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That "dumb" infrastructure still exists. You can host your own file server, either on your own hardware, or in the cloud. Use of these consumer-grade cloud se

by RIMR 5y ago

That "dumb" infrastructure still exists. You can host your own file server, either on your own hardware, or in the cloud. Use of these consumer-grade cloud services comes with pitfalls. I see no utility in pretending that alternatives don't exist though, because they're pretty abundant.

sovietmudkipz 5y ago
Is there a source that breaks down this sort of stuff on your own hardware in a beginner friendly or at least explicit way? One hesitation I have to exposing something public that may not be secure, compromising my home network. It’s intimidating and holds me back, a bit.
- BoysenberryPi 5y ago
  I'll second this. I'm pretty techno-savvy if I do say so myself but I haven't the slightest when it comes to self-hosting and security concerns also prevent me from doing it.
umvi 5y ago
> That "dumb" infrastructure still exists. You can host your own file server, either on your own hardware, or in the cloud. Can you though? I would consider AWS "in the cloud" yet they will give you the boot if they disagree with you morally[0]. Same with Cloudflare[1]. So it seems even infrastructure-level cloud offerings are prone to moral arbitration. Hosting on your own hardware is the only option, but even then... I don't see any reason twitter mobs couldn't pressure Comcast or whoever is connecting your hardware to the internet to cut you off. [0] https://telecoms.com/508138/aws-banning-of-parler-exposes-the-precariousness-of-the-public-cloud/ https://telecoms.com/508138/aws-banning-of-parler-exposes-th... [1] https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/
- aluminum96 5y ago
  > they will give you the boot if they disagree with you morally I don't think this is accurate. They pretty much only ban you if you're exposing them to legal liability.
- sieabahlpark 5y ago
- bigtech-1984 5y ago
  Your best bet is probably to pursue hosting in another country with better freedoms.
  - Macha 5y ago
    The best you're going to get is different freedoms. Russia might have free speech for nazis, but not for Putin critics, for example.
  - omoikane 5y ago
    You could also declare yourself to be an independent nation and start a hosting company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HavenCo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HavenCo But this is probably not your best bet.
- judge2020 5y ago
  Comcast already regularly cuts users off for DMCA violations, many of which are supplied automatically by bots watching torrent trackers. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/heres-what-an-actual-six-strikes-copyright-alert-looks-like/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/heres-what-an-ac...
kypro 5y ago
You say this as if it is easy or inexpensive to do well... If it was why would the service even exist in the first place? Surely everyone would just do it themselves. I also don't think you would be arguing that people bothered about WhatsApp or iOS tracking them should just create their own messaging app or mobile OS. The vast majority of software is not just difficult do yourself, but almost completely infeasible. In fact it's hard to even think of any software I use regularly which I as a experienced software engineer could easily build myself, let alone an average user concerned about this stuff...
- je42 5y ago
  Even it if was open source, just deploying something as convenient as google drive is a challenge. i.e. something that works on iOS , Android and Web + has proper access management and has enough storage (including automatic backup).
ravenstine 5y ago
lol at all the downvoting. You're totally right. Depending on one's standards and expertise, yes, there are alternatives to the mainstream dumping grounds for your files. The most basic is to just store files on external drives. This is what I do because, most of the time, I'm not actively sharing or using all my photos and downloads. I've scattered them between drives for well over a decade and only had a problem when one of my magnetic drives began to fail, but I ended up not losing anything. Even if I lost all my photos and stuff I really wouldn't care that much. That's why I can't be arsed to trust The Google or Zuckerborg or whomever with my files or using Dropbox. I'm more likely to wake up one day to be hard locked out of all my Google accounts than to lose anything meaningful because of physical on-premises storage. There's also network drives, and plenty of off-the-shelf ones exist. My parents have one and it's exactly what you'd think; a device with a ton of storage that's accessible through a Dropbox-like web interface. And if you're really geeky, you can hack together a way to shove files into S3 or whatever storage service of choice. Yes, the average person won't have the motivation or wherewithal to do anything besides my first option, but that's really the kind of thing you'll always get by being average. And obviously those who believe they need all the bells and whistles of Dropbox or Google Drive may also believe there are no practical alternatives outside of Silicon Valley Big Tech, in which case it's entirely up to them how comfortable they are with that. Personally, I would rather rely on services as little as possible.

by RIMR 5y ago

sovietmudkipz 5y ago

Is there a source that breaks down this sort of stuff on your own hardware in a beginner friendly or at least explicit way? One hesitation I have to exposing something public that may not be secure, compromising my home network. It’s intimidating and holds me back, a bit.

