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> I don't really understand why the decentralized internet folks harp on CDNs For sure, I was just using it as an example on how subjective "owning your platfo

> I don't really understand why the decentralized internet folks harp on CDNs For sure, I was just using it as an example on how subjective "owning your platform" can be. I actually have zero problems with Cloudflare, CDNs, etc. If I did have a problem with it and you disagreed, wouldn't that still illustrate my point that "ownership" is subjective and opinionated?

crabmusket 4y ago
> how subjective "owning your platform" can be I think your point is a good one, but I don't entirely agree. I think the comment you were replying to suggests an objective criterion: > CDN is pretty interchangeable and easy to switch between So I think there is a real basis by which you can objectively decide how much of your platform you need to own. Outsource commodity components (Linux servers, CDN and static hosting, managed database as a service maybe?) but don't get locked into proprietary components (hypothetical e.g.: writing all your blog posts in the Medium editor, where you can't access the source if they remove the "export as markdown" button). Of course there are nuances, and we can argue over exactly how commodified a particular capability is, but I don't think that makes it subjective. Maybe each person prefers different tradeoffs on a subjective basis, but can probably regard the facts objectively (e.g. count the number of managed database providers, decide it's acceptably commodified, but still run your own database server anyway because it's interesting).
- heywoodlh 4y ago
  That's a really good point. I could definitely see interchangeable tooling being a good criteria for owning your platform. I feel like I've never described it that way before but that is totally how I determine what is going to be a part of my tech stack. I.E. "Is it possible to self host this tooling/workflow?", "Are there competitors?" are some of the questions I ask myself before adopting a tool or workflow. Being able to self host my critical applications is a big deal even if I don't choose to self host all of them. Again, very good point and I feel like I can totally get on board with this definition of ownership.

crabmusket 4y ago

> how subjective "owning your platform" can be I think your point is a good one, but I don't entirely agree. I think the comment you were replying to suggests an objective criterion: > CDN is pretty interchangeable and easy to switch between So I think there is a real basis by which you can objectively decide how much of your platform you need to own. Outsource commodity components (Linux servers, CDN and static hosting, managed database as a service maybe?) but don't get locked into proprietary components (hypothetical e.g.: writing all your blog posts in the Medium editor, where you can't access the source if they remove the "export as markdown" button). Of course there are nuances, and we can argue over exactly how commodified a particular capability is, but I don't think that makes it subjective. Maybe each person prefers different tradeoffs on a subjective basis, but can probably regard the facts objectively (e.g. count the number of managed database providers, decide it's acceptably commodified, but still run your own database server anyway because it's interesting).

heywoodlh 4y ago
That's a really good point. I could definitely see interchangeable tooling being a good criteria for owning your platform. I feel like I've never described it that way before but that is totally how I determine what is going to be a part of my tech stack. I.E. "Is it possible to self host this tooling/workflow?", "Are there competitors?" are some of the questions I ask myself before adopting a tool or workflow. Being able to self host my critical applications is a big deal even if I don't choose to self host all of them. Again, very good point and I feel like I can totally get on board with this definition of ownership.