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blog: self-hosting: use `##` instead of `----` for sections 

just more friendly to type
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Colin 2022-04-05 08:34:35 +00:00
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content/blog/2022-03-29-self-hosting.md
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@ -12,8 +12,7 @@ well i fell down the rabbit hole. this domain hosts 6 services and counting:
- Trust DNS (for serving the DNS records of all the above)
How It Started: A Brief History of Bitcoin
------------------------------------------
## How It Started: A Brief History of Bitcoin
i have a caffeine problem.
first thing in the morning, i brew myself 3 double-shots of espresso.
@ -26,8 +25,7 @@ pretty soon i found myself caring much more about our legal system than before.
and pretty soon i noticed just how frequently i censor myself. or perhaps how i never actually _am_ myself when operating online. and that disappoints me.
What's a "Fediverse"?
-------------------
## What's a "Fediverse"?
there's this thing called Mastodon. people sometimes label it as a "decentralized Twitter".
i tried it a few years ago, had a positive experience, but didn't really have that strong a desire for "social media" at the time.
@ -38,8 +36,7 @@ the great thing about Mastodon is that it's "federated". anyone can host their o
i found Pleroma, which claims support for hosting behind Tor, and i even found a few Tor-bridged instances out there. so i thought i'd set up my own and dive in.
How Do I Host This Shit
-----------------------
## How Do I Host This Shit
using Tor as a client is super easy: just install the Tor browser and go. running a service behind Tor is slightly more complex, but still a fairly easy process to understand:
run the Tor daemon. it exposes a SOCKS5 proxy service on port 8095 or something. launch Pleroma, and tell it to proxy all TCP traffic through port 8095. now you can make outbound requests to the Fediverse from behind Tor.
@ -48,8 +45,7 @@ but you have no public address yet, so you can't get incoming messages. configur
to cap: external actors send HTTP/TCP requests to <hash>.onion, these are serviced by Pleroma and the response is sent back through this tunnel. when Pleroma is the _initiator_ of some request, it proxies that to the [clearnet] recipient by tunneling it through a separate Tor SOCKS5 proxy. with this setup you can _send_ messages to anyone on the Fediverse, but you can only _receive_ messages from those who understand .onion addresses.
Sounds Pretty Fragile
---------------------
## Sounds Pretty Fragile
too much complexity? HAHAHA. let's add more.
@ -66,16 +62,14 @@ in actuality, we'll want to restrict D even further: it probably has hardware Wi
congrats, you've got a decently secure, anonymized computing setup. now you have to deal with the fact that even though Pleroma and Mastodon _support_ federation over Tor, it's an optional configuration that pretty much nobody out there enables. plus, the Pleroma frontend requires Javascript, which just means you've shifted the security burden from the server onto the client.
You're Telling Me It Was All for Naught?
----------------------------------------
## You're Telling Me It Was All for Naught?
as if you didn't see it coming. but hey, i'm sure you'll find some way to use all that infrastructure for your... _Bitcoin_ activities.
so anyway, give up on your dream of perfect anonymity. you know first-hand now how difficult and restricting that actually is. meditate on _why_ you're spending so much time fiddling with these logic gates and bits and as the cool kids who aren't actually cool say, "pivot".
Self-Hosting Is Fetch
---------------------
## Self-Hosting Is Fetch
i think this whole Internet thing is maybe just a social playfield? something to do with exploration, connections, creativity, and self-discovery? an open environment wherein _anyone with time/dedication_ can do these things?
@ -89,8 +83,7 @@ i don't want to oversimplify it, but when i recount my favorite eras of the inte
and i never really _got_ it. but i think it was just simple, social, creativity. and i want more of that in my life.
Stripping It Down
-----------------
## Stripping It Down
that host machine (D) already has all the stuff we need for a secure-enough system if we strip out the anonymizing function of U. so do that, and use your Pleroma instance to explore the Fediverse. respectably insert yourself into conversations with everyday people and _make connections_.