Seven Reasons for having a Personal web server, Gopher space or Gemini space

Two months ago, I stumbled across a wonderful article by Ana Rodrigues in which she detailed her thoughts and feelings about personal servers and the IndieWeb movement. After reading Ana's article, I realised that, although I have written three or four articles on the subject of explaining various technical aspects of creating and hosting a server, I have not said much about why anyone should want his or her own server. I guess I just assumed it should be obvious. After more thought, I realised that many who somehow find this server may not intuitively see the value of creating their own. Since the third birthday of dfdn.info is in a few days, this seems like an appropriate occasion for explaining why a personal server can be so worthwhile.

Maintaining my own personal server has been one of the most amazing, challenging, rewarding, growth-promoting, time-consuming, and adventurous experiences of my life. I say this after having earned two engineering degrees. I wish everyone could feel the impact that a personal server can have on their lives. Unfortunately, I cannot make everyone understand. I can only try to explain to readers what I have learned about the benefits of running my own server.

I see at least seven reasons that everyone should seriously consider having his or her own server. A personal server can be:

Seven Benefits of having a Personal server

• A tool for doing good in the world

• The power to exercise your right of free speech

• A means of controlling the presentation of your thoughts and ideas to the world

• A way of presenting yourself in whatever light you choose

• A permanent home on the Internet

• A tool that supports just about any desired level of anonymity

• A source of motivation for honing your writing skills (or speaking or video-making skills)

A Tool for doing Good in the World

For many of us, the only way we have of doing good in the world is donating money. Those of us who want to donate our time and talents to accomplish something positive often find our talents blocked and our time wasted by the people or the systems we get involved with. I have often had this experience. My guess is that the reason for this is that volunteer organizations do not value our time because they receive it for free. If they had to pay for it, they would value it more.

Another problem is that volunteer organisations often treat volunteers like employees. Volunteers are giving them a gift, but the leaders of these organisations insist on setting the terms of the gift. They dictate the schedule, the number of hours worked, and the tasks to be done. In the process, they often shoot down a volunteer's good ideas and reduce or entirely eliminate his natural enthusiasm. This seems to be more about the typical need of management to control, rather than to actually help people in the best ways possible.

When you run your own server, you can work to accomplish whatever you set your mind to, in whatever way you choose, and on whatever schedule you choose. You are not limited by the egos of other people. You can put all of your good ideas into action. You can directly measure the results of your effort in terms of pages viewed and the feedback that you get from your audience. You do not have to waste your time trying to prove to managers that you know what you are doing or that you can be trusted. With your own server, you just go for it, and you either succeed or fail.

The Power to Exercise Your Right of Free Speech

I once read bout someone who, daily for a couple of months back in the 1970's, passed by a green car with white poster board covering just about every available square inch of its street-facing side. The car was parked in front of a neighbour's house about a block from mine. Once or twice, I paused to read, but the words in black marker on white poster board seemed to be rambling rather than illuminating. They spoke about some injustice my neighbour had supposedly suffered, though it was never directly named. The writings seemed like those of someone with a mental problem, rather than something of value to anyone passing by. After a couple of months, the poster board disappeared. I was told later that neighbours had complained until the police had forced the owner of the car to remove his message.

I mention this experience because it makes clear that, although US citizens technically had the right to free speech in the 1970's, very few had any real power to exercise that right. Anything anyone wanted to say to a large audience had to pass through a series of gatekeepers. As a result, often only the wealthy could successfully present their views to the public. My neighbour had so little real power that his only recourse was to put up a sign in front of his house. Thanks to a city ordinance, he was not even allowed to post it on his lawn. Though no law prohibited him from posting it on his car, he was not even permitted that. This story also points out the fact that in the United States in the 1970's, only those who could afford to hire lawyers to protect their free speech actually had any.

In the year 2020, the power of the average person to exercise his free speech has increased significantly, but that appears to be changing. Since the emergence of Web 2.0 in the 1990's, online social media servers have empowered even those without any technical knowledge whatsoever to publicly express their views. Unfortunately, over the last few years, politicians have managed to intimidate social media companies with threats of new laws, and in some instances with actual laws. Fearful companies have responded by muzzling their users, thereby, unwillingly becoming the new gatekeepers. I doubt these laws are constitutional in the United States, but one never knows what a group of Supreme Court justices might decide. In the process of banning certain types of discussions, companies have become less respectful of users' free speech rights. Social media is now a minefield where users can conceivably be banned for any reason, or for no reason at all--as I discovered when Reddit briefly shadow banned me about a year and a half ago.

