Merge branch 'hugo' into 'main'

moved to hugo

See merge request kdam0/kumardamani.net!1

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+author = "Kumar Damani"
+title = "Why do I self-host?"
+date = "2022-09-12"
+description = "Overview of why I self-host."
+tags = [
+    "personal",
+    "tech",
+]
++++
+
+My reasons for self-hosting.
+<!--more-->
+
+## Digital freedom/independence
+
+![Freedeom pic](freedom.jpg)
+
+To put it simply, if you use a service such as Lastpass, iCloud, Dropbox, GDrive, OneDrive, etc.
+to store your data, **you do not own it**.
+
+You are *trusting* corp. X to store it, secure it, and make it available to you.
+Beyond the obvious privacy pitfalls with this, there are many other things that
+could go wrong with your data being stored this way:
+
+* Corp. X could vanish/close/"declare bankruptcy" (as with many crypto corps. lately), and you lose your data.
+* Corp. X could make a policy change and lock you out from accessing your account.
+* Or you could "forget" to pay the bills a few times and get locked out.
+* Corp. X could get hacked, and your data gets stolen. This is the latest trend!
+* Many other doomsday 💀 scenarios.
+
+Personally, I don't feel comfortable depending on the existence of corp. X *for data that is important to
+    me* i.e. a lifetime's worth of documents, memories, and passwords etc.
+I 💤 much better at night knowing I am avoiding most if not all of the risks above.
+
+
+## Privacy
+Normies often ask me some variation of:
+* Why do I care if corp. X has my data? I have nothing to hide!
+* Since I'm aware of targeted advertising, it won't work on me,
+    so why should I care if corp. X has my data?
+
+{{< figure src="why.jpg" alt="my pic" width="75%" >}}
+
+To such questions, I follow-up with:
+> **Do you want to contribute to a dystopian ([Orwellian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwellian) future?**
+
+{{< figure src="police.jpg" alt="thought police" width="75%" >}}
+
+If your answer is *yes*, then no need to read further, the following will not change your mind.
+
+If your answer is *no*, but you aren't convinced that/how these are related,
+then the *argument goes something like this...*
+* We live in a world of mass data-collection/surveillance.
+* This enables corp. X to use techniques such as ML (Machine Learning) to build/train models (or "AI" -
+    Artificial Intelligence)that aim to predict human behaviour.
+* That by itself is not a problem here.
+* The problems arise when corp. X use these techniques for profit without
+    regard for the harm they cause at a *population level*.
+
+I have unfortunately lived through enough of these cases to be able to cite a few recent examples:
+* Instagram (etc.) designs its apps/products optimizing for maximum <cite> addiction[^1]</cite>.
+    Think slot-machines.
+    You might think you are "too smart" to fall for these tricks, and you might be right,
+    but what about the millions of adolescents using these platforms who aren't as wise as you?
+    The data collected, and techniques developed from *your usage* enables platforms
+    to target not only you, but *all* users on the platform, including the most vulnerable.
+
+    Unfortunately, many of these kids will end up suffering from mental-health,
+    body-image, self-esteem <cite>issues[^2]</cite>,
+    and for some it **will be fatal**.
+    I do not think this is morally acceptable, and is primary reason I refuse
+    to participate in social-media platforms.
+
+    ![Depression](6imv05.jpg)
+    [^1]: [Smartphones and dompanime](https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/)
+    [^2]: [Mental health and social media](https://onlinedegrees.unr.edu/online-master-of-public-health/impact-of-social-media-on-youth-mental-health/)
+
+You could say "well that's due to bad parenting", but the point remains that
+more and more of the digital world is having <em>real world</em> negative consequences regardless of
+your individual participation level. Another example:
+
+* By now its well known that Facebook's (etc.) targeted advertising
+    played a significant a role in the 2016 US <cite>Elections[^3]</cite>.
+    Facebook was able to do this thanks to its users voluntarily giving personal information for two decades.
+    However, the policies that come out of this election has real world consequences to millions
+    (if not billions) of people, regardless of their *individual* Facebook usage, which
+    undermines the very purpose of a democratic republic.
+    Regardless of your political affiliation, it should worry you that this *can* happen.
+
+    ![Elections](elections.jpg)
+    [^3]: [Excerpt from Facebook ex-exec](https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society)
+
+To summarize, it might not be a problem if individuals disregard their
+privacy at the individual level, but in aggregate, a <em>population-wide</em> disregard
+has dystopian consequences.
+
+So the question you have to ask yourself is:
+> **What can I do?**
+
+Start by **valuing your privacy**.
+Then, follow some of these tips to *say no...*
+* **Limit your exposure to these services.** If a friend stops talking to you because
+    of this, then congratulations, you've just gotten rid of a fake friend. You're welcome.
+* [Self-host](https://wiki.r-selfhosted.com/getting-started/what-is-self-hosting/)
+    as much as you can.
+    You can see how I [implement](https://gitlab.com/kdam0/vps) this and replicate it yourself,
+    though it is a bit involved for normies.
+* If neither of the above work for you, then you'll need to do some research to
+    find an alternative source that you can trust isn't doing the same thing.
+    Use [this](https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted)
+    as a starting point and try to search (Ctrl+f) for your service. For eg. Twitter, and
+    Instagram both have popular options available.
+* **Stop using Chrome.** If you must use it, use [Brave](https://brave.com/) instead.
+    I advocate for [Firefox](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/?redirect_source=firefox-com).
+    Neither are perfect, but both offer privacy respecting options in their settings.
+    Specifically disabling cross-site tracking is important.
+    Beyond that, install an ad-blocker extension such as [UBlock Origin](https://ublockorigin.com/)
+    on both of them. Don't forget to do the same on your mobile device!
+* Things get more complicated on cell-phones.
+    I suggest switching to a privacy respecting operating-system such as [GrapheneOS](https://grapheneos.org/)
+    Short of this, you can only limit your usage.
+* Support government policies that respect user-privacy.
+
+{{< figure src="office.png" alt="office pic" width="75%" >}}
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