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 | 2023-10-12 | Page 41 | Updated Gant Chart |
 | 2023-10-12 | Page 3 | Added Open Source, Open Standards, Open Dependencies |
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 | 2025-05-xx | Page x | See https://git.fediversity.eu/kiara/fedi-goals/commits/branch/main |
 # Preamble
-Let's make the internet once again the safe and collaborative, thus federated, space that it originally promised to be.
+Let's make the internet once again a place where innovation empowers people and organisations while respecting their autonomy.
-Fediversity is part of the future of open collaboration and open discussion, forming a federated safe space for what used to be called social networking.
+Fediversity offers portable open-source managed applications for online services, bridging gaps between their use, development, setup, integration and systems administration.
-The Fediverse, funded by the NGI program as an implementation of such a federated space, is already taking shape and approaching ten million users.
+The project will lay the groundwork for this in the form of documented reproducible deployment configurations.
-It has special safeguards for marginalized and oppressed groups in our global society.
+This way we make it easier to run public infrastructure, especially in contrast to existing centralised solutions owned by Big Tech.
 This NGI technology is mature enough to be joined by older institutions and organizations, many tech-savvy media outlets and public institutions have already joined[^1].
 But for wider adoption the Fediverse needs to be supported by dedicated and knowledgeable support organisations, for which this project will lay the groundwork in the form of reproducible deployment configurations, how-to documents, cookbooks, playbooks and descriptions of success stories.
 Not only will we create a complete script for support organisations that want to host Fediverse services and other open discussion tools on how to deploy them on their infrastructure, we will also onboard several public organisations that want to use these services to show-case, and to gain and document experience on do's and don'ts.
 After all, public communication infrastructure, even though very practical, isn't easy to do and this project is accordingly about creating a simple to use, very practical and safe environment to communicate, assembling various powerful components that NGI and others have built into unified end-to-end services.
 This is where we can make a difference, especially in contrast to existing centralized solutions owned by Big Tech.
 ## Open Source, Open Standards, Open Dependencies
@ -46,104 +41,46 @@ No software specific for or usable by any single organisation will be created or
 ### Objectives
-*Fediversity: Privacy-friendly, sustainable, transparent fair.* The Open Internet Discourse Foundation project Fediversity is an effort to bring easy-to-use, hosted cloud services with personal freedom at their core to individuals and institutions.
+*Fediversity: Privacy-friendly, sustainable, transparent fair.*
 The Open Internet Discourse Foundation project Fediversity is an effort to bring individuals and institutions easy-to-use, portable digital services with personal freedom at their core.
 We want to provide everyone with high-quality, secure IT systems for everyday use.
 Without tracking, without exploitation, in a way that makes sustainable use of the world.
-The goal of this project is to have a major impact on the future of the internet, our societies and economies — a unique and meaningful contribution to the *Next Generation Internet* initiative:
+The goal of this project is to have a major impact on the future of the internet, our societies and economies — a unique and meaningful contribution to the *Next Generation Internet* initiative,
 offering an **alternative to big tech services and companies that operate closed ecosystems**.
 This objective aligns with the work programme topic by advancing the development of alternative digital solutions that are more user-centric and transparent.
-The proposed work aims to generate new business opportunities by **hosting open social platforms for public organizations and educational institutions.
+Concretely, we aim to achieve this using the following sub-goals:
 By offering a package of ActivityPub services** that emphasize on user control and privacy.
 The project aims to provide hosting organizations with a clear roadmap to implement and monetize those offerings and aims to attract both public and educational institutions as potential users.
 The main objective is to offer an **alternative to big tech services and companies that operate closed ecosystems**[^2], thereby creating a safe social network (open internet discourse) where end-users have control over the content they share.
-ActivityPub is a protocol that enables interoperability between different social media platforms, allowing users to connect and communicate across different networks.
+1.  Implement a way to run online services in a way that emphasises user autonomy and portability;
-It is the de-facto standard for interoperable social media and even some of the big social media platforms are starting to adopt it as well[^3].
+1.  Disseminate our results by engaging the open-source community to further expand on work in this direction.
-By building services based on this protocol, our project aims to promote decentralization and data portability, which are key principles of the NGI programme.
+1.  Exploit our work by facilitating the sample use-case of web hosting organisations using an initial set of services;
-This objective aligns with the work programme topic by promoting innovation in the area of open social platforms and advancing the development of alternative digital solutions that are more user-centric and transparent.
+In addition, the team will have to find ways to ensure that all parts of our services use **open-source software**.
 To achieve this objective, our project will need to work on several fronts.
 First,we will need to develop a way to deliver the software that implements the ActivityPub protocol and provides users with a social media platform that is easy to use and accessible.
 We need to do this in a predictable and sustainable way.
 This will require expertise in software development and system administration, user experience design, and user engagement.
 Second, we will need to build partnerships with organizations and institutions that can help promote the use of those services.
 This will require outreach and engagement strategies that are tailored to different sectors and demographics.
 Another objective of the proposed work is to offer a **federated approach to social media and communication**.
 This increases privacy because we prioritize user privacy by giving users control over their own data.
 Users can choose to use different servers based on their own privacy preferences, and can even run their own servers if they wish to.
 This means that the proposed Activity-Pub services will be designed to allow users to interact with each other across different platforms and services, creating a more **decentralized and connected online environment**.
 This objective is important as it promotes a more open and democratic approach to social media and communication that is not reliant on a few dominant platforms.
 In addition, the team will have to find ways to ensure that all parts of our services use** open-source software (and hardware where possible)**.
 This will promote transparency and enable end-users to verify that their data is being handled ethically and in compliance with data privacy regulations.
-It also contains Freedom.
+Use of open-source software also gives users the freedom to use, modify, and distribute the software as they see fit, without restrictions or limitations.
 Open source software is by definition accompanied by open source licenses, which give users the freedom to use, modify, and distribute the software as they see fit, without restrictions or limitations.
-On the point of **open hardware: **even though we would love to do further research on the possibilities of the use of open hardware we already know from our experience in trying to use open hardware in the past that this is a hugely expensive thing to do.
+The proposed services will also be designed to be **fully portable** (something we like to call **'service portability'**).
-One of the main problems here is that initiatives like NixOS currenly only support x64 based architectures.
+This means that users will be able to (easily and fully) switch between different hosting providers (as well as bare metal) without losing their data.
-The use of (for example) OpenPower or RiscV would require a massive investment in basic operating system principles.
+This objective is important as it promotes user control and choice, allowing users to choose a way of offering services that best meets their needs without being locked into a particular platform or service, and gives users the flexibility between hosted versus self-hosted options.
-The proposed ActivityPub services will also be designed to be **fully portable** (something we like to call **'service portability'**).
+#### Relevance
 This means that users will be able to (easily and fully) switch between different hosting providers and platforms without losing their data or online presence.
 This objective is important as it promotes user control and choice, allowing users to choose a way of offering services that best meets their needs without being locked into a particular platform or service and it gives users more flexibility, it being hosted or selfhosted.
 The use of service portability also enhances the security of the data and reducesthe risk of data loss or corruption during a transition from one provider to another.
 Just providing the service won't be enough.
 We need to make sure our proposed services will successfully be adopted via outreach, marketing, partnerships and support.
 A list of objectives related to this topic:
 **Raising awareness about the benefits of decentralized, federated
 social media and communication.**
 The first objective of outreach and marketing efforts should be to educate potential customers about the benefits of decentralized, federated social media and communication.
 This may involve creating marketing materials that explain the advantages of ActivityPub services, such as greater user control, increased privacy, and more diverse online communities.
 **Engaging with potential customers through targeted marketing and
 outreach campaigns.**
 In order to reach potential customers, outreach and marketing efforts should be targeted towards public organizations and educational institutions.
 This may involve creating specific campaigns that address the unique needs and concerns of each group, as well as utilizing social media, email marketing, and other digital marketing channels to reach a wider audience.
 **Developing partnerships and collaborations with relevant organizations
 and influencers.**
 Another objective of outreach and marketing efforts should be to develop partnerships and collaborations with relevant organizations and influencers.
 This may involve partnering with other open-source software providers or industry associations to promote the benefits of federated social media and communication, as well as collaborating with influencers or through leaders in the industry to raise awareness of the proposed ActivityPub services.
 **Providing customer support and training to ensure successful adoption.**
 Once potential customers have expressed interest in the proposed ActivityPub services, it will be important to provide them with customer support and training to ensure successful adoption.
 This may involve offering onboarding sessions, providing technical support, and creating training materials that help users understand how to use the ActivityPub services effectively.
 **Monitoring and evaluating adoption rates and customer satisfaction.**
 Finally, it will be important to monitor and evaluate adoption rates and customer satisfaction with the proposed ActivityPub services.
 This may involve tracking user engagement, conducting customer satisfaction surveys, and analyzing feedback to identify areas for improvement and ensure ongoing success.
 **Relevancy**
 Overall, this proposal is highly relevant to the HORIZON EU Programme, specifically to the Human-centric Internet topic.