BoysenberryPi 5y ago
I'll second this. I'm pretty techno-savvy if I do say so myself but I haven't the slightest when it comes to self-hosting and security concerns also prevent me from doing it.

umvi 5y ago

> That "dumb" infrastructure still exists. You can host your own file server, either on your own hardware, or in the cloud. Can you though? I would consider AWS "in the cloud" yet they will give you the boot if they disagree with you morally[0]. Same with Cloudflare[1]. So it seems even infrastructure-level cloud offerings are prone to moral arbitration. Hosting on your own hardware is the only option, but even then... I don't see any reason twitter mobs couldn't pressure Comcast or whoever is connecting your hardware to the internet to cut you off. [0] https://telecoms.com/508138/aws-banning-of-parler-exposes-the-precariousness-of-the-public-cloud/ https://telecoms.com/508138/aws-banning-of-parler-exposes-th... [1] https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/ https://blog.cloudflare.com/why-we-terminated-daily-stormer/

aluminum96 5y ago
> they will give you the boot if they disagree with you morally I don't think this is accurate. They pretty much only ban you if you're exposing them to legal liability.
sieabahlpark 5y ago
bigtech-1984 5y ago
Your best bet is probably to pursue hosting in another country with better freedoms.
- Macha 5y ago
  The best you're going to get is different freedoms. Russia might have free speech for nazis, but not for Putin critics, for example.
- omoikane 5y ago
  You could also declare yourself to be an independent nation and start a hosting company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HavenCo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HavenCo But this is probably not your best bet.
judge2020 5y ago
Comcast already regularly cuts users off for DMCA violations, many of which are supplied automatically by bots watching torrent trackers. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/heres-what-an-actual-six-strikes-copyright-alert-looks-like/ https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/02/heres-what-an-ac...

kypro 5y ago

You say this as if it is easy or inexpensive to do well... If it was why would the service even exist in the first place? Surely everyone would just do it themselves. I also don't think you would be arguing that people bothered about WhatsApp or iOS tracking them should just create their own messaging app or mobile OS. The vast majority of software is not just difficult do yourself, but almost completely infeasible. In fact it's hard to even think of any software I use regularly which I as a experienced software engineer could easily build myself, let alone an average user concerned about this stuff...

je42 5y ago
Even it if was open source, just deploying something as convenient as google drive is a challenge. i.e. something that works on iOS , Android and Web + has proper access management and has enough storage (including automatic backup).

ravenstine 5y ago

lol at all the downvoting. You're totally right. Depending on one's standards and expertise, yes, there are alternatives to the mainstream dumping grounds for your files. The most basic is to just store files on external drives. This is what I do because, most of the time, I'm not actively sharing or using all my photos and downloads. I've scattered them between drives for well over a decade and only had a problem when one of my magnetic drives began to fail, but I ended up not losing anything. Even if I lost all my photos and stuff I really wouldn't care that much. That's why I can't be arsed to trust The Google or Zuckerborg or whomever with my files or using Dropbox. I'm more likely to wake up one day to be hard locked out of all my Google accounts than to lose anything meaningful because of physical on-premises storage. There's also network drives, and plenty of off-the-shelf ones exist. My parents have one and it's exactly what you'd think; a device with a ton of storage that's accessible through a Dropbox-like web interface. And if you're really geeky, you can hack together a way to shove files into S3 or whatever storage service of choice. Yes, the average person won't have the motivation or wherewithal to do anything besides my first option, but that's really the kind of thing you'll always get by being average. And obviously those who believe they need all the bells and whistles of Dropbox or Google Drive may also believe there are no practical alternatives outside of Silicon Valley Big Tech, in which case it's entirely up to them how comfortable they are with that. Personally, I would rather rely on services as little as possible.