From ce3699985f6179d6bf7b43f360f6866252a9ed1f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Sam Al-Sapti Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2023 20:15:07 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] Move blog to WriteFreely --- archetypes/posts.md | 10 -- config.yml | 7 +- content/posts/im-back-on-mastodon.md | 59 ----------- .../posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md | 97 ------------------- 4 files changed, 1 insertion(+), 172 deletions(-) delete mode 100644 archetypes/posts.md delete mode 100644 content/posts/im-back-on-mastodon.md delete mode 100644 content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md diff --git a/archetypes/posts.md b/archetypes/posts.md deleted file mode 100644 index a863401..0000000 --- a/archetypes/posts.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,10 +0,0 @@ ---- -draft: true -date: {{ .Date }} -title: {{ replace .Name "-" " " | title }} -description: -authors: [] -tags: [] -series: [] ---- - diff --git a/config.yml b/config.yml index 344f8ae..aa26e6e 100644 --- a/config.yml +++ b/config.yml @@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ menu: url: keys/ - name: Blog weight: 4 - url: posts/ + url: https://write.data.coop/sam/ - name: Privacy Policy weight: 5 url: privacy/ @@ -71,11 +71,6 @@ params: icon: fa fa-2x fa-git url: https://git.data.coop/samsapti rel: noopener noreferrer me - - name: RSS - icon: fa fa-2x fa-rss - url: posts/index.xml - rel: alternate - type: application/rss+xml - name: Onion service icon: fa fa-2x fa-tor-onion url: http://mldhltdackluvnqso7vk2azcg3ghjxbpw4im6alubymqkonb4kppqcqd.onion diff --git a/content/posts/im-back-on-mastodon.md b/content/posts/im-back-on-mastodon.md deleted file mode 100644 index fde772d..0000000 --- a/content/posts/im-back-on-mastodon.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,59 +0,0 @@ ---- -draft: false -date: 2023-07-16T16:52:06+02:00 -title: I'm Back on Mastodon -description: In this blog post I describe why I decided to get back on Mastodon. -authors: ['Sam Al-Sapti'] -tags: ['decentralization', 'privacy', 'fediverse', 'social media'] -series: [] ---- - -May 1, 2023 marked one year since I deleted my Facebook account. That was the -last account I had on the Big Tech social media platforms that all compete for -our attention and behavioral data (technically I'm still on LinkedIn, although -I rarely use it). How has it been? To say it mildly, liberating. - -Last summer, after reading *Digital Minimalism* by Cal Newport (fantastic book -by the way, you should give it a read if you haven't), I also deleted my -Mastodon account. At the time, I thought to myself that I really only used it -as I used to use Facebook, wasting my time, and I probably did. Thinking back, -I did really need a break from social media in general in order to get my mind -back on track, and I'm glad I made that decision. I was still too used to -Facebook and the likes. After deleting everything, I used the extra time I -suddenly had to focus on life and finish my bachelor's degree. Now a year -later, I decided to join the Fediverse again, so I created a new [Mastodon -account](https://social.data.coop/@sam). I did so for a couple of reasons. - -The primary reason is that I felt a bit too disconnected from the online world, -and since my career and interests are in IT, that didn't work for me. It is -true that the best form of social interaction is outside the screen. But in the -modern world we live in, technology can add substantial value to your life, -**but only if you use it properly**. The book *Digital Minimalism* taught me -what "properly" means (again, read it). By not being on any form of social -media, I wasn't able to keep track of what the latest trends are and what -people are talking about at the moment (in general but mostly regarding IT). -But also just when it comes to meeting new people, or maintaining a network, or -finding out about events happening near me. By using technology in a way where -it enhances my life, instead of the opposite where the technology uses me, I -can actually get some value from it. Although I'm back on social media, I -believe I have the tools and the knowledge necessary for maintaining a healthy -relationship with social media and my usage of it. For this reason, I've also -decided that I won't ever support the attention seeking social media platforms, -that is social media owned by Big Tech. Because let's face it, we can't really -have a healthy relationship with a social media platform if it keeps trying -with all its power to get us hooked onto it and get us sucked into its reality, -it's simply not possible. - -This leads me to my second reason. In order to support the world-wide migration -to decentralized alternatives to Big Tech, I need to be on there myself. That's -the best way to show my support for the Fediverse. Looking at the recent -conflicts with Big Tech platforms, such as the changes in the Reddit API or -Elon Musk buying and basically destroying Twitter as we know it, this is the -best time to do so. I want to be a bigger part of that movement. Right now is -the time where most people are starting to realize, that big centralized -platforms maybe aren't the best option out there, and that decentralization is -the better way. - -So, to summarize, did I regret leaving Mastodon? No, I didn't. But I'm glad -that I'm back in the Fediverse, and I'll continue to support the move towards -decentralized platforms. I truly believe that this is the right path forward. diff --git a/content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md b/content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md deleted file mode 100644 index 0c1bc18..0000000 --- a/content/posts/why-i-switched-from-proton-mail.