From 04e4e50de084c31e18787666cf775fc57d528b08 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: zayd Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2025 08:43:04 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] ok ok for real this time forgot to stage the files --- .../content/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks.md | 101 ++++++++++++++ blog/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks/index.html | 126 ++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 227 insertions(+) create mode 100644 _zola/content/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks.md create mode 100644 blog/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks/index.html diff --git a/_zola/content/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks.md b/_zola/content/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..33bff96 --- /dev/null +++ b/_zola/content/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks.md @@ -0,0 +1,101 @@ ++++ +title = "The Internet Sucks" +date = 2025-03-24 +description = "Yet another internet random complains about the state of things blog post" ++++ + +Over the past few years, I have noticed that the internet is in a state of decay. If you've found my +site, there's a fair chance you think the same too, or have at least heard people say this. The +amount of fun one can really have online is rapidly decreasing. Everything has pretty much been +ruined. + +## The problems + +### Bloat +The web is bloated. Every time I go to look up something I get dozens of articles containing popups +where I have to agree to getting tracked by every site's 800+ "partners", slowing everything +down. Then there's the JavaShit dependency so many sites have. It's even spread to "small" personal +sites that I have to wait for megabytes worth of JS to load in before I can read anything. My own +site is constantly getting edited in an attempt to make it as easy to use as possible on even the +most barebones browsers. + +### "Social" networks. +I hate concept of social media. Microblogging is shit. Short form video content is shit. Instagram +is shit. Reddit is shit. Yes, this very much includes your free and open source "ethical" +alternative. The Fediverse, Bluesky, Nostr, whatever else don't fix this. The idea itself is heavily +flawed no matter who develops it. I have too much to say about this for putting it in here, but to +keep it short, I strongly believe being on those places just slowly makes you more and more +retarded. Everything is optimized to get as many internet points as possible and well thought out +posts that actually express the author's point are discouraged with tiny character limits and +replies from children complaining about how long the text is. + +### Surveillance +Shouldn't have to explain this one much, there's surveillance problems on nearly every mainstream +platform that's been treated as normal for as long as it's been around. If you're here, you probably +already have strong feelings about this one. + +### Clearnet +I think the clearnet is beyond saving at this point and that we should not make an attempt to rescue +it. The damage has been done and will continue unless you do something about it. Everything is +centralized, and the system is a mess. CAs are centralized and you have to give them full trust to +not do anything bad to your site, which they can do. ICANN is how everybody gets their domains, and +they care more about making money than stopping things like parking for reselling or making the +process more private. It also is harder to work with clearnet hosting than it is to work with an +overlay network, which I see as something that gets in the way of people hosting their own things. + +## How do we fix it? +Unfortunately, there isn't a perfect solution to fully escaping the bullshit, but there are things +you and I can do to help. + +### Overlay networks +Explore overlay networks like I2P, Tor, and Yggdrasil. There's others out there too. I'll go over +this more in a later post, but to keep it short, Yggdrasil serves as internet done right (and about +how one would expect) while I2P and Tor focus specifically on being anonymous. + +### Write your own site +Write a site for yourself and/or your projects! Instead of a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, get +out a text editor and write some CSS and HTML, or even better, XHTML! It really isn't that hard to +do, and you get full control over your own content and design. You can use static site generators +like Hugo, Jekyll, Zola and many more to help if you need to mass produce templated pages. This site +uses Zola, which does have its quirks but I find it to be the best to work with out of the ones I've +tried. If you're running a blog or have other regularly updated content like news or updates, make +Atom (and RSS if you want) feeds too to so your visitors can subscribe to your sites and get those +updates instantly. A lot of static site generators have this built in. I'll tell you to self host so +you're fully independent in the next section, but if you really can't, I can help with getting your +site online over on Midgard. + +### Alternative protocols? +HTTP, or the Web, is not the only way of creating a "site" for yourself. There are other protocols, +though all of them (or at least all I know about) are far more minimal than what you can create on a +website even with just XHTML and a stylesheet. I don't have a full list of these protocols, but some +are [Gopher](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gopher_(protocol)), +[Gemini](https://geminiprotocol.net/), and [Nex](https://nightfall.city/nex/info/specification.txt). +I don't hear much about Gopher nor have I got around to setting up a server for it yet but Gemini +has been gaining a lot of popularity from what I've seen lately. Nex is much more obscure but I like +it for how extremely simple it is, literally just plaintext served over TCP on port 1900. + +### Self Host +The best way to get full control over your sites and services is to self host them. Not on some +managed hosting service, not on a VPS, not anywhere in the cloud, _actually_ self hosted on a +machine in a location you can physically access. This way, you have 100% control over your own +things and will truly own your services. Many ISPs do not want people self hosting and will put +people behind CGNATs, but if you use overlay networks and don't host on clearnet, then that won't +really matter. With Tor, hosting your own XMPP server using Prosody is pretty easy and you can throw +an IRCd onto pretty much any network. Running your own media server on Yggdrasil is entirely doable +and I use my Jellyfin running over it daily. Almost any service that doesn't involve S2S can be set +up on Yggdrasil, given that the client software is able to use IPv6. + +### Contribute! +If you're able to, start running nodes/peers for I2P, Tor, and Yggdrasil or any combo of +those. Those networks always could use more peers available to help make things faster and more +reliable for everybody. + +### Do it NOW +Stop waiting for the current internet to get worse. If you already host a personal site, start +mirroring it on the darknets! For all of them it's as easy as installing the daemons, editing a few +configs for them, and adding the names to your `server_name` on nginx or the equivalent for your +webserver of choice. + +*** +In the future I'll write a more full guide to the overlay networks, but I feel like this has been +long enough of a rant by now. diff --git a/blog/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks/index.html b/blog/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks/index.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..457981b --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2025-03-24-the-internet-sucks/index.html @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@ + + + + + + + + +wanderlost - The Internet Sucks + + + + + + + + + +
+

wanderlost

+ index + atom + rss +
+
+
+ +
+

The Internet Sucks

+

2025-03-24

+

Over the past few years, I have noticed that the internet is in a state of decay. If you've found my +site, there's a fair chance you think the same too, or have at least heard people say this. The +amount of fun one can really have online is rapidly decreasing. Everything has pretty much been +ruined.

