Logo with their Mascot "Boop".
Lazuli is an online forum and community platform based on Lemmy's technology. Founded by Argentinian user Bon Riley Ridley, the platform emerges as an alternative to Reddit, especially after the decisions made by its CEO, Steve Huffman (Spez), which included the closure of its API and GitHub, as well as the implementation of restrictive policies towards new users and biased algorithmic moderation.
History and Origin[]
The Lazuli project was born as a response to the restrictions and controversial measures imposed by Reddit. Bon, who had previously managed communities within that platform, saw the need for a more open and decentralized space where users could express themselves without the limitations imposed by large technology corporations. Following the suspension of her Reddit accounts due to comments related to child justice in Argentina (r/Argentina), he decided to launch an alternative based on Lemmy, with the intention of providing a fairer and more transparent environment.
Features[]
Lazuli is based on the principles of decentralization, privacy and freedom of expression, prioritizing human moderation over algorithmic moderation. Its main features include:
- Based on Lemmy: A federated forum software similar to Reddit, but decentralized and open source.
- ActivityPub protocol: Allows interoperability with other decentralized platforms, facilitating federation with other Lemmy and Mastodon servers.
- Official mascot: Boop: A robot representative of Lazuli, which is used as a symbol on T-shirts and other forms of merchandising, similar to Reddit's Snoo.
- Human moderation: Moderation by real people is prioritized to avoid algorithmic biases that affect other platforms.
- Respect for privacy: No personal data is sold, nor is the use of user content to train artificial intelligence allowed.
- Ethical alternative: It is positioned as an option without algorithmic manipulation or unjustified censorship.
- Community funding model: It will be funded through Kickstarter and Patreon, while remaining free for users.
- Decentralized hosting: Will use servers in Argentina (possibly Wiroos or Hostinger) with additional protection through Cloudflare.
- Flexible registration: It will allow registration with Reddit, Discord and email accounts.
Current Status and Future[]
The Lazuli project is under development, with an estimated launch date to be announced (TBA). It is expected to be available soon on Kickstarter and Patreon to fund its infrastructure and ensure its long-term sustainability. The goal is to create a robust federated platform that fosters collective intelligence and active user participation in an environment free of algorithmic manipulation.
With this project, Bon seeks to challenge the monopoly of the large platforms and offer a space where the diverse community can debate, share and create without restrictions imposed by corporate interests.