Mission and Values

Recently, Ben Werdmuller wrote a pair of articles discussing how he would approach working as something like the head of product for Bluesky and Mastodon. They're worth a read, if that's something that interests you. If you're reading this, I assume it interests you. In both cases, he spends some time discussing each project's respective mission statement. He makes the point that, if that kind of thing is well done, it can provide a useful framework to guide the development on a product. It can help to explain what an application is, what it isn't, and what it's striving to become. So in that light, let's do the same for Letterbook.

Mission

Letterbook's mission is to create and sustain a safe, robust, and self-determined social web. We are social creatures. We tell stories and sing songs. We make up jokes, and plumb the mysteries of the universe. We make art and necessities, and we trade them between each other. We built a world spanning network of computers to let us talk to each other further and faster. And then we let private capital take control of it, lock up all of our relationships, and rent them back to us laden with ads. But it doesn't have to be that way.

On the web, we can create our own networks. We don't need permission. We can build our own communities, to meet our particular needs. And we can build bridges between those communities to have our connections from almost anywhere. That's what the fediverse is. Running our own networks means we're also responsible for those networks. Unfortunately, that can be complicated, expensive, and a lot of work. That has put limits on how many people will ultimately join and use those networks. But it can be better than it is.

Vision

Social media is necessarily complex. Letterbook should help you navigate that complexity. It should be approachable. It should guide and support you to make educated choices. And it should allow you to self-organize with your chosen community, at any scale, and without giving up your agency.

Letterbook aims to give people the tools they need to grow and thrive. Communities can create safer social spaces. Individuals can manage their own experience. Server staff can support themselves financially. And new members can have an easier time joining the network and making connections in the first place.

Values

This is all informed by our values. One of the first things we did as a project was to have a discussion to figure out what those were. They're documented as part of our code of conduct. But that's mostly about contributing to the project. That's about how we'll build it. But it also shapes what we build. This is how I think about what we'll build.

Self Determination

People should be empowered to make their own choices and supported in meeting their own needs. They should be able to make educated decisions, and "no" is a valid choice.

Human Communication

People will use Letterbook to connect with each other. It's an open social communication tool. People will sometimes talk about important and sensitive things on Letterbook instances. It should support them to do that safely, securely, and privately.

Safety and Inclusion

The fediverse has been a refuge for a lot of people. Particularly queer and neurodiverse people, especially with left-y political leanings or working in computing jobs. But it's also been a vector of harassment and abuse for other people. Specifically, Black people. That's not acceptable. Letterbook can't end racism, but it can set a better example. It can also give people better tools to protect themselves and their communities, and fix the designs that let harassment go unseen.