Bonum Certa Men Certa

The Internet is Breaking and We Need Contingencies

Video download link | md5sum 6a84c3a45403cd4467e8f79cf7fb51ae Internet is Under Attack, Governments Say They Protect You Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 4.0



Summary: A lot of the Internet (connectivity over UDP/TCP) and stuff built on top of it seems to be rotting and/or ebbing away, not just in Russia and China (among other Internet villains/scapegoats, notorious for extensive censorship/blocking); This scope of sabotage and obstruction goes further and further, extending far beyond the corporate Web, so that necessitates a rapid change in online behaviour (failing that, offline fallbacks)

THE national news sites have been warped into government propaganda sites, corporate media is selling war, and Twitter profits from conflict.

Where are we heading?

"Our self-hosted IRC network is a lot better anyway."Well, surely enough alternatives will be sought. I quit social control media (all of it) 5 days ago and so far I'm loving it. Our self-hosted IRC network is a lot better anyway. It's very diverse in all sorts of ways and it allows rapid response (native software has better interfaces than Web interfaces), it's quicker to type in it, and there's no time delays for responses (rather than wait for notifications people speak almost in real time).

The video explains rather bizarre things we've seen on the Internet lately, especially US-based ISPs (blocking things that they really ought not block), and then reminds people that we've invested a lot of time and effort improving the Gemini capsule. It's not that it's robust to censorship, not inherently anyway, but it's 'off the radar' for the most part. Sanctions, for example, don't impact Gemini capsules. The same is true when it comes to IRC, especially with many networks coming online all the time. Setting up an IRC network is vastly simpler than running and maintaining social control media platforms.

"Principles of the cornerstones of the Net aren't being tolerated anymore."With rotting economies (the full effect of soaring corporate and residential energy prices -- with their knock-on effect on travel, food etc. -- is yet to be seen) and an unstable world at risk of nuclear confrontation the governments will likely resort to unprecedented measures. Adapting when things already escalate is adapting too late.

Self-hosting has never seemed so attractive. Third parties cannot be relied upon as many shut down (due to government, corporate, or financial pressures), the censorious tendencies aside. 2022 is going to be a very interesting year for the Internet because we're seeing it stress-tested on many levels. Principles of the cornerstones of the Net aren't being tolerated anymore.

Recent Techrights' Posts

So When Will British Politicians, Police, Government Departments Quit Twitter (X.com)?
They sure bring constituents there (by being there)
IBM Red Hat Does Not Compete With Microsoft, It's a Microsoft Reseller
even if employees of Red Hat dislike and distrust Microsoft
Dr. Andy Farnell on Marketing Bad Things Like Slop Using FOMO (Fear of "Being Left Behind")
many of the same themes we often cover here
IBM Stock Compared to Bitcoin, Fake Articles About IBM Promote Myths About IBM
The stock moves based on false marketing
 