As I write these words, executives at Facebook, Twitter, and a few other social media giants are preparing to face renewed intimidation by the US Congress over the issue of campaign influencing. This time, lawmakers may also criticise companies for censoring users. This reminds me of a manager that I had a few years ago who micromanaged me to such an extent that I could not do my job. Then, he criticised me for not doing my job. Neither politicians nor social media companies appear to care much about the rights of individuals. For now, their concern seems mostly limited to controlling the spread of ideas that politicians want to discredit. In order to enable politicians to say whatever they want without fear of criticism or contradiction, the power of individuals to express their views on social media has been effectively limited to topics politicians care little about. Lately, even in the United States, we have seen social media servers being forced to censor articles about terrorism, Covid-19, election-related information, and racism. But, once a filtering algorithm is in place, all sorts of rules can creep into it over time. Who knows what important public policy or social issue may succumb next to political correctness or the government overstepping the bounds of its authority?

A personal server empowers individuals to bypass this madness by navigating around social media gatekeepers. Realistically, content posted on a personal server can occasionally be read by tens of thousands of people. For example, less than a month ago, I posted an article on one of my other personal servers that was viewed over 82,000 times in a 24-hour period. This was to the web site of "some rando", as I was described by one critic of my article, who was himself a rando. Admittedly, I did post links to my article on a few social media servers, so social media helped to draw in readers. But, my hope is that one day I will not need the help of social media. While having tens of thousands of readers downloading an article posted on one of my servers is not the norm, some personal servers run by ordinary people manage to consistently have hundreds of thousands of page views per month. These servers prove that the unfiltered views of ordinary people can still occasionally be heard. I cannot help but wonder whether a better result could have been obtained by the many people who rioted in the United States and around the world this Summer over the issue of police brutality, had they instead chosen to express their views via personal servers.

Anyone who can afford to pay a few dollars a year for a domain name and who has at least sporadic access to the Internet has the power to exercise his right to free speech. He may still need lawyers to protect that right, but they are rarely necessary if he refrains from posting anything that is slanderous or infringes on copyrights. If the authorities do get involved, an average individual also has options other than a server on the open Internet.

A Means of Controlling of the Presentation of Your Thoughts and Ideas to the World

Your personal server is a place where you can express whatever is on your mind without interference. On Facebook, Reddit, or any other social media platform that is owned by someone else, whether that is true and will continue to be true is always in question.

On my server, I can write about nearly any issue I want, and no one can stop me. Actually, I have no plans of discussing anything unrelated to teaching, technology, personal experiences or other matters I deem of importance on this site. But, I could if I wanted. As long as I avoid a handful of illegal topics, I can say and show pictures of whatever I want. No one can censor me, rebut me (unless I allow it), or use an algorithm to bury my words where no one will ever see them. On my server, I decide what is important, what to emphasise, and what to de-emphasise. Those are decisions that I have never had within my sole discretion on social media, at work, or even to an extent in social situations with my family and friends. But on my server, I can say whatever I like. No one has to read what I write, but I can express myself exactly as I please.

In addition to the topics I choose and the words I write, I have complete administrative and creative control of everything else that affects my server. I have 24/7 access to everything on my server for backup purposes. I can choose to run my server on a $35,000 beast of a server or a $35 mouse of a server. I can run commercial software on my server, but because I know how to write HTML and PHP code, I have chosen to use my own code. I can host corporate advertising on my server, but I have decided not to. I can invite interaction with readers via a comment form at the bottom of each article, but I have the power to change that at any time. I chose how I wanted navigation to work on my server. I also designed the exact functional and visual format of my server (within my ability to write the necessary PHP and HTML code, of course). I picked the font type, the font size, the line spacing, and the text colour of every article. I chose the page layout and the background colour of every page. Though some readers have complained about my background (and you cannot please everyone), and some have even called me names, the background is what I want it to be, because I want to express myself. (Colour scheme, unvisited links in yellow on the website, visited in red to make unvisited links stand out; Gopher and Gemini do not have this function). If that changes, it will be because I decide to change it, not because some manager orders me to change it, or because someone whose name I do not know, who I have never met, and who I will likely never meet makes the decision for me.

