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Ghost.org (the open source version, not the hosted one, as you mention). Optionally buy a domain name and point the blog to there via the settings. Thousands of

Ghost.org (the open source version, not the hosted one, as you mention). Optionally buy a domain name and point the blog to there via the settings. Thousands of people (and I guarantee you the vast majority are non-technical) run blogs like on WordPress or Ghost so not sure why you're thinking people would struggle.

nickthegreek 2y ago
Thousands of people do it, so millions of people can? You somehow distilled 100+ steps into 2 sentences like they are fundamentally understood by the masses who struggle with the idea of file system. You have fallen victim to the exact hacker mentality OP stated.
- satvikpendem 2y ago
  You're right, it's millions of people who use Ghost, per their npm download statistics, not thousands. I read what OP said but I am not going to spend time copy pasting what the Ghost.org instructions say onto an HN comment when, yes, millions of people can and do already read and follow the instructions provided there. If one can't do what millions already do, follow a simple step by step process that is clearly laid out, then I'm sorry but they honestly don't deserve to have a blog.
  - carlosjobim 2y ago
    They claim one hundred million installs. If you believe that one hundred million real people are self hosting Ghost and blogging away, then I don't know what to say. This is again "if you don't know how to bore out a cylinder you don't deserve to drive". This is not a simple process for normal people: https://ghost.org/docs/install/ubuntu/ https://ghost.org/docs/install/ubuntu/
    - satvikpendem 2y ago
      It can be >1% of that figure and still be at "millions of self-hosted installs." "Normal people" should not be self hosting in the first place, not sure why you got the impression that they should be. I should amend my previous comment though, I meant that for normal people, they should be able to follow the hosted Ghost instructions and if they can't do that then they don't deserve to have a blog, not that they should set up self hosting themselves, as that's not feasible for most non-technical people.
      - carlosjobim 2y ago
        > "Normal people" should not be self hosting in the first place, not sure why you got the impression that they should be. That's exactly my point, so I agree completely with what you say. The article as well as a lot of people on HN insist that normal people should self host their stuff instead of using social media and proprietary, and I say that it's really not possible or desirable for them.
  - nickthegreek 2y ago
    I’d argue that they deserve to have a blog, but they should not self host. Still, initially setting up blog software is just one small step of securing, backing up and maintaining a public accessible system that in no way the majority are equipped to handle.
    - satvikpendem 2y ago
      Yes, but that does not seem to fit OP's contradictory stipulations [0]. Apparently self-hosting means that a platform is proprietary and thus discounted as a valid answer from their initial question. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42758104#42765003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42758104#42765003
carlosjobim 2y ago
"Prerequisites The officially recommended production installation requires the following stack: Ubuntu 20.04 or Ubuntu 22.04 NGINX (minimum of 1.9.5 for SSL) A supported version of Node.js MySQL 8 Systemd A server with at least 1GB memory A registered domain name" Do you think a normal person has any idea what the above is or how to set it up? I like Ghost, but this is like a mechanic saying "bore out the cylinder". Non-developers will have a very hard time setting up a self-hosted Ghost blog. That's why the proprietary Ghost platform exists, which is an excellent choice. Thousands of people run blogs on WordPress, but billions of people express themselves through social media. Because self-hosting is a nightmare unless it's your job to work with sys admin stuff. I will suggest a solution that would let normal people easily host and own their own blog without being sys admins or developers: A "Blog" app that you could get in the App Store on your iPad. Set-up includes deciding a domain name and paying for it with Apple Pay. Then start writing posts and pressing publish, everything taken care of out of sight, with built in hosting that you pay for monthly. If the user so pleases, they could activate features such as paid memberships or publishing to search engines, taken care of in the background by the "Blog" service. It could also include community features like social media, which could be moderated like social media – with the difference that they can't take down your blog. Normal people would be able to use this and focus on being creative and not on lint error or PHP version.
- satvikpendem 2y ago
  Your arguments are contradictory. Ghost is not proprietary, it is open source, so unless you're using a different definition of the word proprietary, you will have to clarify how Ghost is proprietary. If you mean "hosted," then again your arguments are contradictory. You are asking how the average non-technical user should be able to blog without anything "proprietary" (hosted), without also setting anything up. The contradiction is that you can't want something to be self-hosted and also not expend any effort whatsoever towards it, self-hosted always required some knowledge of time and effort, and thus you correctly say that people should use something hosted. Your example itself is literally what Ghost does, (and you even say yourself that it's hosted) I don't see how it is any different or less "proprietary" than hosted Ghost. Therefore, by the logic laid out by your own stipulations, your initial question actually would not have any logically valid answers. There is simply no platform that is not proprietary (hosted by your definition it seems) that also does not require any knowledge or setup.

