[Attempt 2 at avoiding moderator approval]
Hey all,
When I was going through uni, I was greatly disappointed that the uni only had Windows boxes. I didn't really want to bring my own computer to and from uni everyday. There was a simple solution, SSH into a decent host. But, try as I might all the paid shell providers seemed quite seedy, and the free ones (like metawire) had a few issues - mostly due to the kind of people they attracted.
I never did find a decent shell provider, but I never forgot the frustration involved in trying. I ended up with a Linode VPS.
Now I've had an idea I've been toying with for a while, and that is to provide a host fellows can SSH into. I hope this will mean we won't hit the problems of typical shell hosts, as the user base hopefully is a reasonable and honorable group.
The rules would be simple, but hopefully easy enough to follow: - No non-free content/software*. - Don't get me in trouble. - Don't interfere with the services provided to other people.
The requirements for joining would also be simple: - FSFE email address. - OpenPGP key. - Agreement to the rules.
I have a budget of about $50 per month for this, which would get two Linodes with 512MB of RAM, 16GB of storage; or one with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of storage. I'm pretty open to other ideas, but Linode's value proposition is pretty good. And it's based on xen, which is at least FLOSS
Of course no one may care, but I was thinking if I got 10 people keen I'd go for it :)
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
Regards,
-- Roscoe
Roscoe rm@fsfe.org writes:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
Not a bad idea.
Just a random thought: If spamming or abusing the internet connection of the VPS is a problem, how about not providing outbound access at all? People could easily tunnel their outgoing traffic back to their. local system. For example
ssh -t -R 3218:proxy.at.some.edu:3128 your-vps.somewhere.example.com \ sh -c 'http_proxy=http://localhost:3218/ elinks'
would start the elinks browser on the VPS but route its traffic over ssh back to the client machine.
(You probably want to use network namespaces of linux to make sure that each user can only access their own port forwardings..)
Roscoe wrote:
Now I've had an idea I've been toying with for a while, and that is to provide a host fellows can SSH into. I hope this will mean we won't hit the problems of typical shell hosts, as the user base hopefully is a reasonable and honorable group. [...] Of course no one may care, but I was thinking if I got 10 people keen I'd go for it :)
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
Fine idea. There are a few shell hosting co-ops around. Maybe you could copy the decision-making structure and basic rules from one of them?
Good luck!
Hello Roscoe,
* Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-09-04 09:00:45 +1000]:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
I discussed this idea with others. Like me, most people liked the idea very much to have such a service for Fellows. The problem is, that at the moment we do not have _any_ spare sysadmin time to integrate this or to help anything for that. There are too many urgent things which are critical for our infrastructure which needs a lot of work at the moment.
Of course that does not prevent you to set up such a service and provide Fellows access there, but unfortunately our admins cannot help with any tasks (like account management, etc.).
Regards, Matthias
Hey all,
Thanks for the replies. One off list reply pointed out the potential legal issues involved, while I'd like to think each user was responsible for their own use it may come down to the server owner being responsible for their use. Or, at least, being the first visiting point for raids.
The time and money investment don't phase me, but the potential legal hassle/risk does :(
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:51 AM, Matthias Kirschner mk@fsfe.org wrote:
Hello Roscoe,
- Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-09-04 09:00:45 +1000]:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
I discussed this idea with others. Like me, most people liked the idea very much to have such a service for Fellows. The problem is, that at the moment we do not have _any_ spare sysadmin time to integrate this or to help anything for that. There are too many urgent things which are critical for our infrastructure which needs a lot of work at the moment.
Of course that does not prevent you to set up such a service and provide Fellows access there, but unfortunately our admins cannot help with any tasks (like account management, etc.).
Regards, Matthias
-- Matthias Kirschner - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (fsfe.org) Free Software is important to you? Join today! (fsfe.org/join)
I would appreciate any hosting for compilng free software projects. Currently I am working on some refactoring of binutils, and the compile times are killing my small computer. mike
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 6:28 AM, Roscoe rm@fsfe.org wrote:
Hey all,
Thanks for the replies. One off list reply pointed out the potential legal issues involved, while I'd like to think each user was responsible for their own use it may come down to the server owner being responsible for their use. Or, at least, being the first visiting point for raids.
