The "But Why?" of Digital SovereigntyEvery time I spend my weekend researching obscure forks and implementing complex local workflows, someone asks: "But why?
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The "But Why?" of Digital Sovereignty
Every time I spend my weekend researching obscure forks and implementing complex local workflows, someone asks: "But why? The mainstream tools are so much easier."
In 2026, the path of deep research and practical implementation feels exactly like this. It might look like madness to the "colony," but I’d rather head for the mountains than stay in the comfortable enclosure of Big Tech.
What was your latest "But why?" rabbit hole?
#SelfHosted #Privacy #DigitalSovereignty #Research #Homelab #ButWhy #TechLife -
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The "But Why?" of Digital Sovereignty
Every time I spend my weekend researching obscure forks and implementing complex local workflows, someone asks: "But why? The mainstream tools are so much easier."
In 2026, the path of deep research and practical implementation feels exactly like this. It might look like madness to the "colony," but I’d rather head for the mountains than stay in the comfortable enclosure of Big Tech.
What was your latest "But why?" rabbit hole?
#SelfHosted #Privacy #DigitalSovereignty #Research #Homelab #ButWhy #TechLife@dannyhayes My latest one was finding an email provider I actually want to use *, backing up my old gmail and directing everything I need to the new one. Not very technical, but the satisfaction from deleting my google account was worth it!
* above everything else, I was looking for a service provider I would trust with my ID if the EU decides that they want all emails ID verificed (it's in the Comissions Chat Control proposal iirc). I'd rather eat a mountain than hand my ID to google.
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@dannyhayes My latest one was finding an email provider I actually want to use *, backing up my old gmail and directing everything I need to the new one. Not very technical, but the satisfaction from deleting my google account was worth it!
* above everything else, I was looking for a service provider I would trust with my ID if the EU decides that they want all emails ID verificed (it's in the Comissions Chat Control proposal iirc). I'd rather eat a mountain than hand my ID to google.
@paranormal_distribution@fosstodon.org That’s a massive move, congrats on cutting the cord with Google. Which provider did you pick? I'm still tied to the Gmail for now, so I’m curious what tipped the scales for you. -
The "But Why?" of Digital Sovereignty
Every time I spend my weekend researching obscure forks and implementing complex local workflows, someone asks: "But why? The mainstream tools are so much easier."
In 2026, the path of deep research and practical implementation feels exactly like this. It might look like madness to the "colony," but I’d rather head for the mountains than stay in the comfortable enclosure of Big Tech.
What was your latest "But why?" rabbit hole?
#SelfHosted #Privacy #DigitalSovereignty #Research #Homelab #ButWhy #TechLifeMy latest 'but why?' rabbithole:
It started with a PS2. Aging disc drive but easy to jailbreak with a memcardpro2. Started backing up games. Then DVDs. Then VHS. Then Blu-Ray. I wanted somewhere to play it. Jellyfin was the first hit of digital freedom I'd had since I found linux and I'd been using it for 20 years at that point. I followed it with nextcloud. Then I found gopher, gemini. I switched to a dumbphone. Now I'm here, using pleroma hosted on my homelab.
Eventually I'm gonna ditch the celly altogether and switch to a LoRa communicator and keep a landline at home.
All it took was 'copying that floppy' to realize the power to own all my data was in my hands. I just had to take it. My friends think I'm nuts. -
My latest 'but why?' rabbithole:
It started with a PS2. Aging disc drive but easy to jailbreak with a memcardpro2. Started backing up games. Then DVDs. Then VHS. Then Blu-Ray. I wanted somewhere to play it. Jellyfin was the first hit of digital freedom I'd had since I found linux and I'd been using it for 20 years at that point. I followed it with nextcloud. Then I found gopher, gemini. I switched to a dumbphone. Now I'm here, using pleroma hosted on my homelab.
Eventually I'm gonna ditch the celly altogether and switch to a LoRa communicator and keep a landline at home.
All it took was 'copying that floppy' to realize the power to own all my data was in my hands. I just had to take it. My friends think I'm nuts.@NoraBell@pleroma.snowebell.cc That’s an incredible journey! For me, it’s always been about that spark of curiosity, from writing my first simple script to managing a hundred Docker containers.
There’s a quote that perfectly captures this drive: "At some point you touched a computer and the computer did what you wanted... and you realized that you were a god. A small god in a very small world, but inside that world you were a god."
I think that’s the best explanation for why we do this. The keyboard gives us a way to shape reality. We build our own worlds to regain the freedom that is being taken away from us.
