Re: [libreplanet-discuss] The GNU ethical repository criteria will only harm free software.

[Ramana Kumar]

Just to add: the owner could have physical access, just giving the administrator root access over the network (via public key encryption), in case people don't trust any VPS with physical access.

On 18 October 2015 at 17:08, Ramana Kumar <ramana@member.fsf.org> wrote:

Koz, your message gave me an idea:

Do you think many people would be interested in paying someone to administer a server (to which they also have complete access, of course)?

I can imagine, for example, setting up a virtual private server for code hosting (with a free GNU distribution) for someone, and being available for consultation on, or to be tasked with, further administration.

I may not be the best person for it (I already have a full time job), but maybe there's a good business in it, and maybe it's already being done?

On 18 October 2015 at 09:35, Koz Ross <koz.ross@retro-freedom.nz> wrote:

On Sat, 17 Oct 2015 16:00:37 +0000 (UTC)
Lori Nagel <jastiv@yahoo.com> wrote:

> What you haven't addressed is why projects don't host their own code.  I remember starting a free software project back in 2005.  I did not have a lot of money to spend on server hosting or know how to even set up a server like that.  Many free software projects are small hobbyist projects, so setting up their own server seems daunting and if some people had to do it, they might give up on contributing to open source altogether.

I'd like to echo this - I'm a latecomer to this kind of stuff, and don't have the time, inclination or skills to set up my own hosting for everything. Sometimes, ready-made and centralized is the right choice, purely because that way, we can focus on solving the problem we're trying to code away. I see this as similar to build systems - there are better and worse choices for sure, but ultimately, that shouldn't be something you spend more time (and effort) on than the actual code it's meant to be building.

If someone could create a 'for dummies' guide to setting such a server up (or better, an automated script to do this), that would go a long way toward alleviating it methinks. As an aside, in general, our community could do with setting up more user-friendly guides - not everyone has hours to wade through GNU-style manuals or dig online for tutorials of varying quality that often recommend nonfree software.

So in principle, I agree that centralized services are something we should move away from, but we can't do this without offering an alternative for those who haven't the time, knowledge or inclination to self-host.
--
Koz Ross <koz.ross@retro-freedom.nz>
www.retro-freedom.nz
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