The time and money investment don't phase me, but the potential legal hassle/risk does :(
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:51 AM, Matthias Kirschner mk@fsfe.org wrote:
Hello Roscoe,
- Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-09-04 09:00:45 +1000]:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
I discussed this idea with others. Like me, most people liked the idea very much to have such a service for Fellows. The problem is, that at the moment we do not have _any_ spare sysadmin time to integrate this or to help anything for that. There are too many urgent things which are critical for our infrastructure which needs a lot of work at the moment.
Of course that does not prevent you to set up such a service and provide Fellows access there, but unfortunately our admins cannot help with any tasks (like account management, etc.).
Regards, Matthias
-- Matthias Kirschner - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (fsfe.org) Free Software is important to you? Join today! (fsfe.org/join)
Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
Even a continuous build server would be nice, one that only compiles checked in versions.
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 8:18 AM, jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com < jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com> wrote:
I would appreciate any hosting for compilng free software projects. Currently I am working on some refactoring of binutils, and the compile times are killing my small computer. mike
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 6:28 AM, Roscoe rm@fsfe.org wrote:
Hey all,
Thanks for the replies. One off list reply pointed out the potential legal issues involved, while I'd like to think each user was responsible for their own use it may come down to the server owner being responsible for their use. Or, at least, being the first visiting point for raids.
The time and money investment don't phase me, but the potential legal hassle/risk does :(
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:51 AM, Matthias Kirschner mk@fsfe.org wrote:
Hello Roscoe,
- Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-09-04 09:00:45 +1000]:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
I discussed this idea with others. Like me, most people liked the idea very much to have such a service for Fellows. The problem is, that at the moment we do not have _any_ spare sysadmin time to integrate this or to help anything for that. There are too many urgent things which are critical for our infrastructure which needs a lot of work at the moment.
Of course that does not prevent you to set up such a service and provide Fellows access there, but unfortunately our admins cannot help with any tasks (like account management, etc.).
Regards, Matthias
-- Matthias Kirschner - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (fsfe.org) Free Software is important to you? Join today! (fsfe.org/join)
Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
-- James Michael DuPont Member of Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova and Albania flossk.org flossal.org
Hey all,
I've revisited this idea, and I still like it and will push forward with it. Starting with a single linode [Debian, 512MB, 20GB] instance then seeing where we need to go from there.
The rules may change in future but as a starting point:
0. Applicable sections of the Linode TOS must be followed 1. Users will not intentionally disrupt the services of other users
The privacy policy is as a starting point:
0. There isn't much privacy in this system, but I'll try to act in good faith 1. As local root exploits are frequent, don't assume the server to be trustworthy 2. Network information (most likely destination ip:port pairings and tx/rx), process listings [ps -ef and simliar] and disk usage may be observed to understand how users are using the service and to identify resource usage
The service is provided as is, it may break at times. Depending on the users action it may even stop. It's not my intent nor desire that people use it as a means to circumvent bans or other do nefarious things. Nor is it an anonymizing service. The rules and any policies may change as time goes by.
Email me with requested packages and services and I'll endeavor to set them up or provide you with the means to do so.
Sign-up is as follows:
Email me a public key, and I'll encrypt and email you@fsfe.org address login details.
Sound reasonable? Any suggestions? I'm happy to consider anything. The privacy policy sucks, but if you're after secrecy that's what tor/gnunet/freenet are for.
There is no nice domain name, I was thinking of registering fsfesh.net, or if a fsfe.org domain admin feels like it sh.fsfe.org would be nice (:
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 5:56 PM, jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com wrote:
Even a continuous build server would be nice, one that only compiles checked in versions.
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 8:18 AM, jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com wrote:
I would appreciate any hosting for compilng free software projects. Currently I am working on some refactoring of binutils, and the compile times are killing my small computer. mike
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 6:28 AM, Roscoe rm@fsfe.org wrote:
Hey all,
Thanks for the replies. One off list reply pointed out the potential legal issues involved, while I'd like to think each user was responsible for their own use it may come down to the server owner being responsible for their use. Or, at least, being the first visiting point for raids.
The time and money investment don't phase me, but the potential legal hassle/risk does :(
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:51 AM, Matthias Kirschner mk@fsfe.org wrote:
Hello Roscoe,
- Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-09-04 09:00:45 +1000]:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
I discussed this idea with others. Like me, most people liked the idea very much to have such a service for Fellows. The problem is, that at the moment we do not have _any_ spare sysadmin time to integrate this or to help anything for that. There are too many urgent things which are critical for our infrastructure which needs a lot of work at the moment.
Of course that does not prevent you to set up such a service and provide Fellows access there, but unfortunately our admins cannot help with any tasks (like account management, etc.).