 The objective of this topic is to support research and innovation in creating a more human-centric internet that prioritises user privacy, security, and control, while also promoting the ethical use of technology.
-The proposed work aligns with this objective by promoting a federated approach to social media that prioritizes user control and privacy, and by using open-source software and hardware to promote transparency and ethical use.
+The proposed work aligns with this objective by show-casing a way to run digital services that prioritises user control and privacy, and by using open-source software and hardware to promote transparency and ethical use.
 #### Measurability
 Measuring the success of this objective will depend on several metrics, such as the number of organisations and institutions that adopt our work directly or indirectly, and its impact within the open-source community.
 Verifying the success of this objective will require user/developer feedback, engagement metrics, and independent audits to ensure that our services are meeting the highest standards of privacy and security.
 The proposed work is realistically achievable.
-The use of open-source software and hardware, along with the focus on portability, will enable the proposed ActivityPub services to be easily adopted by our target audiences.
+The use of open-source software, along with the focus on portability, will enable the proposed services to be easily adopted by our target audiences.
 The proposed federated approach to social media and communication aligns with the growing demand for decentralized and user-controlled alternatives to traditional social media platforms.
 ### Ambition
 **Decentralized, federated social media and communication:**
 Our proposed project focuses on developing ActivityPub services for decentralized, federated social media and communication.
 Although some decentralized social media platforms already exist, they are often not interoperable and not widely deployed.
 Our project aims to provide a comprehensive set of ActivityPub services that makes it easy for hosting companies and public organizations to adopt and use decentralized social media and communication tools.
 This is a new concept that goes beyond the state-of-the-art in terms of offering a complete and easy-to-use package of services for decentralized, federated social media and communication.
 The proposed project aims to provide open social platforms that are an alternative to closed ecosystems (such as Twitter and Facebook) offered by large tech companies.
 This is an ambitious goal because it requires a significant shift in how people use and access social media.
 **Use of open-source software and hardware:**
 Another innovative aspect of our proposed project is the extensive use of open-source software and hardware.
 While open-source software is becoming more common, the use of open-source hardware is less common in the tech industry.
 (Our project aims to promote the use of open-source hardware and provide a model for others to follow in this regard.) This is an ambitious goal that demonstrates a commitment to the principles of openness and transparency.
 #### Portability of services
 The project plans to offer portability of services, allowing users to easily export their data from the platform and import it to another platform.
@ -151,35 +88,34 @@ This is a unique feature beyond what is currently available on the market.
 ## Methodology
-For the software development side of things (developing the ActivityPub packages to provide the corresponding services like Mastodon in an easy fashion), we will use the Agile methodology.
+For the software development side of things, the project will use 'iterative development', which means the development process is a cycle, where we go back through the steps based on feedback and challenges that present themselves along the way.
 The main takeaway here is 'iterative development', which means the development process is a cycle, where we go back through the steps based on feedback and challenges that present themselves along the way.
 1.  **Planning:**
-    During the planning phase, the team will identify the key features and requirements of the ActivityPub service packages.
+    During the planning phase, the team will identify the key features and requirements of the service packages.
    This will involve collaborating with stakeholders and users to understand their needs and expectations.
    The team will then create a prioritised list of features and user stories, which will form the basis of the development plan.
 1.  **Designing:**
    In the designing phase, the team will create the overall architecture and design of the software.
-    This will involve defining the various components of the ActivityPub service packages, such as the user interface, database schema, and application programming interfaces (APIs). The team will also identify any third-party libraries or tools that would be needed to implement the software.
+    This will involve identifying strategically relevant service packages, including relevant settings, database schemas, and application programming interfaces (APIs).
    The team will also identify any third-party libraries or tools that would be needed to implement the software.
 1.  **Coding:**
    During the coding phase, the team will start implementing the software.
-    The Agile methodology emphasizes on working in short, focused iterations, so the team will break down the development work into small, manageable tasks.
+    Once the software has reached its MVP stage, the development process will involve an initial user to facilitate working in short, user-feedback-driven iterations.
    Each task would be assigned to a team member, who would work on it until it is completed.
 1.  **Testing:**
    The testing phase involves verifying that the software works as expected.
-    The team will develop a suite of automated tests that cover all the key features and scenarios of the ActivityPub service packages.
+    The team will develop a suite of automated tests that cover all the key features and scenarios of the software.
-    This will include unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests. The team will also perform manual testing to ensure that the user experience is smooth and error-free.
+    This will include unit tests, integration tests, and end-to-end tests.
    The team will also perform manual testing to ensure that the user experience is smooth and error-free.
 1.  **Releasing:**
-    The final phase of the Agile methodology is releasing the software to users.
+    The final phase is the release to users.
-    The team will deploy the ActivityPub service packages to a production environment, and monitor its performance and user feedback.
+    The team will work on documenting usage of the software, and facilitate initial users to maintain a feedback loop.
-    The team will then use this feedback to inform further iterations of the software, and prioritize the next set of features and improvements.
+    The team will then use this feedback to inform further iterations of the software, and prioritise the next set of features and improvements.
-In the context of building partnerships, mainly with public organisations and NRENs, we will apply Design Thinking as a methodology.
+In the context of building partnerships with hosting organisations, we will apply Design Thinking as a methodology.
 Design Thinking is a user-centered, iterative methodology that is used to solve complex problems and create innovative solutions.
 It involves a five-step process that includes empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing.
-The following is an overview of how Design Thinking can be applied to build partnerships with public organizations and research and educational institutions:
+The following is an overview of how Design Thinking can be applied to build partnerships:
 1.  **Empathy:**
    The first step in the Design Thinking process is to understand the needs, goals, and challenges of the target partners.
@ -199,27 +135,27 @@ The following is an overview of how Design Thinking can be applied to build part
    The final phase of the Design Thinking process involves testing the prototypes with the target partners and gathering feedback.
    This feedback can be used to refine the prototypes and develop a more detailed plan for collaboration.
-To apply Design Thinking to our project, we would start by conducting research and gathering data on the needs, goals, and challenges of public organizations and educational and research institutions that could be potential partners.
+To apply Design Thinking to our project, we would start by conducting research and gathering data on the needs, goals, and challenges of end-users through our potential partners.
 This can involve interviews with key stakeholders, surveys of potential partners, and analysis of existing data sources.
 Using this research, we will then define the problem space and identify areas of mutual interest.
-This will involve creating a problem statement that focuses on meeting the needs of public organizations and educational and research institutions in the area of federated social networking.
+This will involve creating a problem statement that focuses on meeting the needs of users in the area of software services.
 Next, we will generate a wide range of ideas for how we can address the problem statement and meet the needs of potential partners.
 This will involve brainstorming sessions, workshops, and other forms of collaborative ideation with key stakeholders.
-Using the ideas generated in the ideation phase, we will then create low-fidelity prototypes of the most promising ideas.
+Using the ideas generated in the ideation phase, we will then prototype the most promising ideas.
 Finally, we will test the prototypes (alphas, betas of our services) with potential partners and gather feedback.
 This feedback will then be used to refine the prototypes and develop a more detailed plan for collaboration.
-Through this process, we can build strong partnerships with public organizations and research and educational institutions that are based on mutual benefit and shared decision-making.
+Through this process, we can build strong partnerships with hosting organisations based on mutual benefit and shared decision-making.
 Our project is designed to comply with the 'do no significant harm' principle as per Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 2020/852.
 We are committed to ensuring that our methodology is environmentally-friendly and does not significantly harm any of the six environmental objectives of the EU Taxonomy Regulation.
 Regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) based systems, we do not plan to use AI in our project.
 However, if we were to use AI, we would ensure that our systems are technically robust, socially robust, reliable, and able to provide suitable explanations of their decision-making processes.
-We would also follow industry-standard practices and regulations to minimize any unintended harm and safeguard the physical and mental integrity of humans.
+We would also follow industry-standard practices and regulations to minimise any unintended harm and safeguard the physical and mental integrity of humans.
 To make sure we can achieve our project objectives, we have outlined a project management strategy:
@ -238,192 +174,158 @@ To make sure we can achieve our project objectives, we have outlined a project m
 -   Stay flexible:
    We are prepared to adjust the project plan and approach as needed to ensure that objectives are met.
-Integrating NGI technologies, projects and tools into our proposed work can help to leverage existing expertise and resources in the field and build upon the work of other researchers and innovators.
+### Technologies used
 Some examples of NGI technologies and other technologies that will be evaluated to be integrated into our project are the following:
-![](Pictures/mastodon.svg){width="1.2165in" height="1.4055in"}
+#### [NixOS](https://nixos.org/)
-[**Mastodon**](https://joinmastodon.org/):
+NixOS is a Linux distribution with a [vibrant](https://repology.org/repositories/graphs), [reproducible](https://reproducible.nixos.org/) and [security-conscious](https://tracker.security.nixos.org/) ecosystem.
-This federated microblogging platform is already getting tractionas the alternative to the Twitter platform and will most certainly be included in our business development.
