Re: <nettime> Direction of Travel

[paul van der walt via Nettime-tmp <nettime-tmp@mail.ljudmila.org>]

Hey Rich,

On 2023-06-20 at 10:50 -04, quoth Rich Kulawiec via Nettime-tmp 
<nettime-tmp@mail.ljudmila.org>:
> On Wed, Jun 14, 2023 at 08:35:11AM +1000, paul via Nettime-tmp 
> wrote:
> > I definitely appreciate your concerns.  Having said that, i 
> > don't know if
> > it's realistic for us to predict the future that way. Riseup 
> > could disappear
> > tomorrow, the server set up by a whizkid volunteer could 
> > disappear tomorrow,
> > and presumably even Panix could disappear tomorrow.  100% agree 
> > on running
> > with our own domain name though, that's table stakes to be able 
> > to migrate
> > seamlessly and maintain control of our destiny.
>
> [ good content snipped for brevity; I agree with pretty much all 
> of it ]
>
> I dislike the term "whiz kid": running a mail system with a 
> mailing list
> manager is something that any/every competent sysadmin should be 
> able to
> handle, just as they should be able to compile sendmail from the 
> source
> code, install it, configure it, and run it.  These are baseline 
> skills.
> Same for BIND or Apache HTTPD, postfix or NGINX,  or other 
> things.

Sorry, i expressed myself poorly -- i actually 100% agree with 
your philosophy as you outline it.  Specifically, that these 
skills are not rocket science only available to a select few, that 
independence from walled-garden style platforms is valuable (a 
must, even), and that building for portability is time well-spent. 
I also agree especially with what you describe as a trend towards 
learned helplessness in this regard.  I think i miscommunicated.

What i meant when i said the "whizkid" thing, was that there 
should be a shared sense of empowerment among the 
moderation/janitorial group (so rather than "this one person who 
knows how set it up, and the rest of us would be lost if they 
became unreachable" more of "someone takes the time to set it up 
but documented it well and empowered their colleagues to access 
and administer the system too").

All the best,
p.
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