Do better.
To hell with tech feudalism. Let's do better - ethically and technologically
Before we dive in, have a look at this tweet:
For the uninitiated, this is a tweet by the owner of Vercel, a hosting provider (henceforth referred to as the triangle thing), a company that also happens to own/build Next.js, a popular React framework. And I’m not even going to get into the whole “who influences the direction of React” thing.
I don’t really have a stake in that game. I’ve never used the triangle thing, nor do I have any intention of ever using it. I’m a rabid self-hoster and a linux-loving nerd who believes in the power of open source and the importance of owning your data. But enough is enough. I hate feeling like a slowly boiling frog while tech feudalism takes over.
Goes without saying, but these are my personal opinions and views. They in no shape or form represent the view of any organization, company or project I’m affiliated with.
Preface: Where I stand politically and ideologically
I don’t feel like I owe this to anyone, but I’m putting it here for the sake of full disclosure. I won’t even pretend to fully understand the nuances of the middle eastern conflicts. I get that none of it is black and white. I come from the Balkans - where, trust me, we really understand nuance and complexity. But each circumstance is different and unique. That said, I’m deeply and vehemently against ethnic cleansings, war crimes, imperialism of ANY flavour, and any form of opression. On the political spectrum of left and right - which I find constraining - I suppose I fall left (in the form of a pragmatic, classical anarchist). At the same time, I’m deeply embarrased by what passes for “leftism” in the modern sense. But that’s a debate for another time, and something you’re absolutely free to disagree with (I welcome debate, though). That said, I’m also not the kind to judge you for thinking differently. That’s your prerogative, and it would be hypocritical of me to force my own worldviews on you.
Now back to our regular programming
With that preface out of the way, let’s get to the point. Do better. Make better tech choices, ethically and technologically. There is a personal element to this - we all have our own preferences in terms of tools and developer experience. But a “default” is absolutely not “the best” in any sense. Luckily, you have a whole range of libraries and frameworks to choose from.
Here are what I consider better choices than anything the triangle thing has to offer:
Frameworks
1. If you insist on staying in React land - TanStack Start
Do yourself a favour and just move stuff over to TanStack Start. Here’s a lovely guide to help with that: https://tanstack.com/start/latest/docs/framework/react/migrate-from-next-js
TanStack libraries have always been a staple in the React ecosystem - it’s just that, now, they’ve been streamlined into a framework. You know what to expect. If not, get acquainted - you’re missing out.
2. Ask yourself - do you really need that much JavaScript?
If you take a long, hard look at what you’re building, chances are, you probably don’t need that much JavaScript. If that’s the case, there’s always Astro. Of course, the migration path is not going to be simple here. And if you’re already invested in the triangle framework and ecosystem, it’s probably very impractical to think about an actual migration. Fret not, there’s always your next project. That said, here’s a guide that might help if you decide to migrate after all: https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/migrate-to-astro/from-nextjs/.
3. Or, embrace the future - give SolidStart a spin
Solid has always had a special place in my heart. It’s always been an innovative one: it made signals happen, and is now pushing the boundaries of metaframeworks via SolidStart.
SolidStart is fairly easy to get into: it comes with all of the metaframework necessities built in: you have JSX-based components, signals, routers (and no, none of that pages/app nonsense): there’s file-based routing which pairs well with solid-router for when you might need finer-grained control on the client-side.
By the way - the new website for WhatTheStack is going to be built with SolidStart.
We also have middleware, websocket support, and support for just about anything you can find in the Vite ecosystem.
If you’re coming from a React background and would like to do better, you’ll feel right at home here - Solid isn’t that far off from React, developer experience-wise.
But, SolidStart is getting a v2 soon - check the public roadmap here: https://github.com/solidjs/solid-start/discussions/1960. It’s going to be a major upgrade with a lot of new features and improvements.
Before we get to a stable SolidStart v2 though, I’m working on a guide for migrating from the triangle thing framework over to SolidStart, so stay tuned!
Full disclosure part 2: I recently became a member of the SolidJS DX team. I’ve been really public with how much I like Solid for quite a while now, so this reccomendation is in now way influenced by me being member of the team. But I won’t argue with being called a Solid shill 😉
Hosting
1. On tech feudalism
Technofeudalism is a term used to describe a modern economic system where big technology companies have power similar to feudal lords in the past. Instead of land, these companies control digital platforms, data, and online markets. People and smaller businesses rely on these platforms, just like peasants once relied on feudal lords for land and protection. wikipedia
The more we rely on cloud platforms, the more control we essentially give away to the powers that be. The triangle company is very much a tech feudalist (although a reseller for a bigger one). This is not just about privacy but also about control over our data and the ability to shape the future of the internet. If you’re still inclined to rely on these platforms, use anything but the triangle company. Netlify is decent, and Cloudflare is also a good option.
2. Self-hosting
There’s a myth that I’ve grown to deeply hate - “self-hosting is hard, leave it to the pros”. That’s absolutely not the case. As with most other things, once you invest some time in understanding the basics, you’ll find it’s absolutely not as hard as advertised. Self-hosting is also not a binary: it can vary from renting a VPS somewhere to keeping a machine (even a Raspberry Pi) in your home and exposing it to the internet. I’m working on a guide for that too!
I’ve been self-hosting everything from the blog you’re reading now, all the way to the WhatTheStack website for over 3 years. I have yet to experience any significant issues or downtime. That said, it’s not all rainbows and butterflies. But, true ownership requires some effort. More on that soon.
Meanwhile, one of the best options out there for self-hosting while keeping that lovely DX that cloud platforms have, is Coolify. Check it out.
In closing
The techno-feudalists broke the internet. It’s up to us to fix it - together, by making better choices. Take back what was yours - keep the internet wholesome, weird, decentralized, and authentic!
PS. I’d like to publicly apologize for accepting Vercel as a supporter for WhatTheStack 2025. That won’t happen again.
