emacs: If you are an Emacs user, Org Social integrates seamlessly with your workflow.

If Emacs is niche, Org Social is a niche within a niche. It does not seek to be popular, but rather hackable and well integrated with Emacs. It aims to be part of the daily workflow—a space to talk to people with similar interests. Perhaps an alternative to RSS, IRC channels, a social network, or a toy. But it will always be a tool for talking to the Emacs community and an extension of Org Mode to encourage imagination.

ssh customer@andros.dev -p 5555