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sbselectricalservice · 1 year ago

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Dialing Perfection: Revolutionizing Phone Line Repair in Sydney

In the bustling metropolis of Sydney, where every second counts, a flawless phone connection is not just a luxury but a necessity. Imagine the frustration of disrupted communication when your phone line malfunctions. Fortunately, we at Sbselectricalservice have mastered the art of Phone Line Repair in Sydney, setting a new standard for excellence in this critical service.

The Swift Advantage: Unmatched Expertise and Efficiency

At Sbselectricalservice, we take pride in our team of highly skilled technicians, each equipped with extensive experience in diagnosing and resolving diverse phone line issues. From minor disruptions to complex malfunctions, our experts employ cutting-edge techniques to ensure a swift and effective resolution.

Understanding Common Phone Line Issues

Faulty Connections and Wiring

Our technicians specialize in identifying and rectifying faulty connections and wiring issues that often lead to disrupted phone lines. We meticulously inspect every inch of wiring, ensuring optimal conductivity and minimal signal loss.

Signal Interference

In the digital age, signal interference can be a significant challenge. Sbselectricalservice employs advanced tools to detect and eliminate interference, guaranteeing crystal-clear communication for our clients.

Hardware Malfunctions

From damaged routers to faulty modems, hardware malfunctions can cripple your phone line. Our technicians possess the expertise to diagnose and replace malfunctioning hardware swiftly, minimizing downtime for our valued clients.

The Sbselectricalservice Approach: Customer-Centric Excellence

Rapid Response Teams

Recognizing the urgency of phone line repairs, Sbselectricalservice has strategically placed rapid response teams throughout Sydney. When you reach out to us, expect a prompt and efficient dispatch of our experts to your location.

Transparent Pricing

We believe in transparency, and our pricing reflects that commitment. No hidden fees, no surprises – just a straightforward breakdown of costs before any work begins.

Guaranteed Satisfaction

Our dedication to customer satisfaction is unwavering. We stand by the quality of our work, offering a satisfaction guarantee to instill confidence in our clients.

Testimonials: Raving Reviews Speak Volumes

Our track record of success is not just a claim; it's backed by the positive experiences of our satisfied clients. Read what they have to say about the Sbselectricalservice difference:

"Sbselectricalservice saved the day! Our office phone line was down, affecting our business operations. Their team arrived promptly, identified the issue, and had us back online in no time. Truly impressive!" - James T., Business Owner.

Contact Sbselectricalservice Today for Unparalleled Phone Line Repair

When it comes to Phone Line Repair in Sydney, Sbselectricalservice stands head and shoulders above the rest. Our unwavering commitment to excellence, combined with a customer-centric approach, makes us the preferred choice for individuals and businesses alike.

If you're facing phone line issues or seeking proactive maintenance to prevent future disruptions, don't settle for mediocrity. Contact Sbselectricalservice today and experience the pinnacle of phone line repair services in Sydney.

#Phone Line Repair in Sydney

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ahopkins1965 · 1 year ago

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Cricket Phones and Their Ability to Get Copied, Cloned, Pasted, and Hacked By Organized Criminals

Are Cricket Wireless Phones Are Prone to Getting Cloned, Copied, Pasted, and Hacked?

Stress less. Smile more.

You're covered with Cricket!

Are Cricket Wireless Phones prone to get copied, cloned, pasted, and hacked by Organized Criminals? This is a very good question because I have had my cellular phone services for going on 13 years now. The answer to this question is yes. Any wireless phone companies’ phone is prone to get hacked.

Next, I want to inform all of you that this is the second time that my cell phone has been hacked by Organized Criminals. I want you to know that it cost money to remove your phone number from the Dark Web. I really like Cricket Wireless because of its inexpensive phones.

Further, I want to inform all of you that I am paying a total of $130.00 per month for three phone lines right now. I realize that Metro PCS Phone Services tend to be a lot cheaper than Cricket Wireless.

Moreover, Metro PCS is owned by T-Mobile right now. They have phones that are cheaper than some retailers.