+As such, we see NixOS as the only viable way to reliably create a reproducible outcome for all the work we create.
 We aim however to not make this a 'single offering'.
 We want to also include other ActivityPub projects and even other NGI technologies.
 We believe bundling projects as a combined offering is the way to create a solid business case.
-[**Peertube**](https://joinpeertube.org/):
+Considered alternatives include:
-This alternative to Big Tech's video platforms is already getting known, but there is not too much content to be found.
+- containers: do not by themselves offer the needed reproducibility
 We aim to include Peertube in combination with other ActivityPub projects in such a way that makes it easy to start using it.
 Peertube could be a separate 'single offering'.
-![](Pictures/pixelfed.svg){width="1.2071in" height="1.3937in"}
+#### [OpenTofu](https://opentofu.org/)
-[**Pixelfed**](https://pixelfed.org/):
+OpenTofu is the leading open-source framework for infrastructure-as-code.
-This service to quickly and easily share pictures with other people, which could be seen as an alternative to Instagram, needs a good reason to be included in serious environments like research projects.
+This has led it to offer a vibrant ecosystem of 'provider' plugins integrating various programs and services.
-We will have to find out if there are good use cases for this tool in the public sector.
+As such, it can facilitate automated deployment pipelines, including with — relevant to our project — hypervisors and DNS programs.
-[**IRMA/Yivi**](https://nlnet.nl/project/IRMA-made-easy):
+Considered alternatives include:
-We will most certainly use IRMA (soon to be Yivi) as a strong and privacy friendly way to log in to services.
+- Terraform: not open-source
-[**Hubzilla**](https://nlnet.nl/project/Hubzilla):
+#### [Proxmox](https://proxmox.com/)
 We expect Hubzilla to be a better choice than Mastodon in some use cases.
-![](Pictures/lets-connect.svg){width="1.1909in" height="1.3756in"}
+Proxmox is a hypervisor, allowing us to create VMs for our applications while adhering to our goal of preventing lock-in.
 In addition, it has been [packaged for Nix](https://github.com/SaumonNet/proxmox-nixos) as well, simplifying our requirements to users setting up our software.
-[**Let's Connect! VPN**](https://nlnet.nl/project/LetsConnect-P2P):
+Considered alternatives include:
-This open and easy-to-use VPN solution might just provide the fully private environment and extra security for use cases where secrecy is needed that projects designed to be open to the world cannot provide.
+- OpenNebula: seemed less mature
-[**Matrix**](https://matrix.org/):
+#### [Garage](https://garagehq.deuxfleurs.fr/)
 The Matrix protocol and corresponding servers will most certainly be part of the suite of products that will be offered.
-[**Owncast**](https://nlnet.nl/project/Owncast):
+Garage is a distributed object storage service.
-As a companion to Peertube, Owncast might prove very interesting as alternative to Big Tech's streaming solutions, such as Twitch.
+For compatibility with existing clients, it reuses the protocol of Amazon S3.
-[**NixOS**](https://nixos.org/):
+Considered alternatives include:
-We will certainly use NixOS as a basis for all our services.
+- file storage: less centralized for backups
 We see NixOS as the only way to reliably create a reproducible outcome for all the work we create.
-![](Pictures/scion.svg){width="1.2055in"
+#### [PostgreSQL](https://www.postgresql.org/)
 height="1.3925in"}
-[**SCION**](https://nlnet.nl/project/SCION-Swarm/):
+PostgreSQL is a relational database.
-We will try to include the SCION networking features in our offerings, especially since they are in many places already used by universities and research institutions.
+It is used by most of our applications.
-The list above are just examples, we will evaluate more options and try to find added value in the combination of different technologies.
+Considered alternatives include:
 - Sqlite: default option for development in many applications, but less optimized for performance, and less centralized for backups
-Which NGI technologies will eventually be chosen to use, is very much dependant on the value for actual use they provide based on the outcome of our research with the stakeholders.
+#### [Valkey](https://valkey.io/)
 We aim for maximum value to the stakeholders based on the technologies available.
-In **any case we will implement** the following technologies in our offerings:
+Valkey is a key-value store.
-**NixOS** as a foundation, and 'fediverse packages':
+It is an open-source fork of Redis.
 **Mastodon**, **Peertube**, **Pixelfed** and **Matrix**.
-Which other packages we will descide to support will depend in part on the outcome of the 'pilot projects' that will be requested by the NORDUnet members and in part on the packages that will be adressed in the 'subgrant projects' that will be requested in the 'open calls'.
+Considered alternatives include:
-The result of the work in both the hosting and public organisations verticals should be generic enough to support all NGI packages sufficiently documented and packaged in NixOS.
+- Redis: not open-source
-In the pursuit of our objectives to generate new business opportunities in hosting 'Open Social Platforms' and providing a safe social network alternative to large closed ecosystems social media, we recognize the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach.
+#### [OpenSearch](https://opensearch.org/)
 We believe that integrating expertise and methods from different disciplines will be critical in achieving our goals.
-Our team consists of individuals with backgrounds in software development, system administration, data privacy, marketing, and business development.
+OpenSearch offers full-text search, and is used for this in many applications.
-We will also seek the input and collaboration of experts in fields such as social science, media studies, and education.
+It is an open-source fork of ElasticSearch.
-For instance, to make our products easily usable for end-users who typically do not have in-depth knowledge of open-source software, we will need to incorporate user experience design and human-computer interaction principles.
+Considered alternatives include:
-We will also need to work with experts in data privacy and cybersecurity to ensure that our platforms are secure and protect user data.
+- ElasticSearch: not open-source
 In addition, we will collaborate with experts in media and education to ensure that our services are accessible to these groups and meet their needs.
-We will establish cross-functional teams to ensure that all expertise and methods are integrated efficiently.
+#### [PowerDNS](https://github.com/PowerDNS/pdns)
 We will also hold regular meetings and workshops to facilitate communication and collaboration between team members from different disciplines.
-In summary, we believe that integrating expertise and methods from different disciplines will be essential in achieving our objectives of providing a safe social network alternative and generating new business opportunities.
+PowerDNS is a mature DNS server. It further offers an admin front-end.
 We will work closely with experts from various fields to ensure that our platforms meet the needs of end-users and stakeholders, and we will continue to prioritize cross-disciplinary collaboration throughout the project.
-Integrating social sciences and humanities into our project would be essential to ensure that the development of the open social platforms is aligned with ethical and societal considerations.
+Considered alternatives include:
-Specifically, social sciences and humanities expertise could help us understand the potential social and economic impacts of our project, and how we can ensure that the benefits are widely distributed and inclusive.
+- hickory-dns: no front-end
 - core-dns: no front-end
-For example, we will engage social scientists to study user behavior and preferences to ensure that the platforms are user-friendly, accessible, and engaging.
+#### [Authelia](https://github.com/authelia/authelia)
 Humanities experts could help us address ethical issues related to user data privacy, content moderation, and community guidelines.
 Additionally, social sciences expertise could be valuable in developing effective marketing and out-reach strategies to promote the use of our open social platforms.
-To integrate social sciences and humanities into our project, we will establish collaborations with academic institutions or research organizations specialized in these fields.
+Authelia is a single sign-on provider that integrates with LDAP.
 We will also invite social scientists and humanities scholars to participate in project meetings, workshops, and conferences to provide their feedback and insights.
 Furthermore, we will prioritize conducting user studies, surveys, and focus groups to capture feedback from diverse groups of users and stakeholders.
-Gender dimension and global diversity
+Considered alternatives include:
 - KaniDM: does not do proper LDAP
 - Authentik: larger package with focus on many things we do not need
 - Keycloak: larger package with focus on many things we do not need
-To ensure that gender is taken into account in this project, it is important to conduct a gender analysis and to integrate a gender perspective into all aspects of the project, from the design and implementation of the ActivityPub services to the outreach and marketing efforts.
+#### [lldap](https://github.com/lldap/lldap)
 This may involve, for example, ensuring that the platform is accessible and user-friendly for all genders, conducting user research that takes into account the diverse needs and perspectives of different genders, and engaging with organizations and influencers that have a strong focus on gender equality and women's empowerment.
 Some more specific ways we want to ensure that the gender dimension is taken into account for our project:
-1.  **Gender-neutral language:**
+Lldap is a light LDAP server, allowing to centralize user roles across applications.
    We'll ensure that language used in the project materials is gender-inclusive.
    For instance, we'll use "they" instead of "he" or "she" when referring to an unknown person.
    We'll also ensure that titles and descriptions are gender-inclusive.
    For instance, we'll use Mx instead of "Mr" or "Ms" and director instead of "directress" or "director\".
 1.  **Data collection:**
    We'll collect data on gender to help identify any potential gender disparities or biases in the project.
    This can help ensure that the project is inclusive and equitable.
 1.  **Stakeholder engagement:**
    We'll engage with stakeholders, including women's groups, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals and other marginalized communities, to ensure that their perspectives and needs are considered in the project design and implementation.
