Re: VPS providers with libre or no JS

[Brendan Kidwell]

On Mon, May 4, 2020, at 12:15, Roberto Beltran via libreplanet-discuss wrote:
> 
> > > I'm trying to run instances of stuff (like nextcloud, searx, matrix,
> > > whatever) and maybe roll out some original stuff, but I don't think
> > > running something out of where I live right now is an option
> >
> > Why? Running a VPS is a non-sovereign path.
> 
> Post-pandemic I'll be moving and traveling relatively frequently. I'm 
> going to be living in small places, and I'll likely forego having 
> internet at home, at least for a while. ...

Yes, always think about your actual needs and goals, and the trade-offs. If you 
can't conveniently and expertly host a private server "at home", then you're 
just not going to have sovereignty over your server, but maybe that's okay for 
you.

I have a server at home and also a VPS at prgmr.com. Sysadmin tasks external to 
your Linux or BSD VM itself are accomplished via a TTY over SSH to access their 
minimal proprietary dashboard running on a Xen server. I assume that would be 
acceptable to you because you're not running their code locally on your machine.

Their BILLING web site does not function at all with JavaScript disabled; it 
seems to be a service provided by a third party, with one or two maybe-free 
JavaScript libraries missing any license metadata, and a local "app.js" that 
has no license metadata.

Perhaps you can work out an agreement with them to avoid using the Billing 
dashboard. It's worth emailing their sales people to ask "Can you fix these 
issues, or can I be a customer without ever using your billing dashboard?" -- 
they're a small operation and very responsive. If I recall correctly, it is 
possible to pay via paper check or money order, but paying via credit card is 
probably impossible without a third party payment portal with non-free JS.

I put the bug in their ear just now in their public chat room, about fixing the 
license issues with their billing dashboard javascript. Staff hasn't responded 
yet in that context but it wasn't long ago that I started the conversation.

Good luck.