Fresns is a free, open-source social networking service software. It is built for cross-platform use and positioned as a general-purpose community product: content can take flexible forms, it can serve many operating scenarios, and it is meant to be open and easy to extend. The product site is fresns.cn.
I did not start Fresns because the world needed another codebase. The first reason was personal: I had long wanted to share a complete product solution of my own. The second was a belief that this is worth doing, that it has commercial value, and that it can support me.
Why PHP
My target users are operators. Their ability to run infrastructure is often limited, and the PHP ecosystem is relatively friendly to them, with plenty of visual tools. That shaped the language choice.
I have also left room for the architecture to change if PHP becomes a load problem. The plugin mechanism is based entirely on data structures and APIs, not on a hook pattern. If the project grows and there is money to replace part of the stack, the API could be written in another language while the admin panel stays in PHP and existing plugins keep working.
Not another wheel
There are many open-source projects, but I am aiming at internet practitioners who have a specific skill and domain knowledge. They have insights and resources in their own fields, but lack a low-cost way to start. In the mobile internet era, I do not see free open-source projects that offer a complete product solution. Most are single-end or hobby projects, and they generally cannot support general, long-term use. Fresns is meant to be the first open-source project in this space with a complete product solution. That is why I do not see it as just another wheel.
How long can free open source last
Fresns has no commercial task attached to it. It comes from a product ambition I have carried for years. The development money comes from a 'project fund' account. About ten years ago, I began setting aside a fixed amount from my salary every month for side projects. When an idea appears, I put that money into the project. If the project fails, I treat it as tuition: I learned something, and it helps my professional growth. The money was already separated from my living costs, so losing it would not affect my quality of life. Some people spend money on courses or degrees; I prefer spending it on projects.
Fresns is a piece of work, like the writing I share on my blog, and I support it as such. I entered the internet industry in 2007 and have enjoyed sharing since then, from SEO tutorials to product management career notes. Fifteen years of that has made it a habit. I do not think continuing until the end of my life is difficult: as long as I am alive, the project will not stop.
The project already has sponsors, and two developers have joined. There is also a plan to build an open-source committee that supports healthy development.
The commercial question
Yes, there is a commercial plan. I want to validate it before sharing it in detail. Three things are clear now:
- It is not about selling source code. Fresns has no private repository, needs no commercial license, and is completely free and open source for anyone to use.
- It is not about paid add-on features. The program will not contain paid features or limit feature use.
- It is not about taking a cut from developers. The app market exists to develop the ecosystem, and it will not take a commission from paid apps.
The direction is hard
Open-source social software is difficult, and I understand why people are not optimistic about the direction. That is why Fresns was prepared for multiple languages from the start and positioned as a project for international markets. My own Twitter feed is mostly in English as I build an independent developer identity in the English-speaking world. International developers have already joined.
What it can be used for
Fresns can support regional communities, interest communities, e-commerce communities, group communities, or no community at all. The operating scenarios are described at https://fresns.cn/intro/operating.html.