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It’s funny that you say that. 20 years ago nobody had a problem running their personal website or FTP server on an ISDN line into their garage. Today I have 10

It’s funny that you say that. 20 years ago nobody had a problem running their personal website or FTP server on an ISDN line into their garage. Today I have 100Mb fiber to my house. I’m pretty sure that’s enough to handle a personal video website for somebody with a modest following. Yet we live on these massive centralized platforms.

vinniejames 9y ago
Check out Plex
- zingmars 9y ago
  I'm not sure Plex would be a good option for sharing stuff with others. And on that note how many people actually have static IPs these days that allows them to easily host services like that? As the IP shortage worsens expect more carrier grade NATs to pop up.
  - bluGill 9y ago
    Side node: if you doin't have ipv6 ask your ISP when it is coming.
  - vinniejames 9y ago
    You don't need a static IP with Plex, only a Plex account with granted access
qubex 9y ago
Yes... I'd always been the type of person that ran some kind of server with network services in a DMZ on my home network. Of late I dismantled everything because it just isn’t worth the (perceived) hassle anymore. Most of all, cloud services and so forth have made us lazy.
enzanki_ars 9y ago
We need to solve a couple of problems first. Right now, standing up a web host correctly is difficult. Getting the settings right is troublesome, buying a domain can be expensive and hard to set up, and directing the DNS of that domain to your home's internet (where most homes, at least in the US, are dynamic addresses) is very difficult. Video hosting is a tricky experience. Delivering quickly at multiple bitrates in an easy to use interface is hard. There is a reason why YouTube, Netflix, and more spend a lot of time working on improving video quality while reducing data usage. Finally, if everyone hosts their one videos, how will discovery work?
- ironjunkie 9y ago
  Good point. And all of this is exactly what needs to be resolved. How? I would love to see some initiatives in that area (beside IPFS)
  - chillingeffect 9y ago
    I would love to see it, too. The good news is that these are all solved problems. It's more about tailoring the information and distributing it. It could be the online equivalent of a Sears article on how to build a shed. I personally really enjoyed the "Links" sections at the bottoms of everyone's Web 1.0 pages.
  - bluGill 9y ago
    There are two hard parts: security and discoverability. As a programmer I know 95% of what is needed already exists, what is left is security and some ease of use. plex (https://www.plex.tv/ https://www.plex.tv/) already has most of what you need. However if I put a video of my kid's first words on plex how does grandma find it?
- krapp 9y ago
  Why host videos rather than torrent them?
  - enzanki_ars 9y ago
skykooler 9y ago
Part of the problem is how asymmetric internet connections are now. My home connection may be 150 Mbit down, but I only get about 5 Mbit upload. And I gather this is fairly standard for most (American, at any rate) ISPs.
jobigoud 9y ago
Discoverability is already pretty shitty on YouTube, imagine if everyone had its own server. How do you find anything relevant? We need to solve distributed search first, maybe something like the YaCy project.
pishpash 9y ago
Most consumer internet contracts contain clauses that prohibit hosting. Independent ISP's 20 years ago didn't have such clauses.
- prepend 9y ago
  Yes they did. And we ignored it back then as well. Largely, the TOS/“contract” doesn’t define host clearly. So you need to get real specific what you mean. Blocking an ftp server because it’s a host would also block Apple iChat video because it’s “hosting” a video stream. For my ISP (ATT/uverse) they prevent hosting a commercial service, otherwise they aren’t specific. And it’s not for hosting purposes, it’s for SLA purposes so they aren’t responsible for revenue loss from system outage.
tmaly 9y ago
I have the high end speed of internet from Comcast, but if you read their Acceptable Use Policy for XFINITY® Internet, Technical Restrictions: use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;
- paulie_a 9y ago
  Who cares? ToSes should simply be ignored

vinniejames 9y ago

Check out Plex

zingmars 9y ago
I'm not sure Plex would be a good option for sharing stuff with others. And on that note how many people actually have static IPs these days that allows them to easily host services like that? As the IP shortage worsens expect more carrier grade NATs to pop up.
- bluGill 9y ago
  Side node: if you doin't have ipv6 ask your ISP when it is coming.
- vinniejames 9y ago
  You don't need a static IP with Plex, only a Plex account with granted access

qubex 9y ago

Yes... I'd always been the type of person that ran some kind of server with network services in a DMZ on my home network. Of late I dismantled everything because it just isn’t worth the (perceived) hassle anymore. Most of all, cloud services and so forth have made us lazy.

enzanki_ars 9y ago

We need to solve a couple of problems first. Right now, standing up a web host correctly is difficult. Getting the settings right is troublesome, buying a domain can be expensive and hard to set up, and directing the DNS of that domain to your home's internet (where most homes, at least in the US, are dynamic addresses) is very difficult. Video hosting is a tricky experience. Delivering quickly at multiple bitrates in an easy to use interface is hard. There is a reason why YouTube, Netflix, and more spend a lot of time working on improving video quality while reducing data usage. Finally, if everyone hosts their one videos, how will discovery work?

ironjunkie 9y ago
Good point. And all of this is exactly what needs to be resolved. How? I would love to see some initiatives in that area (beside IPFS)
- chillingeffect 9y ago
  I would love to see it, too. The good news is that these are all solved problems. It's more about tailoring the information and distributing it. It could be the online equivalent of a Sears article on how to build a shed. I personally really enjoyed the "Links" sections at the bottoms of everyone's Web 1.0 pages.
- bluGill 9y ago
  There are two hard parts: security and discoverability. As a programmer I know 95% of what is needed already exists, what is left is security and some ease of use. plex (https://www.plex.tv/ https://www.plex.tv/) already has most of what you need. However if I put a video of my kid's first words on plex how does grandma find it?
krapp 9y ago
Why host videos rather than torrent them?
- enzanki_ars 9y ago

skykooler 9y ago

Part of the problem is how asymmetric internet connections are now. My home connection may be 150 Mbit down, but I only get about 5 Mbit upload. And I gather this is fairly standard for most (American, at any rate) ISPs.

jobigoud 9y ago

Discoverability is already pretty shitty on YouTube, imagine if everyone had its own server. How do you find anything relevant? We need to solve distributed search first, maybe something like the YaCy project.

pishpash 9y ago

Most consumer internet contracts contain clauses that prohibit hosting. Independent ISP's 20 years ago didn't have such clauses.

prepend 9y ago
Yes they did. And we ignored it back then as well. Largely, the TOS/“contract” doesn’t define host clearly. So you need to get real specific what you mean. Blocking an ftp server because it’s a host would also block Apple iChat video because it’s “hosting” a video stream. For my ISP (ATT/uverse) they prevent hosting a commercial service, otherwise they aren’t specific. And it’s not for hosting purposes, it’s for SLA purposes so they aren’t responsible for revenue loss from system outage.

tmaly 9y ago

I have the high end speed of internet from Comcast, but if you read their Acceptable Use Policy for XFINITY® Internet, Technical Restrictions: use or run dedicated, stand-alone equipment or servers from the Premises that provide network content or any other services to anyone outside of your Premises local area network (“Premises LAN”), also commonly referred to as public services or servers. Examples of prohibited equipment and servers include, but are not limited to, email, web hosting, file sharing, and proxy services and servers;

paulie_a 9y ago
Who cares? ToSes should simply be ignored