You choose the level of interaction you want with visitors to your server. If you want your server to be a social place, you can add a forum page and invite anyone to visit. You can also block any individuals from accessing your forum. If you want your server to be your private mountain top from which you scream at the world from isolation, where only you can express your thoughts undiluted by the world's ideas and feelings, you can do that too. You can rant and rave to your heart's content forever and ever, and no one can stop you--as long as you break no laws. Even if your country has laws against what you are saying, you can simply rent a server anonymously in another country where those laws do not apply, reassign your domain name to that server's IP address (or even better, create a new domain name that has never before been linked to your true identity), and write whatever you want. This is one of the many benefits of not revealing your true identity on your server. You can be the Batman of the Internet.

On many government and corporate servers, visitors have no choice but to use the latest version of one particular web browser. These organisations don't tell users, but the reason is that someone in the organisation chose to design the site to work only with the latest version of that one browser. I have always thought that was an decision made by managers who just do not understand the Internet. So, I have chosen to make my server viewable by as many web browsers as possible, even the most ancient and esoteric ones. To my knowledge, my website currently works with nearly every HTTP web browser in existence and on nearly every device that is capable of surfing the Internet. If it does not work with your preferred browser or device, please let me know.

Those who are not tech savvy have many tools at their disposal for creating sites. Some of the most popular software is Wordpress (URGH), Squarespace, Hugo, Ghost, and Jekyll. Many other programs can also be employed to create beautiful and functional websites. Individuals who decide to use these tools will have a limited selection of server "templates" from which to choose. They may not be able to make their sites exactly as they would have liked, but they can probably come close. Websites can be hosted on shared servers where others take care of all the maintenance and security issues. If servers do not receive too much traffic, owners may even get free web hosting. However, how much traffic is "too much" would then be up to a web hosting company to specify (without necessarily informing its users in advance). You give up some control of your server when you use commercial software and web hosting services. That is an important consideration and an incentive for becoming as knowledgeable as possible about everything that is required to create and run a site.

A Way of Presenting Yourself in Whatever Light You Choose

Your web, gopher or gemini site can be a 100% expression of your interests, of your personality, of your mind, and of your desire to create whatever you want. Your server can present to the world the identity that you choose. It can be either a temporary or a permanent record of your thoughts. Your style and tone of writing prevail. No sociopathic incompetent manager can hide your light where no one can see it while he takes credit for it. No one can make a penny from your hard work unless you allow it. No one can use you as a tool to promote his agenda to your audience. No one can force you to tow the corporate line or back the government's agenda. No one can use you to subjugate or control others if you choose not to be used.

I do not have the words to adequately express the feelings I had as I wrote the above paragraph. I think the only way another person can truly understand is by creating his own site and writing his own words about what he has created and the feelings of freedom his creation has brought.

A Permanent Home on the Internet

If you take the necessary steps to protect it, your personal server can never be taken from you by Facebook, Reddit, or any other social media site that decides to ban you some day for something you may say or one of its rules you may break. You can own and operate your server until the day you die. You can even pass it on to your heirs, if you choose, (as long as you give them the required passwords!). Ana Rodriguez pointed out in her article other advantages of having a home on the Internet that can come with involvement with the IndieWeb movement. Since I do not interact with the IndieWeb, I will not add to what she wrote.

Just as you own everything contained within the walls of your home (except those belonging to family members or those you have borrowed), you own the entire contents of your server--every file, every page, every sentence, every word. No one has the right to confiscate, delete, or hide anything you have written. And, you can own it forever. Disreputable authors sometimes steal content, but unlike your personal possessions, when someone steals content from your server, at least you still have the original copy. And, if you have copyrighted it, no one but you has a legal right to it.