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You’ll need to purchase a modem, but it can be returned within 60 days if you’re not happy

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$10/mo. for qualified customers with the federal Affordable Connectivity Program

$5 AutoPay discount available on select plans; discount begins month after enrolling in AutoPay. Sales tax and regulatory fees are included in the monthly plan price. If congested, users > 35GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds and Metro customers may notice reduced speeds vs T-Mobile due to prioritization. Video streams in SD. ACP: Limit 1 ACP discount per eligible household. Get full terms

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Apparently, T Mobile Metro PCS has monthly phone plans that are reasonable. It is not too bad for phone services. I still like Cricket Wireless because their phones are very inexpensive. I also want to inform all of you that both Phone Carriers have excellent customer services. I had to get a Network Refresh for a total of 5 times with Cricket Wireless. My phone is 4 years old now. It is a 4G Phone. I am getting ready to upgrade my phone services very soon. I have to upgrade my phone services because my current phone runs very slow right now. It is not as advanced as a 5G Phone.

Finally, I want to inform all of you that my phone bill might be expensive but it is worth it. I know that a 5G Phone is much better and you get up to 128 Gigabytes of RAM. It is much better than a 16G Phone. Please be very careful when it comes to Phone Services. Honestly, I-Phones tend to offer a lot of protection than a regular smartphone. It is that a person will have to pay more money to maintain services with an I-Phone rather than a regular smartphone. To ask all of your questions, any phone can be copied, cloned, pasted, and hacked by criminals. Please make sure that you do not consult with scammers and computer hackers. In my case, I was online with a series of people, and I got scammed out of over $18,000 dollars in Western Union Funds by people that I really did not know personally. My money was wire transferred overseas, where it collected interest, and then wired to a specified person. I have learned my lesson because these people do not have any remorse towards their victims. God is taking care of me right now. Every time I consult with a mere human being about my problems, they tend to laugh in my face. Do you know that having your phone number on the Dark Web cost money to remove it from that form of Web Operation?

Please be very careful because criminals are using Artificial Intelligence as a means to take full advantage of their victims. They record your voice and use your voice to communicate with your phone contacts without you even

knowing it. Do you know that you can steal Research Papers on AI? This is the truth!!

Please make sure that you can copyright your information immediately! Cell Phones are compromised on a daily basis. Only speak to people that you know personally.

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philosophika1 · 2 years ago

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22.05.2023

DAILY ACHIEVEMENTS:

Contacted Shipping Company about sending my belongings overseas ($500 for one of their largest boxes, + $30 pickup + insurance, + taxes, + $30 delivery in home country ). Wait, scratch that, it looks like a scam? They have a lot of terrible reviews on Google. How can I tell if a business is legit if they can manufacture reviews and buy an A+ BBB accreditation??? I am having a heart attack. I almost want to throw all my belongings onto the street lol It looks like total international moving costs are going to be around $10,000, including packing fee, delivery etc (fucking expensive). Why did I buy so many books?!?!?

Contacted Tulip’s Vet. She has to get a certificate within 10 days before flying and update one vaccine. Otherwise, all looks good.

Contacted the Embassy regarding Tulip’s travel details. I must complete one additional form + payment online with travel dates. Need to buy tickets to be able to do this!!! (URGENT)

Contacted Lease Breaking Office. I need to give 15 days' notice and pay a settlement of 2 months' rent plus rent through the month I vacate. Need written confirmation of this to forward to the lawyers. (panic, panic, panic)

Contacted Verizon about cancelling my internet service and getting the modem removed in July. (Friday July 14th - I can alter this date if i call them. Having a technician remove the ONT box costs an additional $99, which is a bit steep really...)

Sent email to lawyer.

Deep cleaned the bathroom (missing shower + sink) and broomed the apartment.

My stress levels are through the roof.

REMINDERS:

Ask the vet if they can give Tulip a sedative for the trip.

Buy flight tickets. (July 21st?)

Book Shipping Company (with packing services included because I give up.) (Before Fri)

Put Tulip on a diet (must weigh 10 kilos with bag included to fly in cabin)

Take all boxes down to the lobby.

Go to an AT&T store to migrate to an international postpaid account. (Tuesday)

Create a “Has X positively impacted your university experience? Tell us about it” Google form. (For Wednesday)

Complete Organization Hand-Over Guide. (For Wednesday)

Ask the bank how to maintain access to my account abroad.

