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After reading that thread I immediately though - Why is there always that guy yelling "But the extreme case doesn't hold, therefore it's invalid" They just com

After reading that thread I immediately though - Why is there always that guy yelling "But the extreme case doesn't hold, therefore it's invalid" They just come off as an uninformed troll - the truth is it is very rare in life that any single thing meets the perfect solution. The best anyone can do is make an effort to move toward that goal whilst we look for better solutions AND we move away from solutions that are definitely not working in the direction of better solutions. In this case, we know for a fact that obscurity is a weaker and worse solution to open and honest security postures (for the most part), and the fact that we have the /opportunity/ to inspect things is infinitely better than not having that choice at all.

tyteddffc 8mo ago
Which of the two are you referring to
- awesome_dude 8mo ago
  > [?]Light » 2026-02-22 @light@noc.social @lxo Do you genuinely honestly actually audit the source code of every single piece of software running on your system and compile it all yourself, including web code? Either you have a lot of time on your hands and a lot of skill, or you're running a very minimal system, or you actually don't. ... [?]Light » 2026-02-22 @light@noc.social @lxo And even if you do, most people* can't. So for them, they need third-party audits, which as I have previously pointed out, can be done without source code. Or otherwise they try to get their software from sources they trust. *For example, rocket scientists and brain surgeons 2 0 ↺ [?]Alexandre Oliva » 2026-02-22 @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br I don't have to. that's the power of community. security doesn't work in absolutes, and auditability is an imperfect deterrent, but it's infinitely better than the moves to prevent auditability that hostile vendors adopt I do audit the rare cases of web blobs that are imposed on me, because I can't count on community for those, and my security depends on it even when my freedom has been unjustly taken away ... [?]Light » 2026-02-22 @light@noc.social @lxo Then you personally know other programmers that you trust to audit it for you. Again, most people don't have that. ... 2 0 ↺ [?]Alexandre Oliva » 2026-02-22 @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br that's missing the point. auditability alone is already quite a deterrent. that some of us actually engage in auditing is a bonus that benefits everyone, even if it doesn't happen very often. it's kind of the panopticon effect, but for the better.

tyteddffc 8mo ago

Which of the two are you referring to

awesome_dude 8mo ago
> [?]Light » 2026-02-22 @light@noc.social @lxo Do you genuinely honestly actually audit the source code of every single piece of software running on your system and compile it all yourself, including web code? Either you have a lot of time on your hands and a lot of skill, or you're running a very minimal system, or you actually don't. ... [?]Light » 2026-02-22 @light@noc.social @lxo And even if you do, most people* can't. So for them, they need third-party audits, which as I have previously pointed out, can be done without source code. Or otherwise they try to get their software from sources they trust. *For example, rocket scientists and brain surgeons 2 0 ↺ [?]Alexandre Oliva » 2026-02-22 @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br I don't have to. that's the power of community. security doesn't work in absolutes, and auditability is an imperfect deterrent, but it's infinitely better than the moves to prevent auditability that hostile vendors adopt I do audit the rare cases of web blobs that are imposed on me, because I can't count on community for those, and my security depends on it even when my freedom has been unjustly taken away ... [?]Light » 2026-02-22 @light@noc.social @lxo Then you personally know other programmers that you trust to audit it for you. Again, most people don't have that. ... 2 0 ↺ [?]Alexandre Oliva » 2026-02-22 @lxo@snac.lx.oliva.nom.br that's missing the point. auditability alone is already quite a deterrent. that some of us actually engage in auditing is a bonus that benefits everyone, even if it doesn't happen very often. it's kind of the panopticon effect, but for the better.