About the Journal

About the Journal: Journal of Decentralized Systems (JDS)

Focus and Scope

The Journal of Decentralized Systems (JDS) is a peer-reviewed venue for the technical and social architectures of distributed agency. We focus on systems that prioritize user sovereignty, interoperability, and open-source infrastructure. Our scope includes, but is not limited to:

  • Federated Protocols: Innovations in ActivityPub, OCAPs, and decentralized social networking.

  • Virtual Environments: Hypergrid protocols, OpenSimulator development, and metaverse interoperability.

  • Sovereign Identity: Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs), verifiable credentials, and user-owned data.

  • High-Performance Infrastructure: Systems programming in Rust, C#, Go, and PHP for resilient, distributed stacks.

  • Civic Frameworks: The role of Benefit Corporations and decentralized governance in sustaining open-source ecosystems.

Open Access Policy (Diamond Model)

This journal provides immediate Diamond Open Access to its content. We believe that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

  • For Authors: There are no Article Processing Charges (APCs) or submission fees.

  • For Readers: All content is free to read, download, and share without a paywall.

Copyright Notice

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This allows others to share and adapt the work, provided the original authorship and initial publication in this journal are cited.

Sponsorship and Governance

JDS is published and sponsored by Hyphero, a California Benefit Corporation dedicated to decentralization and user sovereignty. As a Benefit Corp, our mission includes a legal commitment to public benefit, which we fulfill by providing a fee-free platform for the advancement of sovereign technology.

History of the Journal

Founded in 2026, JDS was established as a direct response to the high costs of traditional academic publishing. Our goal is to provide a high-integrity, community-driven alternative that bridges the gap between independent developers and academic researchers in the decentralized space.

Archiving and Preservation

To ensure the long-term survival of our research, JDS is compatible with the LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) and CLOCKSS systems. We are committed to digital preservation through these distributed archival networks, ensuring that even if the primary server is offline, the record of decentralized systems remains accessible.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party. As a journal focused on decentralization, we minimize data collection to the absolute technical requirements for peer review and indexing.