Contact Apartment Services about getting maintenance done on AC units, fixing the sink, painting the apartment, etc. (Mon-Fri)

Close random Sephora account (Why the fuck did I sign up for this?)

Unsubscribe from local private library space (do this last as you may need the internet space).

Clean the kitchen.

Cancel other subscriptions (what am I even subscribed to? how do i find out?)

Schedule Apartment Deep-Clean

Die?

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productsreviewings · 2 years ago

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Xfinity - Greatest general amongst web suppliers in Charles City Costs from $20 - $300 per 30 days Speeds from 75 - 6,000Mbps Information caps on some plans Frontier - Greatest for lightning-fast speeds amongst Charles City web suppliers Costs from $50 per 30 days Speeds from Varies Limitless information T-Cell Residence Web - Greatest bundle plan amongst Charles City web suppliers Costs from $50 per 30 days Speeds from 33 - 182Mbps Limitless information Charles City, West Virginia, is only a 64-mile drive west of Washington, DC. Whereas it might not get pleasure from the identical quick way of life because the nation's capital, it has some quick web. Fiber, even. For those who reside within the japanese nook of West Virginia, you may select between a number of web suppliers that make streaming and gaming straightforward. In accordance with the newest Ookla information, West Virginia ranks forty second within the nation concerning web speeds. As a state, its median obtain velocity is simply over 149 megabits per second. That being stated, Charles City is above common. A number of plans promise at the very least 1 gigabit per second obtain velocity. Web choices in Charles City vary from satellite tv for pc to fiber. The latest Federal Communications Fee information from 2021 put Comcast's Xfinity web service on the head of the leaderboard with regards to the quickest obtain speeds. Nonetheless, you may additionally discover good velocity from Shentel and Frontier. At the moment, Frontier's fiber plan is the quickest. One of the best web plan for you'll rely in your funds and the way you employ the web. Greatest web suppliers in Charles CityFor a small city, Charles City delivers spectacular high-speed web and lots of plans. One of the best supplier for our cash is Xfinity, which guarantees quick speeds with out an astronomical value. Sarah Tew/CNET Xfinity Greatest general amongst web suppliers in Charles City Verify availability Product particulars Value vary $20 - $300 per 30 days Pace vary 75 - 6,000Mbps Connection Cable Highlights Information caps on some plans, a lot of plan choices, stable buyer satisfaction numbers Xfinity covers about 97% of Charles City, which makes it almost ubiquitous right here. It gives a number of plans that may accommodate most budgets. It additionally has among the quicker obtain speeds in Charles City. You will get web with as much as 1.2Gbps obtain speeds and limitless information for simply $80 month-to-month.Availability: Xfinity is likely one of the most out there suppliers in Charles City. It covers almost 100% of the city. You'll be able to verify your handle earlier than you join a plan to be taught precisely what's provided, together with bundles, at your handle. Plans and pricing: Xfinity's least expensive plan gives 200Mbps for under $25 per 30 days, preferrred for patrons on a funds. The corporate gives a free Getting Began package for setup, and no annual contract is required. Charges and repair particulars: Xfinity has a $15 month-to-month tools price should you use its modem and router. You will not need to pay this extra rental price should you use your personal tools. Learn our Xfinity house web evaluation. Verify Xfinity Web availability Sarah Tew/CNET Frontier Greatest for lightning-fast speeds amongst Charles City web suppliers Verify availability Product particulars Value vary $50 per 30 days Pace vary Varies Connection DSL Highlights

