I’m an English teacher who wanted to “cut the cord” wherever I could, so I started learning about domain hosts, containerization, .yaml files, etc.

Since then, I’ve been hosting several pods for file sharing and streaming for many years, and I’m currently thinking about learning kubernetes for home deployment. But why?

If you aren’t in development, IT, cyber security, or in a related profession, what made you want to learn this on your own? What made you want to pick this up as a hobby?

  • 9488fcea02a9@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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    22 days ago

    Getting out of the grasp of big tech.

    Been self hosting for over 10 years before anyone coined the term enshittification. When i started, i could never imagine things getting THIS BAD with tech companies. I am happier and happier with my decision to self host things every day

    I work in advertising

    • Willdrick@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      21 days ago

      Same here, got locked out of my main gmail/google account and there was no real person to help me recover 10+ years of my stuff. Never again.

  • undrwater@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    23 days ago

    I’m a social worker by background. It all started with running Linux on my desktop.

    From there, the possibilities seemed endless.

    • muxika@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
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      23 days ago

      That’s the way to go! I’m sure you didn’t want to go back to Windows after a while. That was the start for me, too, back with Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope.

      • undrwater@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        22 days ago

        I still have a means of booting up Windows if there’s a need (usually for a firmware flash too that doesn’t have a Linux alternative).

        I was dual booting with Windows ME (which worked well for my computer). Distro hopping until I bootstrapped Gentoo from stage one.

    • A_norny_mousse@piefed.zipEnglish
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      23 days ago

      I was going to think up something more elaborate, but this is enough.

      I’m also a bit of an electronics hoarder recycler, which probably got me into Linux in the first place. And Linux proved me right: old hardware is still good. My first server was a 32 bit laptop.

      I also work in the social sector btw.

    • Imaginary_Stand4909@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
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      22 days ago

      As a cyber student, I have to literally stop myself from researching FOSS apps and homelab setups so I do my actual work that will get me the degree to pay for said projects and setups…

    • brokenlcd@feddit.itEnglish
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      23 days ago

      I once wired my whole ass house for ethernet. (Before realizing I was colorblind nonetheless.) Instead of studying.

      Never underestimate how you can use study procrastination as a push force for other shit. (Unless you’re a dipshit like me and do it with an imminent exam)

  • aceslip@lemmy.zipEnglish
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    23 days ago

    As a kid, dad set me up on one of his spare dos/win3.1 PCs when he was working. The passion and learning never stopped from that point. Just not something I want to make a career of.

    • muxika@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
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      23 days ago

      Yeah, there’s always a child-like fascination with technology. Do you ever feel like making it a career would’ve taken the joy out of it? My bro is IT and it somewhat did for him.

  • Toga65@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    23 days ago

    -Cable is insanity. It’s companies are corrupt and awful.

    -Watching sports is a maze of what channel/TV package/subscription service did I need again?

    -Far fewer means of owning the media today means they can jack up the price as much as they want. Fuck that.

  • fizzle@quokk.auEnglish
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    23 days ago

    Piracy, basically.

    Self-hosting wasn’t my intention, I just wanted a media server. Then a media server that downloaded all my stuff easily. Then a server that was more accessible. Then a server that had better Wife-Approval-Factor.

    • muxika@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
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      23 days ago

      Piracy, basically.

      Lol, you don’t say? Do you use something like Jellyseerr for requests?

      • fizzle@quokk.auEnglish
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        23 days ago

        Nah.

        Piracy was just my gateway.

        I dont have a media server anymore.

  • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    23 days ago

    I’ve been a media hoarder for decades, my partner is an avid dvd collector. I used to have lofty goals with friends about setting up our own server and media centers so we didn’t have to afford the world we live in. The friends fell off along the way, but I finally managed to make the dream happen. It’s bittersweet that I don’t really have anyone to celebrate it with.

    • muxika@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
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      23 days ago

      Sorry to hear. On the upside, no one will be upset when the server goes down.