 1.  **Impact assessment:**
    We'll conduct a gender impact assessment to identify the potential gender disparities and ensure that the project has a positive impact on whichever gender or non-gender people identify as and that the information won't be use to discriminate any gender or non-gender person.
-One of the nice things about using the NGI technologies that make up the Fediverse (i.e. ActivityPub protocol, Mastodon, Peertube et all) is that they have been designed by and are used by groups of people that are typically not welcome in Big Tech offerings due to there gender-diversity.
+Considered alternatives include:
-Queer and Transpeople are very well represented on Mastodon for example.
+- 389 DS: older larger package
-This fact makes the whole project support gender-inclusiveness and global diversity on a higher level.
+- FreeIPA: wrapper around 389 DS
-As a team, we can adopt several open science practices to ensure our project is transparent, reproducible, and accessible.
+### Identified applications
 For instance, we can use open-source tools to develop and share our code, data, and research findings.
 We can also document our work flow and methodology to allow others to reproduce our results.
 Additionally, we can make our project more inclusive by involving a diverse set of contributors, and by considering the gender dimension when designing and implementing our project.
 Overall, open science practices can enhance the quality and impact of our work while promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing with the wider scientific community. Some more specific examples:
-1.  **Open source software:**
+We have identified a number of applications as potentially relevant targets to offer as part of our project, emphasising the value to users' digital autonomy, particularly to make users less dependent online on services by 'Big Tech'.
-    Using open source software for our project allows for transparency and encourages collaboration with other parties.
+To structure our efforts, we have categorized them into three waves, as follows:
    We can use open source tools and libraries for data analysis and other tasks and also contribute to other ongoing open source projects.
 1.  **Code sharing:**
    Sharing our code on open source platforms like GitLab and BitBucket allows others to see and use our code, replicate our results, and build on our work.
    This encourages collaboration, improved code quality, openness and transparency, and reproducibility.
 1.  **Data sharing:**
    Sharing our data can be done through open data platforms like Kaggle or Zenodo.
    This allows others to access our data and use it for their own research.
    It also encourages transparency and reproducibility.
 1.  **Pre-registration:**
    Pre-registering our study or analysis plan in a public repository, such as the Open Science Framework (OSF), can help prevent data dredging and increase the transparency and reproducibility of our work.
 1.  **Open peer review:**
    Sharing our research and inviting feedback from peers can lead to valuable insights and collaboration and that will improve the quality of the end-product.
    We can use open peer review platforms like PeerJ or F1000Research to encourage this.
 1.  **Licensing:**
    Choosing an open source license for our project can ensure that others can use, modify, and distribute your work, while also giving credit to the original author.
    Common open source licenses include the MIT License, Apache License, and GNU General Public License.
-By incorporating these open science practices into our project, we can promote transparency, collaboration, and reproducibility, which can ultimately lead to more impact-full end result.
+- Low-hanging fruit (courtesty of SelfHostBlocks)
    - [Forgejo](https://forgejo.org/)
    - [Nextcloud](https://nextcloud.com/)
    - [Vaultwarden](https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden)
 - Host-oriented
    - [PowerDNS-Admin](https://github.com/PowerDNS-Admin/PowerDNS-Admin)
    - [Stalwart](https://stalw.art/) email server
    - [Matrix](https://www.matrix.org/) chat server [Dendrite](https://element-hq.github.io/dendrite/) + web client [Element](https://element.io/)
 - Socials
    - [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/)
    - [Pixelfed](https://pixelfed.org/)
    - [Peertube](https://joinpeertube.org/)
-Research **data management and management of other research outputs:**
+Note that the list above are just examples, and we will evaluate further options and try to find added value in the combination of different technologies.
-Applicants generating/collecting data and/or other research outputs (except for publications) during the project must provide maximum 1 page on how the data/research outputs will be managed in line with the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), addressing the following (the description should be specific to your project):
+Considerations taking into account in the selection of applications to be implemented include their added value, maturity, security, how well they complement our other applications, support for identity management standards such as OIDC and LDAP, software license, ease of implementation, documentation, strategic relevance in protecting user privacy and autonomy, and the availability of viable alternatives.
-As part of our project, we will be generating and collecting various types of data and research outputs, such as experimental data, images, and numerical data.
+Which other packages we will decide to support will depend further on the packages that will be adressed in the 'subgrant projects' that will be requested in the 'open calls'.
-In order to manage these outputs effectively, we will follow the **FAIR principles**, which promote data that is **Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable.**
+In finalising our initial selection, both with regard to quality-quantity trade-offs as well as relative priority among the identified applications, we will coordinate with relevant stakeholders as the project matures.
-To ensure our data is **Findable**, we will assign each data set a unique and persistent identifier, such as a digital object identifier (DOI).
+Our consideration to limit the initial list of supported applications is to keep focus on our core innovation, as properly adding support for applications involves at least:
 The data will be available and contain information about the creator, date of creation and any associated publications.
 We will also use trusted repositories to store our data, making it easier for others to discover and access.
-To make our data **Accessible**, we will provide open access to our data whenever possible.
+- PoC:
-If there are restrictions on the data, we will clearly explain why and provide provisions for access to restricted data for verification purposes.
+    - compartmentalising state for backups/portability/redundancy
    - migration actions such as rewrites of connections/URLs
    - integration with single sign-on and LDAP for user management (or as a stop-gap, provisioning of initial user)
 - MVP:
    - handling application upgrades
    - creating schemas of (identified relevant) settings
    - documentation
    - security
 - post-MVP:
    - handling backward-incompatible setting interface changes
    - coordinate with end-users to improve the user experience
    - scaling/redundancy
 - if missing first-class Nix support:
    - package for Nix
    - create Nix service module
    - integrate with identified contracts (see SelfHostBlocks)
    - maintain the above on version updates
    - coordinate with upstream developers on immutable-friendly development
-**Interoperability**
+The result of the work in the hosting vertical should be generic enough to support all NGI packages sufficiently documented and packaged in NixOS.
 will be ensured by adhering to standards, formats, and vocabularies for data and metadata.
 This will make it easier for others to understand and clear that they are designed with reuse and interoperability in mind.
-Finally, we will ensure our data is **Reusable**
+### Methodology challenges
 by using appropriate licenses for data sharing and re-use, such as Creative Commons or Open Data Commons licenses.
 We will also make tools, software, and models available to enable others to generate, validate, and interpret our data.
 The data will be well documented with clear descriptions of the data collection methods, data processing steps and any relevant assumptions or limitations.
-Throughout the project, we will assign a person or team responsible for data management and quality assurance, and we will estimate the curation and storage/preservation costs for the data.
+One of the challenges we have identified is ensuring the security and privacy of our users' data, even if we will not collect this directly.
 By following these practices and developing a detailed data management plan (DMP) for making our data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable, we will ensure that our research outputs are of the highest quality and can be widely shared and used by others.
 Methodology challenges
 One of the challenges we have identified is ensuring the security and privacy of our users' data.
 To overcome this challenge, we will use industry-standard open-source encryption methods and regularly update our software and hardware solutions to stay ahead of potential threats.
 We will also need to work with experts in data privacy and cybersecurity to ensure that our software is secure and protect user data.
 A periodic (monthly or bi-monthly) check if all security measures have been taken and if any updates are needed will be held.
 Where and if possible we will automate these checks and integrate them in a 24/7 monitoring system.
-Another challenge is that much of the software we aim to implement is still fairly new and as a result still changes frequently, we will have to keep up with the change and at the same time provide a stable and predictable platform to our users.
+
 Another challenge is that much of the software we aim to implement is still fairly new and as a result still changes frequently.
 In order to deal with this, we will have to keep up with the change and at the same time provide a stable and predictable experience to our users.
 ### Work package interdependancies
 To give a clear view of what interdepencies we expect:
-WP1 Project Management will keep an overview of all other Work Packages.
+1.  Project Management: will keep an overview of all other Work Packages.
-
+1.  Vertical partners: will offer a 'feedback loop' and feed to WP5
-WP2 Vertical:
+1.  Open calls and grant management: will feed back to the verticals and feed to WP5
-hosting will have a 'feedback loop' with WP3 and feed to WP6.
+1.  Enhancement & Usability: will feed back to the verticals and feed to WP5
-
+1.  Outreach & Dissemination
 WP3 Vertical:
 public organisations will have a 'feedback loop' with WP2 and feed to WP6
 WP4 Open calls and grant management will feed back to the verticals and feed to WP6
 WP5 Enhancement & Usability will feed back to the verticals and feed to WP6
 This diagram graphically represents the relations:
@ -433,173 +335,103 @@ This diagram graphically represents the relations:
 ## Project's pathways towards impact
 Describe the unique contribution your project results would make towards (1) the **outcomes**
 specified in this topic, and (2) the **wider impacts**, in the longer term, specified in the respective destinations in the work programme.
 Outcomes:
-   freedom of choice in the tools to use and (possibly) even alter to your own likings, especially in digital human interaction
+-   Freedom of choice in the tools to use and (possibly) even alter to your own liking.