Limitless information, no contracts, no tools price Frontier is one of the best plan for individuals who want superfast speeds and do not thoughts paying for it. For those who watch plenty of movies or are a gamer, that is in all probability the best choice. Availability: On condition that Frontier covers almost all of Charles City, individuals who work from home or have a big household might discover one of many firm's plans essentially the most interesting. Plans and pricing: Frontier has the quickest speeds by far in Charles City -- however you'll pay for them. The corporate gives a 5Gbps plan at $155 per 30 days should you use autopay and 2Gbps speeds for $100 a month with autopay. It additionally gives slower speeds of as much as 500Mbps for as little as $50. Charges and repair particulars: Routers are included with the value of your plan and no contracts are required. Learn our Frontier house web evaluation. Verify Frontier Communications availability Sarah Tew/CNET T-Cell Residence Web Greatest bundle plan amongst Charles City web suppliers Verify availability Product particulars Value vary $50 per 30 days ($30 for eligible T-Cell Magenta Max clients) Pace vary 33 - 182Mbps Connection Mounted wi-fi Highlights Limitless information, tools included, no contracts, no further charges T-Cell Residence Web is likely to be one of the best plan for individuals who already use T-Cell for cell service and wish to streamline their subscriptions. The corporate gives an honest protection space, too. Availability: T-Cell Residence Web has a beneficiant protection map in and round Charles City, significantly to the east. Nonetheless, you may wish to verify your handle to seek out out if T-Cell has house web at your residence. You'll be able to get pleasure from speeds between 33 and 182Mbps on common.Plans and pricing: If you have already got T-Cell cellphone service or are concerned with getting it, T-Cell Residence Web could also be a wise alternative. The service is $50 per 30 days with no further charges or contract required. For those who bundle a Magenta Max voice plan with house web, your month-to-month web value drops to simply $30.Charges and repair particulars: T-Cell would not require you to pay further tools rental charges, and it boasts a price-for-life assure with no further charges. Learn our T-Cell Residence Web evaluation. Verify T-Cell availability Web suppliers in Charles City overview SupplierWeb know-howMonth-to-month value varyPace varyMonth-to-month tools pricesInformation capContractCNET evaluation rating All Factors Broadband Mounted wi-fi$89-$2994-25MbpsOne-time buy between $99-$199NoneNoneN/AFrontier DSL/fiber$50-$155500-5,000MbpsNoneNoneNone6.3HughesNet Satellite tv for pc$50-$15025Mbps$15 None24 months5.7Shentel Cable$65-$20050Mbps-1,000MbpsNoneNoneNoneN/AT-Cell Residence Web Mounted wi-fi$50 33-182MbpsNoneNoneNone7.4Viasat Satellite tv for pc$70-$30012-150Mbps$15 None24 months6.1Xfinity Cable$25-$80200Mbps-1,200Mbps$15 (skippable)NoneNone7 Present extra (2 gadgets) Store Suppliers All out there Charles City residential web suppliersDifferent web service suppliers in Charles City exist apart from Xfinity, Frontier and T-Cell. Relying in your funds or velocity necessities, you may additionally wish to take into account one of many following firms. All Factors Broadband: This firm makes a speciality of underserved markets, so it might be a viable possibility should you're on the outskirts of city. It is dear, with plans beginning at $89 per 30 days for simply 4Mbps. HughesNet: HughesNet is one other satellite tv for pc web supplier in Charles City. Plans begin at $65 per 30 days for 25Mbps velocity. Dearer plans do not provide quicker obtain speeds however do provide extra information utilization earlier than you decelerate.

