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So a service like CloudFlare is the Great firewall of the world and CloudFlare can shut you down if you go against their interests as a supranational gatekeeper

by ljm 1y ago

So a service like CloudFlare is the Great firewall of the world and CloudFlare can shut you down if you go against their interests as a supranational gatekeeper. Smart thinking Batman.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
lurk2 1y ago
> CloudFlare can shut you down if you go against their interests as a supranational gatekeeper They already can. > Smart thinking Batman. “Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.” https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- gerdesj 1y ago
  “Be kind. Don't be snarky." Sometimes I think you can ignore the "rules" a bit - they are really guidelines. Your parent was clearly expressing exasperation and engaging effectively and intelligently.
zmmmmm 1y ago
agreed on that ... I'm not too happy with how CloudFlare tried to flex their influence on AI training, so I certainly wouldn't want them in charge of gatekeeping the whole internet. But the truth is, we are already there. CloudFlare can already do this, they just won't because the their customers will leave if they violate their trust.
Aeolun 1y ago
Only if you want to keep using CloudFlare. You can make your site available without.
EasyMark 1y ago
There are alternatives to cloudflare tho. If the government cuts you off or starts enforcing 24/7 surveillance there's not a lot that can be done other than tossing them out in the next election (if there are elections) or civil disobedience until they renege
stingraycharles 1y ago
Cloudflare just provides the tools, ultimately it’s the website owner’s decision how to use them.
gr3ml1n 1y ago
Not really. It's more like Cloudflare is providing an ipset in your iptables config. It's not Cloudflare's decision: they're just making it easier for you to do it.
jeroenhd 1y ago
The people turning on the "block UK" button can block the UK regardless of what CDN they use. Cloudflare just offers a button with fewer false positives than naive GeoIP databases. They're not so much gatekeepers as they are the security guards hired by the stores themselves.

by ljm 1y ago

So a service like CloudFlare is the Great firewall of the world and CloudFlare can shut you down if you go against their interests as a supranational gatekeeper. Smart thinking Batman.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

lurk2 1y ago

> CloudFlare can shut you down if you go against their interests as a supranational gatekeeper They already can. > Smart thinking Batman. “Be kind. Don't be snarky. Converse curiously; don't cross-examine. Edit out swipes.” https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

gerdesj 1y ago
“Be kind. Don't be snarky." Sometimes I think you can ignore the "rules" a bit - they are really guidelines. Your parent was clearly expressing exasperation and engaging effectively and intelligently.

zmmmmm 1y ago

agreed on that ... I'm not too happy with how CloudFlare tried to flex their influence on AI training, so I certainly wouldn't want them in charge of gatekeeping the whole internet. But the truth is, we are already there. CloudFlare can already do this, they just won't because the their customers will leave if they violate their trust.

Aeolun 1y ago

Only if you want to keep using CloudFlare. You can make your site available without.

EasyMark 1y ago

There are alternatives to cloudflare tho. If the government cuts you off or starts enforcing 24/7 surveillance there's not a lot that can be done other than tossing them out in the next election (if there are elections) or civil disobedience until they renege

stingraycharles 1y ago

Cloudflare just provides the tools, ultimately it’s the website owner’s decision how to use them.

gr3ml1n 1y ago

Not really. It's more like Cloudflare is providing an ipset in your iptables config. It's not Cloudflare's decision: they're just making it easier for you to do it.

jeroenhd 1y ago

The people turning on the "block UK" button can block the UK regardless of what CDN they use. Cloudflare just offers a button with fewer false positives than naive GeoIP databases. They're not so much gatekeepers as they are the security guards hired by the stores themselves.