As your server is your home on the Internet, if you host it yourself, only you have the authority to grant a visitor the privilege of accessing it. You have the power to open wide the doors of your Internet home to all visitors. Or, you can lock the doors tightly and bar the windows so that only a select group can enter, like perhaps your closest friends and family members or those with whom you play online video games. You can block any IP address or range of IP addresses that you choose from having access to your server. If your country has passed a law against unregistered personal servers, you can block everyone in your country. If you know the NSA's IP addresses in Langley Virginia, you can block them. [Correction: CIA headquarters is in Langley. NSA headquarters is in Fort Meade, on the other side of Washington DC.] Of course, that would not have much of an affect, since they have facilities and employees everywhere. But, it might shock them a bit. You can block any script kiddies you detect. You can block any web-crawling robots, including Google's. You can have as much or as little privacy on your server as you want. YOU are the gatekeeper of your home on the Internet. You are the undethroneable king of your castle. You can even make up words on your server like undethroneable.

I should also add that your server is a place for posting your current contact information. Some of us frequently change our physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Your server makes it easier for people to contact you. This works especially well if your server URL is something easy to remember, like your name. Owning a server also means you can have an email address or email addresses that contain the name of your server. For example, you can have joeblogs@joeblogs.home.com.

A Tool that Supports just about any Desired Level of Anonymity

Facebook now requires users to turn over their phone numbers and perhaps even photographs of themselves to open accounts. This makes anonymity on Facebook impossible. Some other social media platforms also demand phone numbers. Whether this will become more pervasive is anyone's guess. But, on your server, you can choose to be totally anonymous if you like. You can remain anonymous through the use of bitcoin, specific web hosting services, and specific domain name registrars around the world that allow access to their services over the Tor network. Some web hosting services even work exclusively through the Tor network. Anyone, and I mean anyone, can also create a completely anonymous site on the ZeroNet network for free. You do not need to register and pay for a domain name on ZeroNet. You do not even need to rent a server to have a ZeroNet site. Your ZeroNet site can be your only site, or it can be a static mirror of your clearnet server. As a matter of fact, you can provide extra assurance that the content of your server will remain accessible to your audience by having static mirrors of your server on ZeroNet, I2P, IPFS, Gopher, Gemini, and a number of other "darknets" of your choosing.

If you prefer to host the contents of your server with the highest level of anonymity and do not mind the likelihood of having a smaller audience, you can create a Tor hidden service that is accessible only on the Tor network. As with a ZeroNet site, a Tor hidden service site does not require the yearly payment of a domain name registration fee. A unique, random address is automatically generated when you create a Tor hidden service to which only you hold the keys, just as you hold the keys to your physical home. So, you do not need anyone's permission to own a ZeroNet site or to host a Tor hidden service. You can even host a Tor hidden service from a server in your home without anyone knowing that you are doing it, not even family members who are living in your home with you. With a Tor hidden service, if you do everything correctly, your site's unique address on the Tor network is very unlikely to be traced back to the IP address that your ISP has assigned to your residence.

A Source of Motivation for Honing Your Writing Skills (or Speaking or Video-Making Skills)

Until I created my first site, my professional work was my only motivation for writing. The idea of keeping a personal journal has never appealed to me. I don't know why; it just has not. However, I have noticed something about my sites. It has caused me to want to write. In fact, sometimes (okay, often), I feel pressure to meet my self-imposed weekly deadline. I try hard to post one article a week that I can feel good about on something related to matters of importance to me. Surprisingly, I have so far succeeded every week since June last year. So, my server has definitely been my motivation to write. I think a major reason for this is that other people (sometimes many other people) actually read what I write. Writing weekly for other people has also been great motivation for improving my writing skills. A nice bonus is that a few people leave positive comments to encourage me. So far, I have only had one person call my grammar and spelling "atrocious". Even that has motivated me to try harder. So, if you are an aspiring writer, creating your own blog is an excellent way of motivating yourself to write regularly and to improve your writing skills. If you need motivation to learn a foreign language, translate your site into the language you are learning. Or, create a completely new site written exclusively in that language.

Final Words

I believe just about everyone should have his or her own personal web server or other type of server. A server is a platform for doing good in the world. It empowers the average person to exercise his right of free speech. It is a unique expression of yourself that allows you to freely express almost anything that is on your mind. If you know how to protect it, your server can never be taken from you. It is something you can have total control over, your home on the Internet, your identity that you present to the world. You can also choose to operate it completely anonymously. Regardless of exactly how you choose to create and run your sites, you owe it to yourself to try it and see where it leads. Even if it turns out to be just a temporary experiment, I strongly believe you will learn something of value from the experience.