[RndTbl] Is there an Muug like community based appetite for alternative to USB3 to Ethernet, to make NAS

[Chris Audet]

@Eduard In cases like this I think it's helpful to refer back to the MUUG
mission statement:
https://muug.ca/pub/bylaws/bylaws-nov2011.pdf

The objectives of the group shall be (Paraphrased)

   - Promote free exchange of information and practice of open systems tech
   in MB
   - Enhance professional efficiency and effectiveness of its members
   - Encourage cooperation among industry, gov, edu, and other special
   interest groups


The way I've always interpreted the mission is that the primary objectives
are community building, and to support local users by providing a platform
to share learnings, and receive feedback on whatever they might be working
on.

I'm not opposed to expanding the scope of services offered at some point,
but since the server admin team are all volunteers I'd be concerned about
keeping the amount of ongoing maintenance at a sustainable level.  Going
down the service provider route isn't impossible, but I'd consider it a
significant change of direction for the club 🙂

*Quick aside*: I've been using *Deja-Dup
<https://wiki.gnome.org/Apps/DejaDup>* since switching to desktop Linux
mid-2022.  This app rocks, it's very simple to set up, and thanks to
using *Duplicity
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duplicity_(software)>* under the hood it
allows you to encrypt all backups using a password.  Even though my backups
are uploaded to Microsoft Onedrive, the actual contents of the backups are
not visible.  Would 100% recommend giving it a look if you're evaluating
cheap offsite backup solutions.

*Quick aside 2*: look up tilde communities <https://tildeverse.org/> for an
example of a Linux group that's more focused on providing services than
community building.  Very interesting topic, but a little out of the scope
of this discussion so I'll leave it at that for now.


On Sun, Feb 12, 2023 at 8:24 PM <eh at eduardhiebert.com> wrote:

> Although with fingers crossed I was hoping for better.  Nevertheless the
> facts are always friendly and I thank each of you for your detailed
> reply.  Thanks!
>
> The idea of using encryption as part of backups with third parties was a
> novel new safety application for me but raises concerns like the guy who
> bought cryptocurrency but lost a huge sum because you know what he
> forgot?  :)
>
> Eduard
>
>    On 2023-02-09 22:08, Trevor Cordes wrote:
> > On 2023-02-09 eh at eduardhiebert.com wrote:
> >> Wondering what interest there might be in doing another variant on a
> >> Muug type project but specific to creating a Muug type back-up
> >> service and mirrored for increased saftey.   One system with huge
> >> memory would be but a tiny fraction of many of us doing our own.  I'm
> >> not suggesting our people with know how do this as a labour of love
> >> but as a kind of community minded coop.
> >
> > It's not a bad idea, but there are a couple of sticking points that
> > make it a bit tough for MUUG:
> >
> > 1. Liability for what members put on it.  What if they put naughty
> > stuff?  Not sure tiny MUUG would get the same protection the big
> > providers do.  Even if ultimately protected, any legal fight alone
> > would
> > be disaster.
> >
> > 2. Liability if we lose the data.
> >
> > 3. Liability if the server gets hacked and data is leaked.
> >
> > 4. Trust and need-to-know access levels on the server for board members
> > (the admins).
> >
> > 5. Hard to police that only members are using it.  (Pw sharing, etc.)
> >
> > 6. Don't want to irk Les.
> >
> > On the pro side, we do have decent space left still, and it would make
> > a nice benefit for members.  My guess is it's not going to happen,
> > unless lawyers and govs cease to exist tomorrow. :-)  But we will
> > certainly discuss it at a board meeting as a member suggestion.
> >
> > On 2023-02-10 Adam Thompson wrote:
> >> The last time I ran the numbers for my own reasons (last year), what
> >> I pay Backblaze ~$10/mo for would cost roughly ~$200/month for a
> >> local operation, if operated on a "hobby" scale.  That's not a typo:
> >> scale allows them to reduce total end-user costs by 20-fold and still
> >> (presumably) make a profit.  Even more extreme ratios apply to public
> >> or private cloud hosting.
> >
> > Well, my personal business has run a backup service for local people /
> > businesses for 22 years.  And I do it for gobs under $200/mo.  But yes,
> > it's over $10 mo: then again it's a service, not a DIY self-managed
> > cloud thing, and includes a free managed firewall/router setup (minus
> > hardware)!  My point is, there are affordable options that still keep
> > your data out of Silicon Valley/NSA, even if you don't want to DIY.
> >
> > If someone wanted to do the same idea as a co-op thing, maybe that
> > could work.  It might better fit a venue like Skullspace though?
> >
> >> If encrypting your data locally and only then uploading it doesn't
> >> meet your privacy requirements, you probably shouldn't be connected
> >> to the internet at all...  Also, see Tarsnap, an online backup
> >> service for the EXTREMELY privacy-conscious.
> >
> > Ah, you're assuming SSL and <insert gov-endorsed encryption alg here>
> > don't all have NSA backdoors.  You're not thinking like a paranoid,
> > Adam! ;-)
> >
> > Personally, my own data is on RAID-6 and is backed-up periodically to
> > encrypted optical media and stored off-site using my own custom
> > software.  I consider my data very safe, as it would take a volcano
> > sprouting at Portage & Main or a nuke of all of the Wpg area to hose my
> > data.  :-)
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