Carl had always self-hosted his website Artisan does too, I think Mram does, not sure who else might. Anyway I just read a interesting article on Cnet about it and hoping someone here might want to elaborate on how they do it.
Why self-hosting matters now more than ever in the age of cloud
https://www.xda-developers.com/self-hosting-digital-independence /
KEY EXCERPTS
.. .. All the tools and infrastructure you need to start a media server, remote desktop, or file-sharing service sit right at home, next to the user, where they’re shielded from global service catastrophes.
You set your own rules
Avoid slimy terms and conditions and random fee increases
Perhaps more importantly, with self-hosting, we’re free from random subscription price increases, changes to terms and conditions, and nonsensical feature cuts.
...In addition to data privacy, self-hosted services are usually created by passionate volunteers who, rather than pursuing monetary gain, just want to build something useful. Although many of them prioritize function over form, with clunky user interfaces that are less than visually appealing, they’re often feature-rich, lightweight, and open source. That last aspect not only enhances security but also allows the community to add creative features to the tools they use themselves.
...With minimal tech experience in the hobby, I started self-hosting inside virtual machines, then moved on to Docker, and now I’m diving into container orchestration. Along the way (and countless mistakes), I’ve learned basic networking, VPN configuration, and many new commands in the Linux terminal and Windows Command Prompt. And when a problem is too tough to overcome, there’s always the community on Reddit, Discord, and Stack Overflow to lean on.
Lastly, there’s the matter of cost. Self-hosting and creating a home lab certainly require an initial investment, but the setups are often durable and can last for years to come. The initial projects don’t have to be complicated, either. You can run a basic server on as little as a Raspberry Pi, which costs between $25 and $100 depending on the model. Projects can also run comfortably on old, retired PCs, and there are numerous self-hosted services that can be run on a NAS. Best of all, the software itself is often free and readily available on platforms such as GitHub. ... .....
Just like starting a business, the privilege of self-hosting also means you’re responsible for everything — from system maintenance to security to user experience. Additionally, when our lives are divided between a whirlpool of responsibilities, not everyone has the time to learn all the ins and outs of the tech stack required to set up a home server. But even in the face of these hurdles, when everything clicks into place and I connect to the server for the first time, few experiences are as rewarding.
self hosting comes with its own set of headaches like a sticky, "dedicated" IP address. I have minimal interest in running my own server, yet here I am running several. I did it merely out of necessity, and somewhat because of puke terms that I really don't want to comply with.
Frankly, it's easier to pay for someone else's labor to actually run the server.
@centinel It's just a thought. I was thinking along the lines of something simple like with the hop-to addresses Artisan uses and Carl used to. It's only up when they want it to be. Not that I know much about it but if Artisan and Carl can do it anybody can! I guess.