Shentel: This firm has speeds as much as 1Gbps at $200 per 30 days, however you can too get 50Mbps speeds for $65 per 30 days if Shentel is accessible at your handle. The corporate solely covers about 15% of Charles City as of early 2023.Viasat: Viasat gives satellite tv for pc web, which can be proper for rural clients who will not be inside vary of different suppliers. Plans begin at $70 per 30 days. L. Toshio Kishiyama/Getty PhotographsCharles City web particulars at a lookCharles City web suppliers are speedier than what's out there in most components of the state. And costs are corresponding to different plans throughout the nation. Pricing particulars on Charles City house web serviceYou'll be able to count on to pay at the very least $50 per 30 days for web in Charles City, although the quickest plans go for effectively over $100 month-to-month. A costlier plan is usually price it in case you have a number of customers or wish to play video video games. Low cost web choices within the Charles City metro spaceWith Xfinity providing a plan at simply $25 per 30 days, you may get high quality service at a low value in Charles City. T-Cell and HughesNet additionally are available at beneath $60 per 30 days, however T-Cell requires no contract and has no further tools price. If you wish to save much more, see if the Reasonably priced Connectivity Program will assist decrease your month-to-month web bills.What is the least expensive web plan in Charles City? Store Suppliers Listed below are the web speeds yow will discover in Charles CityCharles City has surprisingly quick speeds for West Virginia, the place the median obtain velocity for the state is roughly 149Mbps. Fiber choices on this a part of the state are one of the simplest ways to ensure that you will get pleasure from quick downloads and uninterrupted streaming. *Information sourced from M-LAB velocity checks taken by actual customers in Charles City. Quickest web suppliers in Charles CityFrontier and Xfinity have the quickest plans in Charles City. Frontier has two multigig web plans, and the supplier additionally throws in a free router. What are the quickest web plans in Charles City? Store Suppliers What is the remaining phrase on web suppliers in Charles City?For those who want quick web in Charles City, look no additional than Frontier plans. If value is prime of thoughts, the most affordable Xfinity plan will go away a funds for streaming platforms. It is price noting that whereas 5Gbps plans are spectacular, most informal web customers will not require that sort of velocity to be glad with their service. Web suppliers in Charles City FAQs Is fiber web out there in Charles City? Sure. Web supplier Frontier gives fiber web in Charles City. Who's the most affordable web supplier in Charles City? Xfinity gives the most affordable plan in Charles City, with a $25 month-to-month price ticket for 200Mpbs velocity. This plan is beneficial to be used in households that solely want assist for about 5 units without delay, relying in your exercise. Which web supplier in Charles City gives the quickest plan? Frontier has the quickest web plans in Charles City. Its prime tier options 5Gbps velocity, ample to be used with many units concurrently. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', ' fbq('set', 'autoConfig', false, '789754228632403'); fbq('init', '789754228632403');

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productbehindreviews · 2 years ago

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Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem

Introduction

The Motorola MB8600 DOCSIS 3.1 Cable Modem is a high-speed internet device that is approved for use with major cable providers such as Comcast Xfinity, Cox, and Charter Spectrum. With its powerful technology, the MB8600 supports cable plans up to 1000 Mbps, making it a great choice for households with heavy internet usage, such as online gaming and video streaming.

One of the standout features of the MB8600 is its 1 Gbps Ethernet port, which provides lightning-fast connectivity to a variety of devices, including computers, gaming consoles, and streaming devices. This makes it easy to enjoy high-speed internet throughout your home without any lag or buffering.

In addition to its speed and performance, the MB8600 also offers advanced security features to keep your internet connection safe and secure. It includes a built-in firewall, as well as support for advanced encryption protocols, to protect your network from potential threats.

Features

BrandMotorolaInternet service providerOptimum, Xfinity, Cox, SpectrumConnectivity TechnologyCableCompatible DevicesPersonal ComputerItem Dimensions LxWxH7.25 x 2.25 x 7.88 inches

Additional Details

Top Internet Speeds for all Multi-gigabit Speed Tiers – Wirecutter recommends this model as the best cable modem for people using Gigabit Internet plans. Built-in DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 3.0 32×8 capabilities give top Internet speeds for all cable Internet services.

Save Money – Eliminate up to 168 dollars per year in cable modem rental fees (Savings are shown for Comcast Xfinity and vary by cable service provider.) Approved by Comcast Xfinity and Xfinity X1, Cox, and CableOne for all speeds including Comcast Gigabit services and Cox Gigablast. Not compatible with RCN. No cable modem is compatible with fiber optic, DSL, or satellite services, available from Verizon, AT&T, CenturyLink, Frontier, and others.)

Flexible Compatibility – Pair with any Wi-Fi router you’d like, including Whole Home Wi-Fi or Mesh routers like eero, Google Wi-Fi, and Orbi. A 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet port allows connection of any SINGLE device with an Ethernet port including a router, Windows or Mac computer, HDTV, or game station. This cable modem does not have a built-in wireless router or telephone call capability.

Proactive Network Security – A broadcom chipset provides advanced security from denial-of service attacks.

Active Queue Management (AQM) – AQM significantly reduces Internet latency on both DOCSIS 3.1 and 3.0 services, resulting in faster page loads for all Web traffic and enhanced interactive applications like online gaming and video conferencing. The MB8600 also includes a full-band capture digital tuner to enhance speed and save energy.