-   more and better general availability of non-centrally managed social public domain
+-   The democratic process (politics in general) not being manipulated by Big Tech (foreign) companies.
 -   a more secure take on open and federated networks by institutions State the target groups that would benefit.
    Even if target groups are mentioned in general terms in the work programme, you should be specific here, breaking target groups into particular interest groups or segments of society relevant to this project.
 Target groups:
-   education institutes keeping control over their own data
+-   Hosting companies looking to offer open-source applications amid the rising interest in alternatives to Big Tech.
-   students given the chance to use open federated communication means and being able to maintain their privacy
+-   Developers looking to expand on the available applications respecting user autonomy.
 -   research organisations keeping control over their own data
 -   public/governmental bodies not being tied in to Big Tech
 -   the democratic process (politics in general) not being manipulated by Big Tech (foreign) companies
 General outcomes
 The outcomes and impacts of your project may:
-   Give a better understanding of how to run, implement and manage federated social networks also in a more formalised structure.
+-   Give a better understanding of how to implement, maintain and run open-source managed applications respecting user autonomy.
-   Give companies and organizations that specialize in running decentralized internet infrastructure a better starting point.
+-   Give companies and organizations that specialize in web hosting a better starting point in offering such applications.
 -   Safer social networks help prevent mental distress, take away the paranoia that comes with the panopticum feeling you get with centrally managed Big Tech infrastructure.
    These effects lower the risk of assault due to minority targeting and prevent suicide and mental health problems.
 Technological outcomes
-   Development of a user-friendly, open source social media platform based on the ActivityPub protocol, with features that prioritize user control, privacy, and data portability.
+-   An increase in solutions around autonomous managed applications as well as in number of software packages supported by such solutions.
-   Creation of tools and plugins that enable seamless integration with existing social media platforms and applications, facilitating the adoption of the federated approach.
+-   Increased engagement with and innovation around open-source software, stemming from lowered barriers toward their adoption.
 Economic outcomes
-   The proposed social media platform could offer a more cost-effective alternative to existing closed ecosystems, providing public organizations and educational institutions with a viable option for their social media needs.
+-   An uptake in the number of open-source managed applications offered by web hosts, as it becomes easier to offer these.
-   The platform's decentralized nature could encourage the development of new, innovative business models that prioritize user privacy and data ownership, potentially disrupting the existing market dominated by big tech companies.
+-   Increased adoption of privacy-respecting software, as it becomes easier to consume these through the above-mentioned hosts.
 -   The project could lead to the creation of new jobs in the tech industry, particularly in the area of decentralized technologies.
 Societal outcomes
 -   The proposed platform could contribute to the creation of a more open and democratic digital landscape, where users have more control over their data and online interactions.
-   The platform's focus on privacy and data portability could lead to greater trust in social media platforms, which in turn could lead to increased participation and engagement online.
+-   The platform's focus on privacy and data portability could lead to greater trust in open-source digital platforms, which in turn could lead to increased participation and innovation.
 -   The project's promotion of a federated approach to social media and communication could contribute to the development of a more diverse and decentralized online ecosystem, which could have positive implications for free speech, community building, and information sharing.
-### Target groups further categorised (and how we can impact them)
+Some specific possible quantitative estimates include:
 Public organizations and NRENs (National Research and Education Networks) are broad target groups.
 We'll break them down in target groups relevant for our project.
 Public organisations can include government agencies, non-profit organisations, and public utilities.
 Some specific segments of public organisations include:
 1.  **Government organisations:**
    Municipalities, counties, and regional governments can benefit from an open and decentralized social media platform that allows them to communicate with their constituents in a secure and transparent manner.
    Government agencies often need to communicate with the public, but may not want to rely on commercial social media platforms that collect and sell user data.
    Our platform could provide a secure and privacy-respecting alternative for these agencies to share information and engage with their constituents.
 1.  **Public health organizations:**
    In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, public health organizations are under increasing pressure to communicate information effectively and efficiently.
    An open and decentralized social media platform could be used to share important public health information, provide updates on the status of the pandemic, and communicate with healthcare providers and other stakeholders.
    Healthcare providers may need to communicate sensitive information with patients and other providers, but must also comply with strict privacy regulations.
    Our platform could provide a secure and private way for these providers to share information and collaborate on patient care.
 1.  **Non-profit organizations:**
    Non-profit organizations often have limited resources and may not have the technical expertise to build and maintain their own communication platforms.
    Our platform could provide a low-cost and easy-to-use solution for these organizations to engage with their supporters and spread their message, in an open and transparent fashion.
 1.  **Educational institutions:**
    Schools, universities, and other educational institutions can benefit from an open and decentralized social media platform that allows them to communicate with students, parents, and other stakeholders.
    Our project can help these institutions to improve collaboration, knowledge sharing, and engagement, and to provide a secure and private platform for communication.
    Our platform could also provide an easy-to-use and customizable tool for these institutions to facilitate discussion and collaboration.
 National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) are high-speed networks dedicated to research and education, connecting universities, research institutions and other organizations.
 Some specific segments of NRENs include:
 1.  Universities and Research Institutions:
    These organizations need to collaborate and share research data with other institutions across the country or around the world.
    An open and decentralized social media platform like the one proposed in your project could provide a secure and standardized way for researchers to share data and communicate with each other, while also maintaining control over their own data and ensuring compliance with data protection regulations.
 1.  Libraries and Archives:
    These organizations often manage large collections of data and historical materials, including both physical and digital assets.
    An open and decentralized platform could provide a way for them to share and distribute this content, making it more accessible to researchers and the public while also preserving its authenticity and integrity.
 1.  Museums and cultural institutions:
    Museums and cultural institutions can benefit from an open and decentralized social media platform that allows them to engage with visitors and share information about their collections and exhibits.
    Our project can help these institutions to improve engagement and to reach new audiences.
 1.  Education and Training Providers:
    NRENs often provide access to online learning resources and tools for students and educators.
    An open and decentralized platform could provide a more flexible and customizable way for these providers to deliver content, while also ensuring privacy and security for their users.
 Based on the project objectives and potential impact on target groups, the scale and significance of the project's contribution to the expected outcomes and impacts can be estimated as follows:
 -   Scale:
    The project's focus on developing an open and decentralized social media platform can potentially benefit a large number of users who are seeking alternatives to big tech companies that operate closed ecosystems.
    The specific focus on public organizations and NRENs can target a niche market but with significant potential impact given the specific needs and requirements of these groups.
 -   Significance:
    The significance of the project's contribution can be evaluated based on several factors.
    For example, the platform's ability to provide users with more control, privacy, and data portability can have a significant impact on the way people interact with social media, potentially leading to more trust and engagement.
    The platform's focus on open source and federated approaches can also foster innovation and collaboration, leading to a more diverse and competitive social media landscape.\
    In addition, the project's potential economic impact can be evaluated in terms of potential cost savings for public organizations and NRENs who may be currently paying for closed-source social media solutions.
    Finally, the project's potential impact on digital rights and online privacy can have significant societal implications, contributing to a more democratic and transparent online environment.
 Quantitative estimates for these impacts will depend on the specific implementation and adoption of the platform, but it is possible to make some broad estimates based on existing data. For example, according to a 2020 survey by Pew Research Center, around 69% of US adults use social media, indicating a large potential user base for an alternative platform.
 In addition, a report by Research and Markets estimates that the global social media management software market will reach \$17.7 billion by 2026, indicating the potential economic impact of the project's focus on open-source and cost-effective solutions.
 Some other specific possible quantitative estimates:
 1.  Developer engagement:
    Given that making portable services the default will need more of the open-source community to engage on this issue, we may measure for example developer engagement in social channels, support channels, issue trackers, as well as code forge metrics such as bookmarks, forks, merge requests, and third-party projects building upon our work or citing us as a source of inspiration.
 1.  User adoption:
-    If our project is successful in providing a user-friendly and privacy-focused social media platform, it could attract a significant number of users.
+    If our project is successful in providing a user-friendly and privacy-focused platform for digital autonomy, it could attract a significant number of users.
    For example, if the platform gains a 5% share of the global social media market by 2026, which is currently estimated at 3.6 billion users, that would translate to 180 million users.
 1.  Cost savings:
-    By promoting the use of open-source software and decentralized infrastructure, our project could lead to cost savings for public organizations and NRENs.
+    By promoting the use of open-source software and decentralised infrastructure, our project could lead to cost savings for public organisations.
    For example, if a large public organization is currently spending \$1 million per year on a closed-source social media platform, switching to your open-source platform could result in cost savings of up to 50%.
 1.  Data portability:
-    Your project's focus on data portability could have significant benefits for users, allowing them to easily switch between social media platforms and take their data with them.
+    The focus on data portability could have significant benefits for users, allowing them to easily switch between online platforms and take their data with them.
    For example, if 10% of users on a major social media platform decided to switch to your platform, and were able to easily transfer their data, that would equate to millions of users being able to regain control over their data.
 1.  Market disruption:
-    If our project is successful in disrupting the market dominance of big tech companies in the social media space, it could have far-reaching impacts.