+

The problems

+

Bloat

+

The web is bloated. Every time I go to look up something I get dozens of articles containing popups +where I have to agree to getting tracked by every site's 800+ "partners", slowing everything +down. Then there's the JavaShit dependency so many sites have. It's even spread to "small" personal +sites that I have to wait for megabytes worth of JS to load in before I can read anything. My own +site is constantly getting edited in an attempt to make it as easy to use as possible on even the +most barebones browsers.

+

"Social" networks.

+

I hate concept of social media. Microblogging is shit. Short form video content is shit. Instagram +is shit. Reddit is shit. Yes, this very much includes your free and open source "ethical" +alternative. The Fediverse, Bluesky, Nostr, whatever else don't fix this. The idea itself is heavily +flawed no matter who develops it. I have too much to say about this for putting it in here, but to +keep it short, I strongly believe being on those places just slowly makes you more and more +retarded. Everything is optimized to get as many internet points as possible and well thought out +posts that actually express the author's point are discouraged with tiny character limits and +replies from children complaining about how long the text is.

+

Surveillance

+

Shouldn't have to explain this one much, there's surveillance problems on nearly every mainstream +platform that's been treated as normal for as long as it's been around. If you're here, you probably +already have strong feelings about this one.

+

Clearnet

+

I think the clearnet is beyond saving at this point and that we should not make an attempt to rescue +it. The damage has been done and will continue unless you do something about it. Everything is +centralized, and the system is a mess. CAs are centralized and you have to give them full trust to +not do anything bad to your site, which they can do. ICANN is how everybody gets their domains, and +they care more about making money than stopping things like parking for reselling or making the +process more private. It also is harder to work with clearnet hosting than it is to work with an +overlay network, which I see as something that gets in the way of people hosting their own things.

+

How do we fix it?

+

Unfortunately, there isn't a perfect solution to fully escaping the bullshit, but there are things +you and I can do to help.

+

Overlay networks

+

Explore overlay networks like I2P, Tor, and Yggdrasil. There's others out there too. I'll go over +this more in a later post, but to keep it short, Yggdrasil serves as internet done right (and about +how one would expect) while I2P and Tor focus specifically on being anonymous.

+

Write your own site

+

Write a site for yourself and/or your projects! Instead of a Facebook page or a Twitter profile, get +out a text editor and write some CSS and HTML, or even better, XHTML! It really isn't that hard to +do, and you get full control over your own content and design. You can use static site generators +like Hugo, Jekyll, Zola and many more to help if you need to mass produce templated pages. This site +uses Zola, which does have its quirks but I find it to be the best to work with out of the ones I've +tried. If you're running a blog or have other regularly updated content like news or updates, make +Atom (and RSS if you want) feeds too to so your visitors can subscribe to your sites and get those +updates instantly. A lot of static site generators have this built in. I'll tell you to self host so +you're fully independent in the next section, but if you really can't, I can help with getting your +site online over on Midgard.

+

Alternative protocols?

+

HTTP, or the Web, is not the only way of creating a "site" for yourself. There are other protocols, +though all of them (or at least all I know about) are far more minimal than what you can create on a +website even with just XHTML and a stylesheet. I don't have a full list of these protocols, but some +are Gopher, +Gemini, and Nex. +I don't hear much about Gopher nor have I got around to setting up a server for it yet but Gemini +has been gaining a lot of popularity from what I've seen lately. Nex is much more obscure but I like +it for how extremely simple it is, literally just plaintext served over TCP on port 1900.

+

Self Host

+

The best way to get full control over your sites and services is to self host them. Not on some +managed hosting service, not on a VPS, not anywhere in the cloud, actually self hosted on a +machine in a location you can physically access. This way, you have 100% control over your own +things and will truly own your services. Many ISPs do not want people self hosting and will put +people behind CGNATs, but if you use overlay networks and don't host on clearnet, then that won't +really matter. With Tor, hosting your own XMPP server using Prosody is pretty easy and you can throw +an IRCd onto pretty much any network. Running your own media server on Yggdrasil is entirely doable +and I use my Jellyfin running over it daily. Almost any service that doesn't involve S2S can be set +up on Yggdrasil, given that the client software is able to use IPv6.

+

Contribute!

+

If you're able to, start running nodes/peers for I2P, Tor, and Yggdrasil or any combo of +those. Those networks always could use more peers available to help make things faster and more +reliable for everybody.

+

Do it NOW

+

Stop waiting for the current internet to get worse. If you already host a personal site, start +mirroring it on the darknets! For all of them it's as easy as installing the daemons, editing a few +configs for them, and adding the names to your server_name on nginx or the equivalent for your +webserver of choice.

+
+

In the future I'll write a more full guide to the overlay networks, but I feel like this has been +long enough of a rant by now.

+ +
+ + +
+ +