I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward.
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
A fair number of the open source ones too, but at least money isn't changing hands.
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
@mttaggart this is our belief as well. very glad to be on the same page.
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@mttaggart this is our belief as well. very glad to be on the same page.
@ireneista Me too! Thinking seriously about reworking my own lab gear for supporting my immediate community. And writing about it, of course.
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
@mttaggart I hear I don't even need anything special for this just a Smart TV
Jokes to the side, I was wondering how to create a distributed backup system with my close friends so we could replicate encrypted stuff over to each others' storage.
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@ireneista Me too! Thinking seriously about reworking my own lab gear for supporting my immediate community. And writing about it, of course.
@mttaggart @ireneista - this is something I very much want to do, for #CambridgeUK. Finding it harder to get started (find other local people who are interested) than I thought though.
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
@mttaggart this is what the @fediversity project is all about.
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@mttaggart Yes!
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
@mttaggart Totally agree. It's why I've been sloooowly learning the systems by making my own on a little server cluster. No desire to do more than host stuff for a few dozen people when I've got it all figured out.
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A fair number of the open source ones too, but at least money isn't changing hands.
Not for nothing but I've written a very well-regarded guide on home labs if you want to get started.
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
@mttaggart Keeping this from just making groups easier to target will be... interesting, I expect.
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@mttaggart Keeping this from just making groups easier to target will be... interesting, I expect.
@d_rift Maybe, but it's not like the big corpos are doing great with their many-egged baskets. And it's never been easier to deploy with reasonable security baselines.
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@mttaggart @ireneista - this is something I very much want to do, for #CambridgeUK. Finding it harder to get started (find other local people who are interested) than I thought though.
@philcowans @mttaggart @ireneista
I think the dilemma is accountability/liability - what happens when one of your users does something that results in cops/feds demanding user data (or even seizing an entire server?)
Here in England it seems possible to get nicked for harmless protests and now there's the paranoia about "keeping kids safe"
How many people with a good career and salary in tech are going to risk it for the sake of someone /elses/ freedom, if they aren't making money from the venture?
This could maybe limit involvement to folk who are retired with good savings and less to lose (its already happening with the demographics of protesters)
(that goes for all the current VPN and hosting companies too and is their Achilles Heel).
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Not for nothing but I've written a very well-regarded guide on home labs if you want to get started.
@mttaggart any suggestion on home labbing (two b's?) in this era of crazy hardware prices?
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@mttaggart any suggestion on home labbing (two b's?) in this era of crazy hardware prices?
@brahms The book does, yeah!
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@brahms The book does, yeah!
@mttaggart I wanted to buy it anyway, now you double-sold
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@philcowans @mttaggart @ireneista
I think the dilemma is accountability/liability - what happens when one of your users does something that results in cops/feds demanding user data (or even seizing an entire server?)
Here in England it seems possible to get nicked for harmless protests and now there's the paranoia about "keeping kids safe"
How many people with a good career and salary in tech are going to risk it for the sake of someone /elses/ freedom, if they aren't making money from the venture?
This could maybe limit involvement to folk who are retired with good savings and less to lose (its already happening with the demographics of protesters)
(that goes for all the current VPN and hosting companies too and is their Achilles Heel).
@vfrmedia @mttaggart @ireneista - this is something to be figured out, but I'm willing to spend some time doing that. Ideally there'd be some kind of network of local co-ops to share best practice in each jurisdiction.
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@philcowans @mttaggart @ireneista
I think the dilemma is accountability/liability - what happens when one of your users does something that results in cops/feds demanding user data (or even seizing an entire server?)
Here in England it seems possible to get nicked for harmless protests and now there's the paranoia about "keeping kids safe"
How many people with a good career and salary in tech are going to risk it for the sake of someone /elses/ freedom, if they aren't making money from the venture?
This could maybe limit involvement to folk who are retired with good savings and less to lose (its already happening with the demographics of protesters)
(that goes for all the current VPN and hosting companies too and is their Achilles Heel).
@vfrmedia @philcowans @mttaggart well, you find a solid lawyer as one of your first steps...
but yes, it's a significant barrier to entry
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@mttaggart I wanted to buy it anyway, now you double-sold
@brahms Thanks! But also, I will just say it's absolutely brutal out there. eBay, Amazon refurb, Savemyserver, and GovDeals (US) are probably the best bets.
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@vfrmedia @mttaggart @ireneista - this is something to be figured out, but I'm willing to spend some time doing that. Ideally there'd be some kind of network of local co-ops to share best practice in each jurisdiction.
@philcowans @vfrmedia @mttaggart that does sound like the right solution
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I'm coming to the conclusion that community-owned and operated small clouds (co-ops) with easy onramps for self-hosting open source services like mail, storage, and VPN are the only way forward. Every corpo service is eventually going to make you ashamed to use it.
@mttaggart personally, I'd like to start a cooperatively owned Mastodon instance where ownership costs pay for infra, admin, and moderation, with owners all having a voice in operation, governance, and direction. Trying to find models as alternatives to benevolent third parties and pleading for donations.