+    If our project is successful in disrupting the market dominance of big tech companies, it could have far-reaching impacts.
-    For example, if our platform gains a significant share of the market, it could lead to a decrease in the power of big tech companies and more competition in the social media space, potentially leading to improved user privacy and better options for data management.
+    For example, if our platform gains a significant share of the market, it could lead to a decrease in the power of big tech companies and more competition among software services, potentially leading to improved user privacy and better options for data management.
 There are several requirements and potential barriers that may determine whether the desired outcomes and impacts of the project are achieved.
 Some of them are:
 1.  Technical challenges:
-    Developing an open and decentralized social media platform based on the ActivityPub protocol can be technically challenging.
+    As seen in our technology section, our project encompasses bridging numerous existing software packages, meaning project success depends on successfully integrating these.
    The project will need to address issues related to scalability, performance, security, and interoperability with other systems.
    Failure to overcome these technical challenges may hinder the project's ability to achieve its desired outcomes and impacts.
 1.  Adoption by target groups:
    The success of the project will depend on the adoption of the platform by its target groups, such as public organizations and NRENs.
    The project will need to demonstrate the benefits of the platform and convince potential users to switch from their current social media platforms to the new one.
    Failure to achieve significant adoption may limit the project's ability to achieve its desired outcomes and impacts.
 1.  Regulatory and legal requirements:
    The project will need to comply with regulatory and legal requirements related to data privacy, security, and intellectual property.
    Failure to comply with these requirements may lead to legal issues and hinder the project's ability to achieve its desired outcomes and impacts.
 1.  Funding and resources:
    The project will require adequate funding and resources to achieve its desired outcomes and impacts.
    The project team will need to secure sufficient funding and resources to cover the costs of software development, partnerships, and promotion.
    Failure to secure adequate funding and resources may limit the project's ability to achieve its desired outcomes and impacts.
 1.  Competition:
-    The project will face competition from other social media platforms, including big tech companies and other open-source projects.
+    The project will face competition from other digital service offerings, including properietary ones from big tech companies and offerings oriented at self-hosting open-source projects.
    The project team will need to differentiate the platform and demonstrate its unique features and benefits.
    Failure to differentiate the platform from its competitors may limit the project's ability to achieve its desired outcomes and impacts.
 ## Measures to maximise impact - Dissemination, exploitation and communication
-Communication and dissemination measures
+<!-- https://rea.ec.europa.eu/dissemination-and-exploitation_en -->
-We've identified multiple dissemination measure we can apply to our project in our plan:
+### Dissemination
 <!-- Make knowledge and results publicly available free-of-charge -->
 We've identified multiple dissemination measures we can apply to our project in our plan:
 1.  Developing key messages:
-    We'll develop clear, concise, and compelling messaging that highlight the benefits and unique features of our project, such as the focus on **user control, privacy,** and **data & service portability**.
+    We'll develop clear, concise, and compelling messaging that highlight the benefits and unique features of our project, such as the focus on **user control**, **privacy**, and **data & service portability**.
 1.  Using multiple channels:
-    We will be utilizing a variety of channels to reach our target audiences outlined above, in particular through the **Fediverse** itself, webinars, blog posts, and press releases.
+    We will be utilising a variety of channels to reach our target audiences outlined above, among which through online communities, social media, webinars, blog posts, tech conferences and press releases.
 1.  Building partnerships:
-    We have identified a number of partners already like [SDEPS](https://www.sdeps.eu/) and [PublicSpaces](https://publicspaces.net/), [Internet Society](https://www.internetsociety.org/), [EDRi](https://edri.org/), [GÉANT](https://geant.org/), [RIPE](https://www.ripe.net/), [ECO](https://www.eco.de/), [APELL](https://www.apell.info/) and [CENTR](https://www.centr.org/) to help us reach out to our target audiences.
+    We have identified a number of partners already to help us reach out to our target audiences.
    These organisations share our **values and mission**.
 1.  Present the project at conferences and events:
    We'll participate in relevant conferences and events to raise awareness of our project and engage with potential users and partners.
    These will include hosting events (e.g. [Cloud Expo Europe](https://www.cloudexpoeurope.com/), [Cloudfest](https://www.cloudfest.com/), [Web Summit](https://websummit.com/)) and developer events like [FOSDEM](https://fosdem.org/), [OW2Con](https://www.ow2con.org/) and [CCC Congress](https://events.ccc.de/) to inform a diverse audience of the benefits of our stack and the other NGI technology solutions we are promoting.
 1.  Monitoring and evaluation:
-    We will monitor the success of our dissemination activities and evaluate their effectiveness in reaching and engaging ourtarget audiences.
+    We will monitor the success of our dissemination activities and evaluate their effectiveness in reaching and engaging our target audiences.
    We will then use this information to adjust and improve our strategies over time.
 Concrete examples of dissemination activities for our project will include:
-   Creating a series of blog posts that explain the benefits of open and decentralized social media, and how our platform addresses common challenges faced by public organizations and NRENs.
+-   Properly document our work, so that potentials users may more easily understand when and how they might use it, whether directly or tweaked to their particular use-case.
-   Hosting a webinar series that showcases the features and functionalities of our platform, and provides tips and best practices for using it effectively.
+-   Maintain and highlight instant messaging channels where developers might ask questions and discuss potential improvements to the software.
-   Developing case studies that highlight how our platform has helped public organizations and NRENs improve their communication and collaboration, and sharing these case studies on social media and in email newsletters.
+-   Creating a comprehensive user guide and knowledge base that provides detailed instructions and answers to common questions about the software, and making this guide available on the platform's website and social media channels.
-   Partnering with industry associations (e.g. [DINL](https://www.dinl.nl/), [ECO](https://www.eco.de/) and [EuroISPA](https://www.euroispa.org/)) and advocacy groups like [EDRi](https://edri.org/), [EFF](https://eff.org/) and [SDEPS](https://www.sdeps.eu/) that promote open-source software and digital rights, and working with them to promote our platform to their members and followers.
+-   Hosting a webinar series that showcases the features and functionalities of our deployment module, and provides tips and best practices for using it effectively.
-   Participating in relevant conferences and events, such as those focused on hosting, open-source software, digital rights, and public sector innovation, and showcasing our platform in demos and presentations.
+-   Partnering with industry associations and advocacy groups that promote open-source software and digital rights, and working with them to promote our platform to their members and followers.
-   Creating a comprehensive user guide and knowledge base that provides detailed instructions and answers to common questions about the platform, and making this guide available on the platform's website and Fediverse channels.
+    Such organizations include [SDEPS](https://www.sdeps.eu/), [PublicSpaces](https://publicspaces.net/), [Internet Society](https://www.internetsociety.org/), [EDRi](https://edri.org/), [GÉANT](https://geant.org/), [RIPE](https://www.ripe.net/), [ECO](https://www.eco.de/), [APELL](https://www.apell.info/) [CENTR](https://www.centr.org/), [DINL](https://www.dinl.nl/), [EuroISPA](https://www.euroispa.org/) and [EFF](https://eff.org/).
 -   Participating in relevant conferences and events to raise awareness of our project and engage with potential users and partners, such as those focused on hosting, open-source software, digital rights, and public sector innovation, and showcasing our software in demos and presentations.
    These will include hosting events (e.g. [Cloud Expo Europe](https://www.cloudexpoeurope.com/), [Cloudfest](https://www.cloudfest.com/), [Web Summit](https://websummit.com/)) and developer events like [NixCon](https://nixcon.org), [FOSDEM](https://fosdem.org/), [OW2Con](https://www.ow2con.org/) and [CCC Congress](https://events.ccc.de/) to inform a diverse audience of the benefits of our stack and the other NGI technology solutions we are promoting.
-Our communication strategies are already partially integrated in the dissemination measure above, but we'll outline them more in depth:
+### Communication
 <!-- Inform, promote and communicate activities and results -->
 Our communication strategies are already partially integrated in the dissemination measure above, but we'll outline them more in depth.
 There are several communication strategies and measures that we will utilise during the whole lifespan of the project:
@ -608,9 +440,9 @@ There are several communication strategies and measures that we will utilise dur
    It will be used to share updates, news, publications, and other project-related information.
    The website will be designed to be accessible and user-friendly.
 1.  Using social media:
-    We will reach out to Fediverse channels (e.g. Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube and Owncast) as well as legacy social media platforms such as Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook will be used to reach a wider audience and share project-related news and updates.
+    We will reach out to Fediverse channels (e.g. Mastodon, Pixelfed, Peertube and Owncast) as well as commercial social media platforms such as X, LinkedIn, and Facebook to reach a wider audience and share project-related news and updates.
    Social media are used to engage with stakeholders and respond to their queries and feedback.
-    While we want to draw people away from these closed social media environments, we'll still need to utilise these platform for spreading our message initially.
+    While our values may be closer aligned with the open-source social media, we will also still have use for the commercial ones to spread our message initially.
