In recent days, I’ve observed and talked to some people. Some responses made me reflect: "I tried Mastodon, but I didn’t know whom to follow. No system gave me targeted suggestions, and I felt lost and abandoned it." "Purchases? Mostly online. Sometimes I don’t know what to buy, and targeted advertising suggestions help me." "I get my information online, especially from social media. I receive all the news that interests me, while official sites are full of things I have no interest in." One of the problems in today’s society is that people, bombarded by the sheer amount of information available, feel lost. Algorithms help them choose, decide, and orient themselves, but the issue is that if these algorithms are not calibrated positively but solely in an interested manner, the result is to produce individuals incapable of making informed decisions, conditioned exclusively by what is suggested, stated, and amplified. It’s as if, after years of guided information, many people believe they are always right (the "famous" bubble), feel entitled to everything (advertisements), and perceive the world as hostile (conspiracy theories, etc.). Artificial intelligence has now become another example of this system: I know people who can no longer do anything without it. They try to impose me (incorrect) IT sysadmin solutions me because "the AI said so." At this rate, I fear the most atrophied part of our body will be our brains. #Mastodon #SocialMedia #InformationOverload #DigitalSociety

Maggie Smith was one of my favorite actresses. Especially in Downton Abbey, she perfectly embodied the stereotype (not even that much of a stereotype, to be honest) of a lady from a bygone era. I hoped to see her again in some production, but given her age, I knew it would be unlikely. Farewell, Lady Violet. And thanks for all the tea. #MaggieSmith #DowntonAbbey #RIP

For many years, my mobile devices have automatically connected via Wireguard to my external OpenBSD VPS when I'm away from home. It's typically configured to route only my main VPNs (allowing remote intervention if necessary) and to set the DNS, similar to what I've described here:

Make your own VPN - OpenBSD, Wireguard, ipv6 and ad-blocking included - IT Notes

The goal is to have complete access to my networks and to use DNS that filters out unwanted content and ads. It works very well, and the browsing experience is optimal. In Dublin, I decided to route all traffic through that VPS. Since I often connect to open Wi-Fi networks (in hotels, at conferences, in pubs, etc.), I preferred to keep everything active. Moreover, at that point, I was still appearing to websites with my Italian IP, which reduced issues with streaming, etc. Everything worked perfectly, and I didn't notice any significant increase in battery consumption. The hotel had all Ruckus equipment (with excellent Wi-Fi coverage), while the conference used Cisco, and the coverage there was also generally good. The Wireguard implementation on OpenBSD has proven to be, as always, extremely stable and reliable. #Wireguard #OpenBSD #RunBSD

Codeberg is down 😔 I hope they aren't facing a serious issue! #Codeberg

I read that the official Mastodon instance of the Swiss government will be closing down. They say there are few active users, low engagement, and minimal interaction, which seems quite plausible. Additionally, they claim that "on platforms like X or Instagram, the Federal Council and the Federal Administration have many more followers." I believe that too, of course. However, I do not agree with their decision. I think a government shouldn’t be overly concerned about follower counts and interactions, but rather about providing free, autonomous communication that is independent of third-party companies. In my view, a government shouldn’t operate like a business focused on "numbers." Still, I appreciate their experiment - many governments, like the Italian one, haven’t even tried. Regarding costs and management effort: an instance with 5 users and 3,500 followers (numbers provided by them) can run on a VPS for €3 a month and doesn't require heavy moderation. The cost for them is nearly zero. Yet, the freedom of information and discussion, especially for a Neutral Country, should always be a priority. I believe that maintaining control over one’s information channels is crucial, especially in today's world. But, I fear that decision-makers only consider the numbers, which often favor the flashiest - but worse - solutions. Encouraging citizens to use closed platforms is, in my opinion, a wrong choice. Thanks to the Swiss government for at least giving it a shot. https://www.admin.ch/gov/it/pagina-iniziale/documentazione/comunicati-stampa.msg-id-102585.html #Mastodon #FreedomOfSpeech #Switzerland #Fediverse #SocialNetworks

This was the view from our hotel room in Dublin, Ireland Perfect for a #MeerMittwoch #SeaWednesday #Dublin #Ireland #Sea #Landscape

The Sun is setting on a Silent Sunday. #SilentSunday #Photography #Photo #Picture #Ferrara #Italy #Sunset #CityPhotography #AncientCities

Update: now running nginx Hi, my (host)name is rpi. I’m a Raspberry Pi Zero W running NetBSD in read-only mode. Stefano has decided that I will serve as a mirror for the IT Notes blog, so various Varnish reverse proxies will also direct traffic to me - some as a primary server, others as a failover. I only respond to the reverse proxies via IPv6 and I’m connected to the USB output of a Mikrotik switch, so my existence depends on that switch. Even if I'm connected via wifi only. When it gets rebooted, I’ll disappear for a while too, but since I’m in read-only mode, I’ll come back just as I was before. After 7 years sitting in a drawer, Stefano decided it was time for me to go operational. When Stefano updates the blog, the script that generates it will connect to me, remount me in read-write mode, copy the new files, and I’ll return to read-only. Oh, by the way, there’s no external web server involved—I’m running bozohttpd, integrated into NetBSD’s base system, and started by inetd when needed. #NetBSD #DYI #SelfHosting #RunBSD #ITNotes