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robpegoraro · 3 years ago

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Weekly output: space tourism, Netflix sharing, FedEx drone delivery, trans-Atlantic data privacy, App Store attacks (x2), new ISP deals excluding old customers, DoD cybersecurity rules of engagement

My published work this week includes one story about people in space and another about robots in the sky. 3/28/2022: Will SpaceX, Blue Origin, or Virgin Galactic ever be affordable?, Fast Company Covering the Satellite 2022 trade show in D.C. two weeks ago both allowed me to interview somebody who’s experienced suborbital space flight and write this post about the prospects of more people being…

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#App Store 30%#App Store tax #AT&T modem fee #Blue Origin #Dallas #Defense Department #drone delivery #EU-U.S.#FedEx #Netflix sharing #NSPM-13 #Privacy Shield #SpaceX #Spectrum gigabit rate #Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework #Virgin Galactic

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zachwalton · 2 years ago

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Home WAN Failover with UDM Pro

If recurring cloud service fees for hobby projects cause death by a thousand cuts, I'm feeling like I did the first few times Ashina Elite - Jinsuke Saze kicked my ass in Sekiro:

...but my SRE day job long ago scared me off single points of failure, so I've been hesitant to host services that real users depend on--mostly https://life4ddr.com and https://truebpm.dance--at home.

But then we moved to our new home, where the prior owners had installed a couple of 13.5 kWh Tesla Powerwalls in the garage, and I realized I had power redundancy for the first time. This got me thinking about what it would take to build a sufficiently HA environment at home for hosting community projects and, well, there's work left to do to answer that question.

Might as well start with...

Redundant ISPs!

Step 1: ISPx2

Step 1 is easy: We pay $80/mo for AT&T Gigabit fiber as our primary ISP. I've had a (deactivated) Starlink RV dish and have been waiting for the chance to use it.

The primary downsides of Starlink for RVs are a) the slightly higher cost than residential Starlink ($135/mo vs. $110/mo for residential), and b) RV users are throttled during periods of high demand. In practice, this has never happened to me; I'm on the waitlist for a residential plan.

Starlink is fairly fast:

And the latency to google.com is eehhh, ok:

So why not another fiber or broadband provider?

I've been enjoying not paying Comcast too much

The Starlink dish was sitting in my closet

They're hobby projects, not payment processors that need 5+ 9s of availability and sub 10ms latency

(the primary line kinda never goes down anyway)

Off the griiiiidddd

etc.

Installation is a cinch if you cut corners:

Put it on the roof

Do a great job running and hiding the cables, definitely no eyesores here (not pictured)

(sorry to devon)

Through the wall and into the router

First time using this stuff to seal the hole drilled for the cable, plus some Sikaflex concrete sealant since, unlike regular silicone caulk, it can be painted once dried.

There may be an embarrassing part omitted here involving drilling into an "electrical wire", panicking, and in the end discovering that it was chicken wire & part of the stucco...

Not pictured: cable grommet for the 1" hole that has not yet arrived from Amazon

"That's a giant hole" Yeah, because of this thing :(

The official routing kit comes with a 3/4" drillbit. I used the 1" drillbit I had on hand.

Final result:

Step 2: Automated failover

At this point, I had a separate SSID that I could manually switch devices to, but I didn't want to have to deal with doing that manually when I'm away from home. And I might not always be available, and don't want users waiting until I am...

Enter the Ubiquiti Dream Machine (UDM) Pro!

Ok, so I really just copied a friend here without doing a ton of research:

But it ticks the boxes:

WAN failover (WAN load balancing not supported... but we can handle a few seconds of downtime)

Remote management interface

...That's it?

It does way more than this, but my goals are not lofty.

Once it arrived, it only took a few minutes for initial setup:

Plugged primary modem into WAN port 2, SFP+ 10gb (with an RJ-45 adapter)

Plugged Starlink router into WAN port 1 (with a Starlink ethernet adapter)

Turned on the UDM Pro, paired via bluetooth and finished guided setup through the iOS app

I then changed the port configuration to make WAN 2 primary and WAN 1 secondary. In my head this felt like a step toward >1Gb home Internet (AT&T offers 5 Gb today 😱). In practice, this led to a lot of packet loss and continual failovers to the backup link; it's probably an issue with the adapter or cable somewhere in the chain but i didn't feel like figuring it out.