Regards, Matthias
-- Matthias Kirschner - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (fsfe.org) Free Software is important to you? Join today! (fsfe.org/join)
Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
-- James Michael DuPont Member of Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova and Albania flossk.org flossal.org
-- James Michael DuPont Member of Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova and Albania flossk.org flossal.org
Hi, This sounds great. I dont have a fsfe account or anything but can always use another account. mike
On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 11:17 AM, Roscoe rm@fsfe.org wrote:
Hey all,
I've revisited this idea, and I still like it and will push forward with it. Starting with a single linode [Debian, 512MB, 20GB] instance then seeing where we need to go from there.
The rules may change in future but as a starting point:
- Applicable sections of the Linode TOS must be followed
- Users will not intentionally disrupt the services of other users
The privacy policy is as a starting point:
- There isn't much privacy in this system, but I'll try to act in good
faith
- As local root exploits are frequent, don't assume the server to be
trustworthy 2. Network information (most likely destination ip:port pairings and tx/rx), process listings [ps -ef and simliar] and disk usage may be observed to understand how users are using the service and to identify resource usage
The service is provided as is, it may break at times. Depending on the users action it may even stop. It's not my intent nor desire that people use it as a means to circumvent bans or other do nefarious things. Nor is it an anonymizing service. The rules and any policies may change as time goes by.
Email me with requested packages and services and I'll endeavor to set them up or provide you with the means to do so.
Sign-up is as follows:
Email me a public key, and I'll encrypt and email you@fsfe.org address login details.
Sound reasonable? Any suggestions? I'm happy to consider anything. The privacy policy sucks, but if you're after secrecy that's what tor/gnunet/freenet are for.
There is no nice domain name, I was thinking of registering fsfesh.net, or if a fsfe.org domain admin feels like it sh.fsfe.org would be nice (:
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 5:56 PM, jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com wrote:
Even a continuous build server would be nice, one that only compiles
checked
in versions.
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 8:18 AM, jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com wrote:
I would appreciate any hosting for compilng free software projects. Currently I am working on some refactoring of binutils, and the compile times are killing my small computer. mike
On Sun, Oct 3, 2010 at 6:28 AM, Roscoe rm@fsfe.org wrote:
Hey all,
Thanks for the replies. One off list reply pointed out the potential legal issues involved, while I'd like to think each user was responsible for their own use it may come down to the server owner being responsible for their use. Or, at least, being the first visiting point for raids.
The time and money investment don't phase me, but the potential legal hassle/risk does :(
Regards,
-- Roscoe
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 12:51 AM, Matthias Kirschner mk@fsfe.org
wrote:
Hello Roscoe,
- Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-09-04 09:00:45 +1000]:
Sound like a good idea? Crap idea? Suggestions?
I discussed this idea with others. Like me, most people liked the
idea
very much to have such a service for Fellows. The problem is, that
at
the moment we do not have _any_ spare sysadmin time to integrate this or to help anything for that. There are too many urgent things which
are
critical for our infrastructure which needs a lot of work at the moment.
Of course that does not prevent you to set up such a service and provide Fellows access there, but unfortunately our admins cannot help with
any
tasks (like account management, etc.).
Regards, Matthias
-- Matthias Kirschner - Fellowship Coordinator, German Coordinator Free Software Foundation Europe (fsfe.org) Free Software is important to you? Join today! (fsfe.org/join)
Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
-- James Michael DuPont Member of Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova and Albania flossk.org flossal.org
-- James Michael DuPont Member of Free Libre Open Source Software Kosova and Albania flossk.org flossal.org
Discussion mailing list Discussion@fsfeurope.org https://mail.fsfeurope.org/mailman/listinfo/discussion
"jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com" jamesmikedupont@googlemail.com wrote:
I would appreciate any hosting for compilng free software projects. Currently I am working on some refactoring of binutils, and the compile times are killing my small computer.
You may want to take a look at the "GCC Compile Farm Project": http://gcc.gnu.org/wiki/CompileFarm Despite the name it's not limited to GCC development.
Laurent Guerby gave a lightning talk about it at the GNU Hackers Meeting in the Hague 2010, a video is available at: http://www.gnu.org/ghm/2010/denhaag/
I don't have an account myself but I'm thinking about getting one.
Fabian
hi Roscoe,
* Roscoe rm@fsfe.org [2010-10-03 15:28:41 +1100]:
The time and money investment don't phase me, but the potential legal hassle/risk does :(
I understand.
Thanks, Matthias