I saw this post today on Reddit and was curious to see if views are similar here as they are there.

  1. What are the best benefits of self-hosting?
  2. What do you wish you would have known as a beginner starting out?
  3. What resources do you know of to help a non-computer-scientist/engineer get started in self-hosting?
  • Encrypt-KeeperEnglish
    0•4 months ago

    EDIT: As I suspected, the changes that u/mesamunefire is referencing are the ones that taken out of context awhile back and incorrectly assumed to apply to user VPS’ and the data on them, which is not the case. Those terms only apply to information posted publicly to their website, like the community forums.

    What changes would those be

    • @[email protected]English
      4•4 months ago

      Can’t speak for OP, but I bailed on Vultr because of how they handled the arbitration agreement change. Basically, I couldn’t access my containers without accepting the new TOS, so I “hacked” the website with Inspect Element so I could access support to close my account. For me, the arbitration change wasn’t the issue (my current host has similar policies), but being forced to accept a new TOS to use my account. I had no option do disagree or “remind me later,” I literally only had an “accept” button. I refuse to use any service that treats me like that.

      I’m now with Hetzner, so we’ll see if they pull that nonsense. I only use the VPS to get around my ISP’s CGNAT (WireGuard VPN w/ HAProxy at the edge to route domains), so if they pull the same nonsense, I’ll copy my config to another VPS.

      • mesamuneEnglish
        1•4 months ago

        How is Hetzner?

        • @[email protected]English
          2•4 months ago

          Seems to work fine and meets my needs. I’m in the US though, and options are pretty limited. So far the only snag I’ve had was having to upload my ID, I guess their signup process is a little strict.

          • mesamuneEnglish
            1•4 months ago

            Nice. I’m all about new providers

    • mesamuneEnglish
      1•4 months ago

      https://old.reddit.com/r/webdev/comments/1boz5ne/vultr_new_tos_claims_all_commercial_rights_to/ " You hereby grant to Vultr a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid-up, worldwide license (including the right to sublicense through multiple tiers) to use, reproduce, process, adapt, publicly perform, publicly display, modify, prepare derivative works, publish, transmit and distribute each of your User Content, or any portion thereof, in any form, medium or distribution method now known or hereafter existing, known or developed, and otherwise use and commercialize the User Content in any way that Vultr deems appropriate, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or to any third parties, for purposes of providing the Services to you."

      And you could not opt out. You had to click agree in order to login. That’s the biggest one.

      It was later removed after the fact but there were other changes that sucked.

      • Encrypt-KeeperEnglish
        1•4 months ago

        That only applies to posts on their forums. Not the content on your VPS

        • mesamuneEnglish
          0•4 months ago

          Nope. It’s the content.

          • Encrypt-KeeperEnglish
            1•4 months ago

            Incorrect. It applies only to the forums. It does not apply in any way, shape, or form to your VPS or the content on it. It’s one thing to be mistaken, but let’s not spread misinformation on purpose.

            A Reddit post incorrectly took portions of our Terms of Service out of context, which only pertain to content provided to Vultr on our public mediums (community-related content on public forums, as an example) for purposes of rendering the needed services – e.g., publishing comments, posts, or ratings. This is separate from a user’s own, private content that is deployed on Vultr services.

            Since our inception, Vultr has been committed to upholding and adhering to the strictest data privacy and protection standards across the world (including HIPAA, GDPR, and DPDPA). Our customers own 100% of their content.

              • Encrypt-KeeperEnglish
                0•4 months ago

                I don’t think you read the TOS. I think you read the out of context snippet and assumed that it applied to your VPS. They removed that bit because it was confusing, not because it was not limited.

                Being forced to agree to a TOS change without an opt out is scummy, but that’s not limited to Vultr. Companies are not out there with multiple versions of TOS based on what people agree to or not. At that point you’re better off not using a VPS.

                • mesamuneEnglish
                  0•4 months ago

                  Welp I’m an anonymous person on the Internet so you can believe what you want. I could say that my job is literally mass deploying servers (devops) but if you don’t believe me that I said that I read it then I’m not sure what we can agree on.

                  Let’s just stop while we are both ahead. It’s a Thursday, good day for coffee yeah? Hope you have a good day.

      • mesamuneEnglish
        1•4 months ago

        I had customer data as well as some personal stuff on a couple of servers. It was low hanging fruit so I just started self hosting. It’s silly how much rights they suddenly wanted. Not worth the hassle, they just provide basic boxes to begin with.

        They also would not let you login without accepting those new rights now were you able to opt out. So I just threw my infa on some local systems, deleted everything and then had to say yes to their TOS. Again silly and great way to lose business.