Post by @barbra@vivaldi.net
At the core of the global internet are the DNS root servers. These 13 go-to places are at the top of authority when it comes to making sure you can connect to any server with a domain name. What you might not know is that 10 of these 13 root servers are ultimately under US jurisdiction. Should that worry you? I guess not, the current system is quite robust. But I deal in risk assessment and probabilities. And I think this isn't an ideal setup.
@jwildeboer There could be more of them... but they are all feeding themselves out of hidden primary root controlled by Verisign, a US corporation. So at the end, those public ones don't really count. Except if you consider they might, collectively, all decide to use another root than IANA one which is never impossible but quite not the highest probability. (and see previous court cases about .LY yes there were attempts to remove TLDs from root). They also all have relationships with ICANN. 1/x
@pmevzek It's the other way around. ICANN is the master. And ICANN has so far been quite OK-ish at defending the freedom of The Net. My personal preference would be to have no centralisation at all. But knowing that is impossible in the way DNS works, the next best solution would be to put ICANN under the UN, not the US. One letter, big consequences :)
@jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net
Would be interested in your opinion about @aral@mastodon.ar.al 's take in using plain IP addresses instead of domains, via "web numbers"?
@fasnix @jwildeboer @aral @pmevzek
Much easier to share a customised hosts file, with both ipv4 and ipv6 addresses (and add an ipv6 address/name for your home server so others can use it).
@aral @fasnix @jwildeboer @pmevzek
1. Create hosts file (it's just a plain text file)
2. Share it with people you know
Done and done.
Doesn't matter if someone else creates one that conflicts with yours - your friends use yours. Everyone else, what do I care?
Same as blocking gmail. So what if spammers can't reach me? We all have iThingees, FaceTime and iMessage are end to end encrypted as well as encrypted on the server, and anyone who wants to email me can damn well get a paid email account (I lease server space for web hosting and email, so I'm paying for mine, so not being a hypocrite. I don't want my emails going to a Google server, period).
@barbra@vivaldi.net
"1. Create hosts file (it's just a plain text file)
2. Share it with people you know"
You assume that everybody knows how to create a hosts file.
I don't.
And your "average internet Joe" assumably doesn't as well.
And what about people I don't know, how should they find my (small-)webspace?
Anyone who I can't share that hosts file directly with?
@aral@mastodon.ar.al @jwildeboer@social.wildeboer.net @pmevzek@framapiaf.org
@fasnix @aral @jwildeboer @pmevzek
1) post a clickable link to the ipv6 address. It's just html, which is just text.
2) for discoverability, word of mouth is good enough. You're not looking for eyeballs or to go viral - just a way to bypass American control of the internet. Better to have a small community than a bunch of spammers, influencer shitposts, griefers, grifters, etc. Easily banned by ip when they start showing up.
Eventually set up an allow list - other ips banned, so no AI scraping. People would need a referral for access. Because YOU DON'T WANT EVERYONE AND THEIR DOG IN YOUR COMMUNITY!
No nazis, no fascists, no MAGA, no marketers, no ads (advertising eventually ruins everything it touches).
Just 10 to 1000 people with a shared interest of hobby.
1 like
@barbra @fasnix @jwildeboer @pmevzek Right, so decentralised address books. That’s what I’m saying too.