 1.  Organising workshops and events:
    Workshops and events will be used to engage with stakeholders and share project-related information.
    Workshops will be used to share technical knowledge, while events will be used to showcase the project's outputs and outcomes.
@ -624,44 +456,17 @@ There are several communication strategies and measures that we will utilise dur
    Engaging with the traditional media will help to promote the project and its outcomes.
    Partners like [SDEPS](https://www.sdeps.eu/) consist of mainstream media actors across Europe who are aligned with our mission and are themselves potential users and ambassadors of the tools we build.
-Exploitation measures per target audience:
+### Exploitation
-1. Public Organisations:
+<!-- Make concrete use of results for commercial, societal and political purposes -->
    -   Develop and offer training sessions and workshops for public organisations, showcasing the features and benefits of the platform and how it can be used to increase public engagement and participation.
    -   Develop case studies or success stories featuring public organisations that have successfully implemented the platform, highlighting the benefits they have experienced in terms of increased citizen engagement and improved communication.
    -   Partner with industry associations and conferences to increase visibility and reach among public sector decision-makers and influencers.
 1. NRENs:
    -   Partner with NRENs to offer the platform as a service to their clients, either as a value-added service or as part of their existing offerings.
    -   Develop and offer training sessions and workshops for NRENs, showcasing the features and benefits of the platform and how it can be integrated into their existing services and offerings.
    -   Develop case studies or success stories featuring NRENs that have successfully integrated the platform into their services, highlighting the benefits they have experienced in terms of increased customer satisfaction and improved service offerings.
 1. Educational Institutions:
    -   Develop and offer training sessions and workshops for educational institutions, showcasing the features and benefits of the platform and how it can be used to increase student engagement and collaboration.
    -   Develop case studies or success stories featuring educational institutions that have successfully implemented the platform, highlighting the benefits they have experienced in terms of increased student engagement and improved communication.
    -   Partner with educational conferences and associations to increase visibility and reach among educational decision-makers and influencers.
-Feedback for policy measures
+Planned exploitation measures, primarily aimed at hosting organisations, include:
-As an open and decentralized social media platform, the project has the potential to generate feedback to policy measures related to digital communication, privacy, and data protection.
+1.  Develop and offer training sessions and workshops, showcasing the features and benefits of the software and how it can be used to offer portable services.
-By promoting a federated approach to social media and communication, the project will offer an alternative to closed ecosystems controlled by big tech companies.
+1.  Develop case studies or success stories featuring hosting organisations that have successfully implemented the platform, highlighting public reception to their offering.
-The following are some ways in which the project will contribute to designing, monitoring, reviewing, and rectifying existing policy measures or shaping and supporting the implementation of new policy initiatives and decisions:
+1.  Partner with industry associations and conferences to increase visibility and reach among hosting organisations, public sector decision-makers and influencers.
-1.  Providing a platform for public dialogue and participation:
+## Project content and handling of intellectual property risks
    The project will serve as a platform for public dialogue and participation, allowing citizens to voice their opinions and concerns on policy measures related to digital communication, privacy, and data protection.
    This feedback will inform the design, monitoring, and review of existing policy measures or shape the implementation of new policy initiatives and decisions.
 2.  Demonstrating the feasibility of an open and decentralized approach:
    The project will demonstrate the feasibility of an open and decentralized approach to social media and communication, providing evidence for the effectiveness of such an approach in promoting user control, privacy, and data portability.
    This evidence will be used to inform policy measures related to digital communication and encourage the adoption of a federated approach.
 3.  Highlighting the limitations of current policy measures:
    The project will highlight the limitations of current policy measures related to digital communication, privacy, and data protection.
    By showcasing the benefits of an open and decentralized approach, the project will draw attention to the shortcomings of existing policies and stimulate discussions on potential improvements.
 4.  Providing data and analysis for policy evaluation:
    The project will provide data and analysis on the use and impact of the platform, including user engagement, user satisfaction, and data portability.
    This data will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of existing policy measures or inform the design of new policies.
 5.  Engaging with policymakers and stakeholders:
    The project will engage with policymakers and stakeholders, including public organizations, NRENs, and educational institutions, to raise awareness of the platform and its potential impact on policy measures related to digital communication, privacy, and data protection.
    This engagement will facilitate collaboration and information sharing between the project and relevant policy stakeholders, promoting mutual learning and understanding.
 Project content and handling of intellectual property risks
 NGI as a whole operates according to open source principles and unencumbered (royalty-free) licensing, to ensure **broad and lasting impact**.
 The societal benefit of the initiative lies in the collaborative development of technology as **commons**.
@ -683,7 +488,7 @@ Through the NGI0 review project (also ran by NLnet Foundation) we will advise an
 Work in most **standards setting** organisations is automatically covered by a **strict IPR policy**, requiring full declaration — which is typically followed by an effort to work around any patents in order to create a FOSS-friendly, unencumbered standard.
-Handling the threat of software patents
+### Handling the threat of software patents
 The fact that patented technologies are out of scope for our research, does not mean that patents have ceased to be, and no longer pose a threat.
 Our projects work out in the open, and so groundbreaking ideas can be appropriated easily.
@ -703,11 +508,9 @@ We will integrate that aspect into the high level process on a best effort basis
 | **Specific needs**: What are the specific needs that triggered this project? | **Expected results**: What does Fediversity expect to generate by the end of the project? | **Communication and dissemination measures**: What dissemination, exploitation and communication measures will Fediversity apply to the results? |
 |-|-|-|
-| **Availability of content in the Fediverse**: Even though the fediverse is now used by a lot of 'normal users' most public organizations are lacking from providing content to the Fediverse. | **Easier and predictable use of NGI-supported open source software**: We aim to provide hosting providers and public organizations with a cookbook/script that will allow them to implement, and maintain NGI-supported open source software in such a way that it feels comfortable for IT staff to do. | **Outreach towards main stream consumers**: Press and guerrilla marketing, tech talks and webinars, decentralised social media, project speaker bureau. |
+| **Gap between supply and demand of software**: whereas a lot of open-source server-based software exists, adoption of open-source options appears to be lagging behind, in part due to the maintenance overhead that comes with traditional self-hosting and requires more technical know-how. | **Easier and predictable use of NGI-supported open source software**: We aim to provide hosting providers with a cookbook/script that will allow them to implement, and maintain NGI-supported open source software in such a way that it feels comfortable for IT staff to do. | **Outreach towards main-stream consumers**: Press and guerrilla marketing, tech talks and webinars, social media, project speaker bureau. |
-| **Use of open source software is hard**: The general misconception is that the use of open source software is hard and it is difficult for large organizations (both public and private) to run, and maintain open source software. | **Better and more content in the Fediverse**: by getting better support of IT staff in running NGI-supported fediverse platforms we expect NRENs and other public organizations to move to an ‘open first’ approach for sharing their content, moving away from Big Tech. A secondary effect of this could be that due to the availability of that content more people would start using the Fediverse giving meaning to the term ‘network effect’. | **Engage with technical, operational
+| **Use of open-source software is hard**: The general misconception is that the use of open source software is hard and it is difficult for large organisations (both public and private) to run, and maintain open source software. | **Rise in adoption of open-source given low-maintenance options**: Given our initial offering of easily set up open-source server applications in our pilot with hosting organizations, we expect to see adoption of this software among end-users, hopefully creating a 'network effect' in these ecosystems. | **Engage with technical, operational community and decision makers**: Webinars for 'families' of projects to showcase progress to internet service providers, research networks, operator groups, hosters, CERTs, etc. |
-community and decision makers**: Webinars for ‘families’ of projects to showcase progress to internet service providers, research networks, operator groups, hosters, CERTs, etc. |
+| **Service portability is lacking**: Even though there are now regulations that state that you can get all your personal data from service providers. It is still quite hard to move from one platform to another. With the event of federated networks you can export your data from one instance and move to another. This is not easy and requires quite some work. | **Basic level of service portability**: We expect to get several projects to create a way to actually export both data and settings so you can not only move to another service provider, but also do so transparantly. | **Make project results discoverable**: One stop shop portal to browse through different categories of projects and discover new technologies of interest. |
 | **Service portability is lacking**: Even though there are now regulations that state that you can get all your personal data from service providers. It is still quite hard to move from one platform to another. With the event of federated networks you can export your data from one instance and move to another. This is not easy and requires quite some work. |
 | **Basic level of service portability**: We expect to get several projects to create a way to actually export both data and settings so you can not only move to another service provider, but also do so transparantly. | **Make project results discoverable**: One stop shop portal to browse through different categories of projects and discover new technologies of interest. |
 | &nbsp; | &nbsp; | **Engage European SMEs and investors**: Create a competitive alternative economy based on open source with convenience and value-add services. |
 | **Target groups**: Who will use or further up-take the results of the project? Who will benefit from the results of the project? | **Outcomes**: What change does Fediversity expect to see after successful dissemination and exploitation of project results to the target groups? | **Impacts**: What are the expected wider scientific, economic and societal effects of the projects contributing to the expected impacts outlined in the respective destination in the work programme? |
@ -719,17 +522,67 @@ community and decision makers**: Webinars for ‘families’ of projects to show
 # Quality and efficiency of the implementation
 ## Architecture
 ![](/home/kiara/code/meta/architecture-docs/architecture.png)
 ## Break-down of project milestones
 Whereas details of the implementation may need to be decided as the technical challenges involved become clear, we can already give a higher-level planning of relevant milestones and some of their salient features:
 - Initial internal user to kick-start feedback process:
    - automate provisioning of:
        - [databases](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/115)
        - [immutable storage](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/185)
        - [virtual machines](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/116) (and related resources)
        - [DNS](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/110)
        - [SMTP service](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/117)
        - [email accounts](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/118)
        - [ephemeral state](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/314)
    - [publish specification](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/334) using e.g. JSON Schema / OpenAPI
    - [facilitate multi-tenancy](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/241)
    - [provision admin accounts](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/178)
    - [ensure users can update their configurations](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/158)
 - Software ready for web hosts to take into production:
    - [garbage collection of unallocated resources](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/188)
    - [Nix-less bootstrap](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/332)
    - [ensure hosts may update users' deployments](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/159)
    - [decoupled versioning of deployment module versus front-end](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/304)
    - [security audit](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/291)
    - [automate dependency updates](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/65)
 - Features to improve user experience and increase host adoption:
    - [enqueue deployment syncs](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/242)
    - [application data back-ups](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/123)
    - [migrating application data between hosting providers](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/100)
    - [provide single sign-on](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/212)
    - [expand exposed configuration settings](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/195)
    - [allow disabling application while retaining data](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/186)
    - [aid needed user actions on schema update](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/214)
    - [scaling application resources](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/119)
    - [pooling application instances to shared VMs](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/322)
    - [allow use of external single sign-on](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/161)
 - Facilitate engagement from external developers:
    - [create integration tests](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/277)
    - [add continuous integration builds to a public cache](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/92)
    - [reproduce required infrastructure](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/336)
    - [continuous deployment](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/177)
    - [separate staging/testing environments](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/69)
    - [facilitate user signup](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/335)
    - [facilitate code reviews](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/302)
    - [get documentation ready](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/288)
    - [upstream deployment module to NixOS](https://git.fediversity.eu/Fediversity/Fediversity/issues/333)
 ## Work plan and resources
 Table 3.1g: Subcontracting costs
-Not applicable.