I then discovered that you can configure port 8 as the secondary WAN link, and shuffled connections around so both WANs were cabled without the need for an adapter. This fixed the failover flapping and packet loss.

Somewhere along the way I also changed the echo server from the default Ubiquiti server to Google DNS (8.8.8.8). Ubiquiti pings the echo server to make the decision to fail over or not. I'm not sure this contributed to solving my issues, but it has for some

Success!

And kind of a sick name...

I didn't have to simulate failover because I broke things plenty of times during the setup process:

In practice, I saw 5-10 seconds of packet loss before Starlink took over. And automated recovery when AT&T started pinging again! More than adequate for users of a DDR BPM calculator.

What's left?

Ok, redundant power + Internet. But how do users get to a server deployed in my house when the IP changes on failover? Dynamic DNS? Do I go full Brad Fitzpatrick and shell out $12k+ on a /24 of IPv4 space, and create my own ASN + anycast from my house? (probably not) Am I going to deploy CRITICAL DANCE GAME SERVICES on a SINGLE DESKTOP MACHINE!? (obviously not) I don't know. Hopefully we will find out together in a subsequent post.

#sre #distributed systems #networking #hacker news #sysadmin

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mostlysignssomeportents · 3 years ago

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Podcasting "All (Broadband) Politics Are Local"

This week on my podcast, I read “All (Broadband) Politics Are Local,” my https://gameraboy2.tumblr.com/post/678083489397145600/hellion-was-her-brand-lariat-story-magazineMedium column about the horrific state of US broadband, the pandemic’s heightening of the contradictions, and the near-miraculous shift in US policy and political will for rolling out universal fiber:

https://doctorow.medium.com/all-broadband-politics-are-local-e103967a0f0c

American broadband has been a shitshow since George W Bush killed DSL line-sharing in 2001, which relegated Americans to getting their connectivity from monopolistic carriers who divided up the country into non-competing zones like the Pope dividing up the “New World”:

https://www.dslreports.com/forum/r23793890-The-Bush-FCC-essentially-KILLED-LIne-sharing

Since then, American ISPs have embodied Lily Tomlin’s immortal phrase, “We’re the phone company, we don’t care.” The failures of American broadband monopolists are truly the stuff of farce. It’s not merely Comcast’s multiple “Worst Company In America” awards:

https://www.theverge.com/2014/8/19/6004131/comcast-the-worst-company-in-america

It’s not just Verizon charging you $12/month to rent a modem and also charging you $12/month not to rent a modem:

https://forums.verizon.com/t5/Fios-Internet/I-am-being-charged-the-12-monthly-rental-fee-for-my-own-personal/td-p/884302

It’s not even the egregious bad conduct that led the great state of New York to order Charter-Spectrum to leave the state and never come back:

https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/27/new-york-kicks-charter-out-of-the-state-after-failure-to-honor-conditions-of-time-warner-merger/

It was the revelation that Frontier’s notoriously poor connections were the result of the company “installing” lines by draping them over shrubs or tying them to trees with twine:

https://mn.gov/commerce-stat/pdfs/frontier-service-quality-report-final.pdf

All that was before the pandemic turned your internet connection into a gateway to health care, schooling, civics, politics, and for some of us who were lucky to have work-from-home jobs, employment. That’s when the failure to regulate American broadband came into sharp focus.

Oh, not for the carriers. They got billions in PPP loans and Uncle Sucker bought all the junk bonds they cared to sell. They showered their executives in bonuses and their shareholders with buybacks.

But for telco workers it was a very different story (the first casualty of monopoly is workers and suppliers; the public is the second casualty). Charter CEO Thomas Rutledge (an asshole) awarded herself the highest salary of any American CEO, and then refused to pay for field technicians’ PPE or hand sanitizer. Nor did he offer them hazard pay (the company gave them gift certificates for take-out meals, but only from restaurants that had shut down during the pandemic).

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/28/unreciprocated-solidarity/#charter-sucks

Charter’s back-office staff were banned from working from home, in the name of keeping them under close supervision by their overseers, and then — predictably — Charter offices became superspreader sites.