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,97 +0,0 @@ ---- -draft: false -date: 2022-05-29T16:10:46+02:00 -title: Why I Switched From Proton Mail -description: This blog post explains why I chose to switch away from Proton Mail. -authors: ['Sam Al-Sapti'] -tags: ['cryptography', 'decentralization', 'email', 'pgp'] -series: [] ---- - -I wanted to write this blog post (and by the way, this is my first) to shed -some light on my recent choice of email provider. You see, Proton Mail is a -great email service, and I've used them for years, but it just doesn't fit my -needs anymore. This is due to a number of reasons, but it's primarily due to -some issues with external PGP handling (I'll talk more about this later on) and -their recent change of direction. - -## Centralization and Proton's new direction - -One of the main reasons I chose to switch, is the new direction Proton is going -in. Recently, they've revamped all of their products and their website, to make -it more clear that both Proton Mail, Proton VPN, Proton Calendar and Proton -Drive is under the same family/suite (notice how there's a space now in their -product names, that's one of the changes). All of this is great for many -reasons, now it actually feels like an alternative all-in-one solution to -something like Google's, and I'm sure this will benefit them in the long run -and appeal to more people. A lot of people like these kinds of ecosystems, -because it usually increases ease of use and convenience. In fact, this change -now allows Proton to better integrate their products together. For example, you -can now easily send large attachments via email, by letting Proton Mail -automatically upload the file to Proton Drive and send a share link in the -email, instead of attaching it in the email itself. All of the changes are -outlined in [this article](https://proton.me/news/updated-proton) by Proton's -CEO, Andy Yen. - -Personally though, this does not appeal to me. I'm not a fan of ecosystems and -having all my eggs in one basket, and I'm a huge fan of self-hosting. You see, -I'm a big proponent of decentralization. One aspect of decentralization is to -not have everything in one place, when you don't control that place. For -example, I wouldn't have both my email, calendar, contacts and cloud storage -with Google, and neither would I with Proton. Instead, I self-host my cloud -storage, calendar, contacts, to-do lists, and notes with the help of -[Nextcloud](https://nextcloud.com) at home on a Raspberry Pi. This way, even -though it's all in one place, I'm the one in control of the server hosting it -and what happens with it. - -I can definitely see why Proton chose to go in this direction, and I fully -support them. But they should also expect, and I'm sure they did, that some of -their customers wouldn't want this change of direction. I have nothing against -Proton as a company, but having my digital life centralized with one company is -just not my cup of tea. - -## The way Proton Mail handles PGP - -Proton Mail offers zero-access encryption of your inbox, meaning all of your -emails are encrypted, and only you have access to read them after unlocking -them with your password. Behind the scenes, this works by each customer having -a PGP key pair stored on their servers, with the private key being encrypted by -the customer's password. This means that not even Proton themselves can read -your emails, and this is great for privacy. - -PGP has been a standard for email encryption for many years, and it's widely -used for sensitive communication via email. Proton has taken PGP and integrated -it into their email service, automatically providing end-to-end encrypted -emails between Proton Mail users (it also works with other email providers, but -it requires some setup by the communicating parties). The thing is though, that -you're not in control of the private PGP key when using Proton Mail's PGP -integration. Even though it is encrypted on their servers, and only I can -decrypt it, I want to be in control of my private key myself. This also relates -to the centralization problem I described above. By using Proton Mail, I -entrust my email security with a central entity. - -This one is more on the technical side of things. I've had some not so great -experiences when trying to use my own PGP key on top of Proton Mail's -encryption. For example, my signatures wouldn't be recognized by the -recipient's email client, due to the second layer of encryption that is Proton -Mail's PGP integration. Because I want to use my own PGP key, that I'm in -control of myself, this doesn't work for me. - -## Conclusion - -With all that said, I want to end this blog post by saying this: Don't go ahead -and delete your Proton account solely based on what I'm saying. This is my own -personal opinion. If you're someone who's not very technical and/or are -satisfied with what Proton is offering, then stay. I'm not here to trash talk -Proton and tell everyone to abandon them. I think Proton offers some great -privacy preserving services and their line of products is perfectly suitable -for a lot of people, and their work is important in the privacy world. I'm just -someone who's a bit more technical than the average person, and because of -that, Proton Mail is just not a fit for me personally. For the average person, -Proton is fantastic, and I can only recommend them if you're wondering which -email, VPN, calendar or cloud storage provider to use. - -You might be asking, what am I using now then? I'm now a happy customer over at -[mailbox.org](https://mailbox.org), and if you're like me, you should totally -check them out. If not, go ahead and keep your Proton account (you have one, -right?).