+Not applicable?
 Table 3.1h: Purchase costs
 | Description | Category | Cost (€) | Justification |
 |-|-|-|-|
-| Test hardware | Other goods, works and services | 200.000 | <p>For our UX research we need to acquire a reasonable diverse set of tablets, PC's and mobile phones so that we can support actually used devices. This is essential to deliver the kind of support people expect from software in general, but cloud services (like our social networking products from the NGI technologies we choose). We want to create a test lab that is also accessible to the chosen technology developers at request. We will at least need to acquire the latest new models of popular phones and tablets other devices every 3 months (estimated total of 60 devices by the end of the project) and new models of laptops, chromebooks and the likes every 6 months (estimated total of 30 devices by the end of the project) and a few PC’s with various form-factors and operating systems (estimated total of 24 devices by the end of the project). We expect to be using about 50.000 of the budget for this.</p><p>Another substantial part will be used for a test-setup 'at scale' for running the actual services: server-hardware, networking-hardware, storage-systems. Also we need to account for hosting and networking-costs in dual locations.</p><p>We will acquire about 80 server-systems, 12 storage-systems, and some networking equipment housed in two locations. All hardware will be second-hand as to keep cost low.</p><p>For this we expect to be using about 130.000 of the budget.</p><p>The remaining 20.000 euro we want to spend on two or four openhardware servers based on OpenPower to run a small pilot as part of the test/development setup to see where it makes sense to use OpenHardware in the setup for running Fediverse software.</p> |
+| Test hardware | Other goods, works and services | 200.000 | <p>For our UX research we need to acquire a reasonable diverse set of tablets, PC's and mobile phones so that we can support actually used devices. This is essential to deliver the kind of support people expect from software in general, but cloud services (like our products from the NGI technologies we choose). We want to create a test lab that is also accessible to the chosen technology developers at request. We will at least need to acquire the latest new models of popular phones and tablets other devices every 3 months (estimated total of 60 devices by the end of the project) and new models of laptops, chromebooks and the likes every 6 months (estimated total of 30 devices by the end of the project) and a few PC's with various form-factors and operating systems (estimated total of 24 devices by the end of the project). We expect to be using about 50.000 of the budget for this.</p><p>Another substantial part will be used for a test-setup 'at scale' for running the actual services: server-hardware, networking-hardware, storage-systems. Also we need to account for hosting and networking-costs in dual locations.</p><p>We will acquire about 80 server-systems, 12 storage-systems, and some networking equipment housed in two locations. All hardware will be second-hand as to keep cost low.</p><p>For this we expect to be using about 130.000 of the budget.</p><p>The remaining 20.000 euro we want to spend on two or four openhardware servers based on OpenPower to run a small pilot as part of the test/development setup to see where it makes sense to use OpenHardware in the setup for running Fediversity software.</p> |
 | Remaining purchase costs | &nbsp; | 10.000 | Is for promotion and marketing material like stickers, banners, and other promotional material to hand out on each and every event we will visit. |
 | Travel and subsistence | &nbsp; | 15.000 | Will be used for traveling between the Netherlands, the Nordics, France and the rest of Europe for attending conferences and other meetups. |
 | Total | &nbsp; | 225.000 | &nbsp; |
@ -751,14 +604,10 @@ Widely recognised as one of the leading grantmakers in the realm of internet and
 Introduced the internet in Europe in the eighties, and led the project that defined the vision of the NGI initiative.
 Now is the driving force behind NGI Zero, and responsible for over half of the active projects inside NGI.
-[Tweag](https://tweag.io/) \~ Tweag is a software innovation lab that helps deep tech startups quickly scale their engineering performance and execute on high-risk, high-reward projects with confidence.
+[ProcoliX](https://www.procolix.eu/) \~
-Tweag's team of engineers are behind today's boldest innovations in machine learning, distributed computing and biotech.
+Web host dating back to the early stages of the internet.
-Applying mathematics, computer science and the methods of open source to software engineering, Tweag stretches what's possible for clients.
+Today hosting public services like the NLUUG FTP server, one of the largest repositories of Open Source software in Europe and sites like [Mastodon.nl](https://mastodon.nl/) and [Petities.nl](https://petities.nl/) for the public good.
-
+Has a 'open source only' approach to running Internet IT Infrastructure.
 [NORDUnet](https://nordu.net/) \~ NORDUnet is an international collaboration between the National research and education networks in the Nordic countries.
 NORDUnet interconnects the Nordic national research and education networks and connects them to the worldwide network for research and education and to the general purpose Internet.
 NORDUnet provides its services by a combination of leased lines and Internet services provided by other international operators.
 NORDUnet has peering in multiple important internet exchange sites outside the Nordics, such as Amsterdam, Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Miami and New York.
 # Ethics self-assessment
@ -826,7 +675,7 @@ Other ethics issues
 ## Financial support in the form of a grant awarded after a call for proposals
-As detailed in Part B, Fediversity in addition to its research goals and support for verticals will contribute 15% of its budget to the development of related digital commons through financial support in the form of grants awarded to third parties through bi-monthly open calls for proposals.
+As detailed in Part B, Fediversity in addition to pursuing its goals directly, will further contribute 15% of its budget to the development of related digital commons through financial support in the form of grants awarded to third parties through bi-monthly open calls for proposals.
 In this annexe we describe the following aspects of this financial support by detailing our approach to managing a dedicated fund supporting a series of open calls related to Fediversity:
@ -1016,7 +865,7 @@ In our privacy policy we inform potential applicants that they can use an alias
 As long as a project is not accepted, the applicants real identity is not relevant to us.
 If the proposal never goes beyond that phase they can remain anonymous.
-In order to review and process project proposals we need to grant access to the professional staff of NLnet foundation responsible for reviewing and running the open calls associated with Fediversity (WP4).
+In order to review and process project proposals we need to grant access to the professional staff of NLnet foundation responsible for reviewing and running the open calls associated with Fediversity (WP3).
 Since confidentiality is a critical aspect of the trust relationship we have with projects, at no point in time will proposals be shared with third parties without explicity permission, not even partners within Fediversity.
 Sometimes opportunities will arise outside of the context of this fund, or there is a potential to support the project in some other way.
 At the time of submitting the proposal applicants either grant NLnet Foundation the right to keep any information submitted on record — should future funding opportunities arise — or not.
@ -1100,7 +949,3 @@ Consortium members have been instructed to stay clear from project proposals fro
 # Overview of project displayed in a Gantt chart
 ![](Pictures/gantt-chart.png)
 [^2]: services like Facebook, Instagram or Twitter
 [^3]: Meta have been reported to work on an ActivityPub based app, Medium has adopted ActivityPub and Tumblr as well.