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diff --git a/self-host.html b/self-host.html deleted file mode 100644 index d64161b..0000000 --- a/self-host.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,187 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE HTML> -<html lang="en"> - -<head> - <title></title> - <meta charset="UTF-8"> - <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> - <link rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' href='style.css'> -</head> - -<body> - <h1>Why do I <a href="https://wiki.r-selfhosted.com/getting-started/what-is-self-hosting/">self-host</a>?</h1> - - <h2>Digital freedom/independence</h2> - <p> - To put it simply, if you use a service such as Lastpass, iCloud, Dropbox, GDrive, OneDrive, etc. to store your - data, <em>you do - not own it</em>. - You are <em>trusting</em> 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: - <ul> - <li>Corp. X could vanish/close/"declare bankruptcy" (as with many crypto corps. lately), and you lose your data. - </li> - <li>Corp. X could make a policy change and lock you out from accessing your account.</li> - <li>Or you could "forget" to pay the bills a few times and get locked out.</li> - <li>Corp. X could get hacked, and your data gets stolen. This is the latest trend!</li> - <li>Many other doomsday 💀 scenarios.</li> - </ul> - </p> - - <p> - Personally, I don't feel comfortable depending on the existence of corp. X <em>for data that is important to - me</em> 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. - </p> - - <h2 id="privacy">Privacy</h2> - - <p>Normies often ask me some variation of: - <ul> - <li> - <em>"Why do I care if corp. X has my data? I have nothing to hide!"</em> - </li> - <li> - <em>"Since I'm aware of targeted advertising, it won't work on me, - so why should I care if corp. X has my data?"</em> - </li> - </ul> - </p> - - <dl> - <dt> - To such questions, I follow-up with: - </dt> - <br> - <dd> - <strong>Do you want to contribute to a dystopian (<a - href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwellian">Orwellian</a>) future?</strong> - </dd> - </dl> - - <p> - If your answer is <em>yes</em>, then no need to read further, the following will not change your mind. - </p> - - <dl> - <dt> - If your answer is <em>no</em>, but you aren't convinced that/how these are related, - then the <em>argument goes something like this...</em> - </dt> - <br> - <dd> - We live in a world of mass data-collection/surveillance. <br> - 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. <br> - That by itself is not a problem here. <br> - The problems arise when corp. X use these techniques for profit - without regard for the harm they cause at a <em>population level</em>. <br> - I have unfortunately lived through enough of these cases to be able to cite a few recent examples: - </dd> - <br> - <dd> - Instagram (etc.) designs its apps/products optimizing for maximum addiction [0]. - 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 <em>your usage</em> enables platforms - to target not only you, but <em>all</em> users on the platform, including the most vulnerable. - <br> - <br> - Unfortunately, many of these kids will end up suffering from mental-health, - body-image, self-esteem issues [1], and for some it <strong>will be fatal</strong>. - I do not think this is morally acceptable, and is primary reason I refuse - to participate in social-media platforms. - <br> - <br> - <a href="https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2018/dopamine-smartphones-battle-time/">[0]</a>, - <a - href="https://onlinedegrees.unr.edu/online-master-of-public-health/impact-of-social-media-on-youth-mental-health/">[1]</a> - </dd> - <br> - <dd> - 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. For example: - </dd> - <br> - <dd> - By now its well known that Facebook's (etc.) targeted advertising - played a significant a role in the 2016 US Elections [2]. 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 <em>individual</em> Facebook usage, which - undermines the very purpose of a democratic republic. Regardless of your political affiliation, - it should worry you that this <em>can</em> happen. - <br> - <br> - <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2017/12/11/16761016/former-facebook-exec-ripping-apart-society">[2]</a> - </dd> - </dl> - - <p> - 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. - </p> - - <dl> - <dt> - So the question you have to ask yourself is... - </dt> - <br> - <dd> - <strong>What can I do?</strong> - </dd> - </dl> - - <p> - Start by <strong>valuing your privacy</strong>. - Then, follow some of the tips below to <em>say no...</em> - <ul> - <li> - <strong>Limit your exposure to these services.</strong> If a friend stops talking to you because - of this, then congratulations, you've just gotten rid of a fake friend. You're welcome. - </li> - <li> - <a href="https://wiki.r-selfhosted.com/getting-started/what-is-self-hosting/">Self-host</a> - as much as you can. - You can see how I <a href="https://gitlab.com/kdam0/vps">implement</a> this and replicate it yourself, - though it is a bit involved for normies. - </li> - <li> - 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 <a href="https://github.com/awesome-selfhosted/awesome-selfhosted">this</a> - as a starting point and try to search (Ctrl+f) for your service. For eg. Twitter, and - Instagram both have popular options available. - </li> - <li> - <strong>Stop using Chrome.</strong> If you must use it, use <a href="https://brave.com/">Brave</a> instead. - I advocate for <a href="https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/?redirect_source=firefox-com">Firefox</a>. - 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 <a href="https://ublockorigin.com/">uBlock Origin</a> - on both of them. - Don't forget to do the same on your mobile device! - </li> - <li> - Things get more complicated on cell-phones. - I suggest switching to a privacy respecting operating-system such as <a - href="https://grapheneos.org/">GrapheneOS</a>. - Short of this, you can only limit your usage. - </li> - <li> - Support government policies that respect user-privacy. - </li> - </ul> - </p> - - <br> - <big> - <a href="index.html">Return to main page</a></big> -</body> - -</html> |