We tell each other to self host in order to escape the big corps. But when we die, all the self hosted stuff is going to get wiped and history will only remember the archives that got stored by the big corps. And you know how history is written by the winners. Do we need a way to automatically hand over our sites to archive.org or similar? Or send them disc images? Nobody expects to get run over by a car but some of us will, today. I made no plans for this.
@kensanata This is a good point - you pay X per month for a VPS to self-host stuff and that's fine when you're around and solvent to pay that.
But what if you disappear, or your financial situation changes to the point where you can no longer afford a VPS? It all goes down.
@iona @kensanata Perhaps a buddy system. For e.g. I keep 2 vps in different towns. Each backs up the other. I don't really need two otherwise.
If I had a buddy with similar needs we could back each other up and be a redundant node when one of us got hit by a bus or heart attack.
@kensanata @iona Yes. I don't know anyone in IRL either. I was thinking more a long-time internet buddy (buddette?). Like the buddy system of diving or hiking. Perhaps I should pick another word.
Anyhow, basically another someone with a public facing server, so you can rsync backups between you, share dns etc.
It does require a lot of trust though. Maybe an escrow system needs to be built on top for the credentials part.
@gemlog @iona @kensanata
on non commercial internet communities with older age profiles (electronics, amateur radio) there increasingly seem to be arrangements to archive/rehost content as people get older and alas, can often become too unwell to regularly update things (or simply and understandably want to spend their remaining time with their families) - eg I've seen useful but abandoned sites reappear on another domain (with permission from the original authors)