nickthegreek 2y ago

Thousands of people do it, so millions of people can? You somehow distilled 100+ steps into 2 sentences like they are fundamentally understood by the masses who struggle with the idea of file system. You have fallen victim to the exact hacker mentality OP stated.

satvikpendem 2y ago
You're right, it's millions of people who use Ghost, per their npm download statistics, not thousands. I read what OP said but I am not going to spend time copy pasting what the Ghost.org instructions say onto an HN comment when, yes, millions of people can and do already read and follow the instructions provided there. If one can't do what millions already do, follow a simple step by step process that is clearly laid out, then I'm sorry but they honestly don't deserve to have a blog.
- carlosjobim 2y ago
  They claim one hundred million installs. If you believe that one hundred million real people are self hosting Ghost and blogging away, then I don't know what to say. This is again "if you don't know how to bore out a cylinder you don't deserve to drive". This is not a simple process for normal people: https://ghost.org/docs/install/ubuntu/ https://ghost.org/docs/install/ubuntu/
  - satvikpendem 2y ago
    It can be >1% of that figure and still be at "millions of self-hosted installs." "Normal people" should not be self hosting in the first place, not sure why you got the impression that they should be. I should amend my previous comment though, I meant that for normal people, they should be able to follow the hosted Ghost instructions and if they can't do that then they don't deserve to have a blog, not that they should set up self hosting themselves, as that's not feasible for most non-technical people.
    - carlosjobim 2y ago
      > "Normal people" should not be self hosting in the first place, not sure why you got the impression that they should be. That's exactly my point, so I agree completely with what you say. The article as well as a lot of people on HN insist that normal people should self host their stuff instead of using social media and proprietary, and I say that it's really not possible or desirable for them.
- nickthegreek 2y ago
  I’d argue that they deserve to have a blog, but they should not self host. Still, initially setting up blog software is just one small step of securing, backing up and maintaining a public accessible system that in no way the majority are equipped to handle.
  - satvikpendem 2y ago
    Yes, but that does not seem to fit OP's contradictory stipulations [0]. Apparently self-hosting means that a platform is proprietary and thus discounted as a valid answer from their initial question. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42758104#42765003 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42758104#42765003

carlosjobim 2y ago

"Prerequisites The officially recommended production installation requires the following stack: Ubuntu 20.04 or Ubuntu 22.04 NGINX (minimum of 1.9.5 for SSL) A supported version of Node.js MySQL 8 Systemd A server with at least 1GB memory A registered domain name" Do you think a normal person has any idea what the above is or how to set it up? I like Ghost, but this is like a mechanic saying "bore out the cylinder". Non-developers will have a very hard time setting up a self-hosted Ghost blog. That's why the proprietary Ghost platform exists, which is an excellent choice. Thousands of people run blogs on WordPress, but billions of people express themselves through social media. Because self-hosting is a nightmare unless it's your job to work with sys admin stuff. I will suggest a solution that would let normal people easily host and own their own blog without being sys admins or developers: A "Blog" app that you could get in the App Store on your iPad. Set-up includes deciding a domain name and paying for it with Apple Pay. Then start writing posts and pressing publish, everything taken care of out of sight, with built in hosting that you pay for monthly. If the user so pleases, they could activate features such as paid memberships or publishing to search engines, taken care of in the background by the "Blog" service. It could also include community features like social media, which could be moderated like social media – with the difference that they can't take down your blog. Normal people would be able to use this and focus on being creative and not on lint error or PHP version.

satvikpendem 2y ago
Your arguments are contradictory. Ghost is not proprietary, it is open source, so unless you're using a different definition of the word proprietary, you will have to clarify how Ghost is proprietary. If you mean "hosted," then again your arguments are contradictory. You are asking how the average non-technical user should be able to blog without anything "proprietary" (hosted), without also setting anything up. The contradiction is that you can't want something to be self-hosted and also not expend any effort whatsoever towards it, self-hosted always required some knowledge of time and effort, and thus you correctly say that people should use something hosted. Your example itself is literally what Ghost does, (and you even say yourself that it's hosted) I don't see how it is any different or less "proprietary" than hosted Ghost. Therefore, by the logic laid out by your own stipulations, your initial question actually would not have any logically valid answers. There is simply no platform that is not proprietary (hosted by your definition it seems) that also does not require any knowledge or setup.