      • Postmortal_Pop@lemmy.worldEnglish
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        23 days ago

        That’s true. Honestly I think it’s fine this way, I just wish I could send out little updates, take requests and stuff. Day to day operations is my love language and not having a valid reason to make an RSS feed or newsletter is just a reminder that I don’t have a community anymore.

  • Willoughby@piefed.worldEnglish
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    23 days ago

    I’m a mechanic.

    This is both my reason and explanation lol.

    I do my own work has been said to be taken a bit too literally in my case. I got ripped off by Geek Squad when I was 18 and said “wow, it’s just like getting ripped off at a shitty mechanic shop” and ever since then it’s been all hands-on.

    career

    I sat on that fence but being a mechanic gives me guaranteed work and I basically work-out every day. It’s hard, but not brutal and the pay is decent. Surrounded by maga tho.

    • muxika@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
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      23 days ago

      I guess that allure of rugged individualism attracts a lot of MAGA types to trades and small businesses. It’s been the opposite in education on the teachers’ side, but definitely adversarial with MAGA on the students’ and parents’ side. I used to teach current events, but I haven’t been able to do that for the last 10 years. Kids would find their way into your personal accounts, too, so I switched to federated platforms instead.

    • nathan@lemmy.permisuan.comEnglish
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      23 days ago

      I’m also a mechanic, I self host for basically the same reasons and I just don’t like the idea of big tech spying on me . Definitely a lot of MAGA, it’s fucking annoying hahaha.

    • Cousin Mose@lemmy.hogru.chEnglish
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      23 days ago

      I’m a web developer and whenever I see my (awesome) mechanic I always wonder what it’s like on the “other side.”My dad was a mechanic when I was a child and I always regret never picking up those skills.

      A lot of times when they run me through their problem-solving I’m like “damn, that’s just like reproducing a bug to find its root cause.”

      • Willoughby@piefed.worldEnglish
        0·
        23 days ago

        Yes, but also factor in information in the mechanic space has no FOSS comparison. Some companies put out their official service manuals after a period of time but most charge your company out the ass to let you view everything in some proprietary walled garden. Troubleshooting a mechanical fault can be very similar to troubleshooting code or software, and sometimes it literally is a vehicle’s software, and out comes a laptop.

        “What field am I in, again?”

        • moonshadow@slrpnk.netEnglish
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          23 days ago

          https://charm.li/ at least there’s a piracy comparison. Closest thing to FOSS are the (sometimes quite good) walkthroughs of different projects you find on owners forums. I don’t know shit about nothin, but built myself both a decent car and server from other people’s junk

      • skulblaka@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
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        21 days ago

        I quit IT work to be a mechanic. It’s exactly the same problem-solving process, but the problems are almost always way less arcane. I’m very happy with the switch.

        If you wanted to make the switch yourself, the skill sets are very interchangeable. You’re just debugging an alternator instead of an Active Directory setup. If you have a willingness to learn you’ll be up to speed in under a year.

  • FlexibleToast@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    23 days ago

    I didn’t want to pay for cable TV. I started with torrents. Then I found utorrent could automate via rss and search terms, then sickbeard could automate it even further, usenet made it safer, etc… And that’s also how I ended up with a career in IT.

  • Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.clubEnglish
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    23 days ago

    Besides privacy also moral reasons, using megacorps services means giving them money/power/data which in turn helps them do all the direct & indirect evils they do & influence (from exploiting monopolies & influencing demand side, to lobbying for lower taxes & legislature to keep/increase their monopoly, etc).

    You know, try to leave a better place than you got it & whatnot.

  • StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
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    23 days ago

    Lack of trust, for the most part. I’ve been screwed over a few too many times for me to rely entirely on someone else. Whether it’s Audible claiming I never bought an audiobook I knew damned good and well I did buy or seeing someone else getting their life made difficult by Google, Apple or Microsoft, or “friends” and family making life difficult, I’ve learned the hard way over the years I can’t rely fully on anything not under my control.