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And that, dear reader, is why you should host your own infrastructure on your own network connection. Besides being cheaper than using hosted services it: - pr

And that, dear reader, is why you should host your own infrastructure on your own network connection. Besides being cheaper than using hosted services it: - protects you from this type of arbitrary abuse of power - helps in keeping third parties from mining you for all your data - helps in resisting censorship - protects you from surprise changes or cancellations of services (Google Reader, Google+, Microsoft PlaysForSure, etc.) - gives you more control over your data So get that Raspberry Pi, that old laptop without a screen, that abandoned diskless client or some other low-power (as in power consumption) machine with a few GB of memory and a few GHz of CPU and start tinkering. There are readymade solutions for those who dislike tinkering but this being Hacker News I'd assume most of you do. There are plenty of posts on this board and elsewhere on this subject so I won't repeat the whole list of services and software which can be used except for one: add a git repository (e.g. gitea [1], sourcehut [2], gitlab being too heavy for most SBCs) so you can be master (pun intended) over your own data. Nae lairds, nae kings, we are free. [1] https://gitea.io/en-us/ https://gitea.io/en-us/ [2] https://sr.ht/~sircmpwn/sourcehut/ https://sr.ht/~sircmpwn/sourcehut/

syshum 6y ago
While I agree with that to a degree, and it does provide some protection it does not provide total protection They will then attack your Domain Register, or your DDOS protection (CloudFlare) or ISP (as more residential plan forbid running any server the ISP will ban you not for political or other reasons but for running a server on a residential plan), have your bank account / credit card cancelled (this has happened) etc etc etc
- Yetanfou 6y ago
  No, it does not provide total protection against malevolent third parties, nothing can. It does make it harder to catch each and every person who dares to step beyond the set boundaries of the narrative so it is a step in the right direction.
zbentley 6y ago
> on your own network connection ISPs can ban users just as capriciously as any other company. And they do. Decentralized internet alternatives are both harder to use (and "host your own infrastructure" is already impossibly hard for the vast majority of people) and too limited to be useful. It's time to accept that and emergent behavior of the internet is to become more centralized, not less.
- Yetanfou 6y ago
  Change ISP, then. Use a mobile ISP. Use Starlink for all I care. Just laying down to accept that and emergent behavior of the internet is to become more centralized is not an option if you want to retain a semblance of 'data freedom'.
  - twothamendment 6y ago
    Some of us have only one ISP to pick from. I look forward to seeing what Starlink can offer, just so I know who to call if my ISP decides they don't like me. Nothing would kill my data freedom like a lack of pipeline.
    - Aeolun 6y ago
      This wouldn’t solve the problem though, as starlink would just be your new ISP.
      - Yetanfou 6y ago
        If traditional ISPs including Starlink and the other upcoming satellite-based access providers all end up blocking you [1] there are other ways of getting linked up, even though they come at the cost of performance and ease of use. Mesh networks can be used for the 'last mile', I2P or similar 'darknet' protocols can be used to get content spread, a willing neighbour could hook you up through wifi and tor, etc. Do mind that this is not a goal in and of itself, it would be a way to continue to be connected to the 'net in the face of a total blockade by regular commercial access providers. Where there is a will there is a way. [1] If everybody is out to block you it might also be time to wonder why they're all blocking you...

syshum 6y ago

While I agree with that to a degree, and it does provide some protection it does not provide total protection They will then attack your Domain Register, or your DDOS protection (CloudFlare) or ISP (as more residential plan forbid running any server the ISP will ban you not for political or other reasons but for running a server on a residential plan), have your bank account / credit card cancelled (this has happened) etc etc etc

Yetanfou 6y ago
No, it does not provide total protection against malevolent third parties, nothing can. It does make it harder to catch each and every person who dares to step beyond the set boundaries of the narrative so it is a step in the right direction.

zbentley 6y ago

> on your own network connection ISPs can ban users just as capriciously as any other company. And they do. Decentralized internet alternatives are both harder to use (and "host your own infrastructure" is already impossibly hard for the vast majority of people) and too limited to be useful. It's time to accept that and emergent behavior of the internet is to become more centralized, not less.

Yetanfou 6y ago
Change ISP, then. Use a mobile ISP. Use Starlink for all I care. Just laying down to accept that and emergent behavior of the internet is to become more centralized is not an option if you want to retain a semblance of 'data freedom'.
- twothamendment 6y ago
  Some of us have only one ISP to pick from. I look forward to seeing what Starlink can offer, just so I know who to call if my ISP decides they don't like me. Nothing would kill my data freedom like a lack of pipeline.
  - Aeolun 6y ago
    This wouldn’t solve the problem though, as starlink would just be your new ISP.
    - Yetanfou 6y ago
      If traditional ISPs including Starlink and the other upcoming satellite-based access providers all end up blocking you [1] there are other ways of getting linked up, even though they come at the cost of performance and ease of use. Mesh networks can be used for the 'last mile', I2P or similar 'darknet' protocols can be used to get content spread, a willing neighbour could hook you up through wifi and tor, etc. Do mind that this is not a goal in and of itself, it would be a way to continue to be connected to the 'net in the face of a total blockade by regular commercial access providers. Where there is a will there is a way. [1] If everybody is out to block you it might also be time to wonder why they're all blocking you...