Links 13/01/2026: Ubisoft Layoffs, "India IT In Shambles", and Microsoft Chatbot Killing People
Links for the day
IBM is Not a Leftist Company, the "I" Stands for Imperialism, and Poo Floats to the Top
Remember that AK is military from both sides of his family
Links 13/01/2026: More Mass Layoffs in GAFAM, Catching Up With Political News of Early January
Links for the day
Freedom of Speech in the UK (or Freedom of the Press/Expression) and Protection From Adversaries
undressing people without consent and in very bad taste is not "speech"
Ending the Status Quo at the European Patent Office (EPO) This Year
Things will continue to get worse as long as the "Digital Majority" stays silent and/or passive
Greenland Ought to Move to GNU/Linux, Not Apple
GNU/Linux at 4%
If You Care About Freedom, Don't Follow IBM Red Hat (Like Microsoft Novell 20 Years Ago)
IBM Red Hat and Microsoft don't seem to compete
Red Hat Layoffs, Even of "AI" Staff in India
This is how companies die
LLM Slop Isn't Replacing Online News, It's Just a Pest That's Gradually Going Away as Money for Slop Runs Out
Slop likes to talk about itself (like some kind of 'web-cancer')
Not Journalism: Almost 80% of the 'Articles' We Saw About Torvalds and 'Vibe Coding' Are LLM Slop (Sometimes Slop Images)
The real issue is, Torvalds who created Git as a solution to proprietary prison is entertaining Microsoft's own proprietary prison
EPO People Power - Part XXXIII - Interest From Some European Media, For a Change
Without it, we'll become another Russian Federation
Just Another Reminder That Microsoft Didn't Deny Mass Layoffs
Remember that Microsoft never denied this
GNU/Linux Measured at 6% in Réunion This Year
Population sizes like a million people are nothing to sneeze at
Bluewashing Continues, Red Hat Onboarding Interns in Low-Paid Regions
It's the end of the second Monday of 2026
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, January 12, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, January 12, 2026
Gemini Links 13/01/2026: ScottoRang and Outage
Links for the day
GNU/Linux Exceeding 6% in Cape Verde
Windows is measured as down sharply
When It Comes to Health, Slop is a Flop and It Kills People
Chatbots will mostly die after many people die due to them
2026 Has Begun Well for GNU/Linux Users (and for Us)
A lot of the anti-Linux FUD we got accustomed to seeing some years ago became scarce
Links 12/01/2026: Vista 11 Exodus and Famicom/NES Game
Links for the day
Links 12/01/2026: Twitter (X) Being Blocked in More Countries, PTAB Besieged by Cheeto Appointees (Bad Patents Getting Through)
Links for the day
Links 12/01/2026: Brussels Plotting Exit From GAFAM (US), Carole Cadwalladr Explains "Peter Thiel's New Model Army"
Links for the day
Oligarchs and States Always Attempted to Obstruct Efforts to Expose Their Corruption
We commend the administrator who consistently and adamantly defend the freedom of speech
Scheduled Maintenance Between 15th of January and Days to Follow, Free Software Foundation (FSF) Looking to Add 43 More Members by 16th of January
People who value Software Freedom should consider joining to support the FSF
Bracing for Microsoft Layoffs, Tired of Microsoft Lies, Microsoft Staff Wants Transparency, Not Face-Saving Coverup From Frank Shaw
totally made up stock price
GNU/Linux Estimated at Around 5% in Montserrat
another country where the "share" of GNU/Linux is now measured at 5%
GNU/Linux Exceeding 5% in Guadeloupe According to statCounter
GNU/Linux "share" estimates in Guadeloupe
Dr. Richard Stallman @ Georgia Tech Next Week
More Than One Week From Now
EPO People Power - Part XXXII - Little Hope That European Press Will Attempt to Expose Drug Abuse in Europe's Second-Largest Organisation
What does this tell us about the press in Europe?
Three most controversial Australian authors linked to St Paul's, Coburg
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 11/01/2026: Data Breaches and Recent (Early 2026) Political Developments
Links for the day
Gemini Links 12/01/2026: Insomniacs After School and Boycotting Amazon
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, January 11, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, January 11, 2026
Brett Wilson LLP 'Dropping' the LLP, Is This Rebranding?
It's not a coincidence or a glitch, there was a formal change somewhere in the system
Can IBM Still Control the Narrative?
We'll see what comes out through the grapevine later this week
IBM SkillsBuild as Microsoft Training, Microsoft Vendor Lock-in, Microsoft Surveillance
Microsoft benefits from IBM's "training"
EPO People Power - Part XXXI - Almost No Crime is Possible Without Enablers and Complicit Colleagues
By the middle of January 2026 we'll have taken things up another gear
Aruba's GNU/Linux Adoption Seems to Have Reach All-Time High This Year
ChromeOS rose by a lot too
After the LLM Slop Frenzy...
In every way, slop is no better than spam
Links 11/01/2026: 'Nothing to Lose' in Iran and Kyiv Restores Electricity
Links for the day
Gemini Links 11/01/2026: "Late To The Party" and "Thinking About Software Licences"
Links for the day
Links 11/01/2026: Bob Weir and Stewart Cheifet Perish
Links for the day
Higher Adoption Rates of GNU/Linux in Cyprus in Recent Years
there are some Cypriots who are championing Free software
Microsoft's linkedin.com is Shrinking, Expect LinkedIn Layoffs to Carry on in 2026
Expect the mass layoffs and office closures to carry on there, maybe as early as next week
Gemini Links 11/01/2026: Scott Morgan and 'The Unix Way'
Links for the day
IBM to Be 'Reorganised'
The rich look for ways to 'monetise' what's left IBM
Dr. Andy Farnell Explains Why He'll Stop Sending E-mail to Microsoft and Gmail Users
The article is long and well worth reading
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, January 10, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, January 10, 2026