this post was submitted on 30 May 2024
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Selfhosted

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A place to share alternatives to popular online services that can be self-hosted without giving up privacy or locking you into a service you don't control.

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[–] [email protected] 41 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (7 children)

I get that. And I self host the things I care about. But for the average layman? I don't see self hosting as a real option. Unless you are decently tech savvy, and have an aptitude for troubleshooting, most people aren't gonna put in the time or effort of initial setup. Even if maintenance is minimal once it's running. That first leap into self-hosted is daunting.

I think of it this way.. would I expect my dad to be able to do it? Absolutely not. And my dad is decently tech savvy for 70.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago

The first step is normalising the idea of privacy so people can even see the point of paying for something they can easily get for free.

The next step would be to make products people can easily use without being tech savvy. A synology NAS has been great for me and I praise the setup to anyone who will listen, but even with something like Synology people will need some basic knowledge.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Don't forget that self hosting without proper knowledge is more dangerous than just giving away data to the big techs!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

YunoHost is trying to make it easier than a synology NAS to install services and get them setup properly but I agree that to configure your network properly is difficult and everyone's setup is different so specific knowledge is required.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Yeah yunohost is pretty great for less than 10 users. Perhaps more depending on the service. Its very easy to get setup in a weekend with a plethora of services. And its pretty stable.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

You are correct! That first leap into self hosting was a doozy! No regrets now tho ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I think you dropped this: \

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Trying to run your own nextcloud be like

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 months ago

Nextcloud was somewhat difficult for me the first time I installed it, though I did have a usable system in the end. Then I discovered Nextcloud AIO and haven't had an issue since.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

I don't get this counter-argument. Is TFA actually suggesting that the average grandma quit using Yahoo mail or Facebook and set up her own email server and mastodon instance? The only people even considering self-hosting are people with technology interest and reasonable passion. It's an article written for a niche techie website, and we're discussing it on a forum for self-hosting nerds.

The counter-argument is like saying the average layman should stick to televised football, because they don't have the physical savvy or aptitude for the game, and most people aren't gonna put in the time or effort to build their strength & endurance to compete. It may be an accurate statement, but the people you're addressing (grandma) weren't TFA's target audience and weren't even going to try in the first place, and you discourage people who might really enjoy giving the hobby a try.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 months ago

That first leap into self-hosted is daunting.

the first leap you take into anything is daunting.

This is just called complacency. You can literally just pick up whatever the fuck you want, and start learning it.