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/22/filternet/#thomas-rutledge-murderer

For those of us who relied on broadband, things were also terrible (albeit in different ways). Take my region: Hollywood, where work-from-home for editors, SFX people, and other film personnel was hamstrung by the local monopoly’s refusal to invest in decent infrastructure.

It got so bad that a 90-year-old local took out an ad in the WSJ to chastise AT&T for its grotesquely awful service, igniting a bad publicity firestorm that dragged Ma Bell, kicking and screaming, into installing a few grudging and measly lines:

https://abc7.com/att-internet-fiber-man-takes-out-wall-street-journal-ad-for-aaron-epstein/10335328/

But at least we could get broadband. America’s poorest people live in broadband deserts that map closely to the segregated redlining districts established by racist lending policies that prohibited Black people from buying homes in white neighborhoods:

https://onezero.medium.com/urban-broadband-deserts-c7388d3abb06

Digital redlining deprived working people of access to health care and other necessities and it meant that kids of color had to attend Zoom school in the parking lot of the local Taco Bell:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/31/us/taco-bell-california-students-wifi-trnd/index.html

It’s not like America doesn’t know how to install fast fiber. There are hundreds of small towns across the country where they set up municipal fiber. People with muni fiber are the only Americans who report satisfaction with their ISPs (except for the lucky few who can get commercial fiber from great small players like Ting).

https://muninetworks.org/communitymap

But municipal fiber buildouts have ground to a halt. Why? Well, maybe it has something to do with the telco lobbyists who convinced more than 20 Republican state legislature to ban them:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/qkvn4x/the-21-laws-states-use-to-crush-broadband-competition

As terrible as all this is, there’s a silver lining. Finally — finally! — there is political will to provide universal fiber. Not 5g (which only works if you lay fiber). Not satellite (which gets slower as more people use it). Fiber, which is at least 10,000X faster than cable.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/why-fiber-vastly-superior-cable-and-5g

Fiber isn’t just thousands of times faster, it’s also symmetrical (you can upload and download at the same speed). It’s so obviously superior that 5g and satellite boosters have to make their case by arguing that pulling rural wires is some kind of forgotten art lost to the mists of time.

Bullshit. Farmhouses have electricity. Phone lines. Water lines. We know how to pull cable to them. In fact, with patient capital, fiber breaks even at densities as low as 2.5 people per square mile.

Telcos don’t build fiber, but not because of its lack of profitability. Frontier’s bankruptcy revealed that the company’s own data showed that it could make a billion dollars providing fiber to millions of underserved households.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/04/frontiers-bankruptcy-reveals-cynical-choice-deny-profitable-fiber-millions

But they decided they didn’t want that billion dollars. Why? Because the analysts whose reports determine telco stock prices will punish any company that does capex that takes more than five years to make a profit. And since Frontier’s C-suite got much of its compensation in stock, bucking the analysts would result in massive personal pay-cuts.

To get universal broadband, all you need is patient capital, and now we’ve got it. The Infrastructure Bill earmarks $65b for fiber, and, unlike previous telcoms boondoggles, it gives the money to states and cities, not telcos. Thank goodness — after all, it was telcos that blew $45b in public money on running new copper (instead of fiber) to rural customers:

https://conexon.us/conexon-blog/sunk-costs-a-cautionary-tale/

Some states — notably California — have made billions more available for universal fiber. California’s program includes a “middle-mile” intercity fiber network, low-cost loans to local governments to connect their residents, and technical know-how clearinghouses.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/09/how-californias-broadband-infrastructure-law-promotes-local-choice

All of this has happened before. During the New Deal, rural electrification and telephone co-ops brought modernity to the most remote, poorest places in the country. Some of these co-ops are still around, doing amazing work. The poorest county in Appalachia turned its economy around when a surviving New Deal-era co-op ran fiber to every home, using a mule named Ole Bub to get through the harshest mountain passes:

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-one-traffic-light-town-with-some-of-the-fastest-internet-in-the-us

Those New Deal programs were marred by racist discrimination, and the legacy of that institutional racism is still with us, in the form of broadband deserts and Digital Redlining. The new programs earmark special additional funds to reverse these historic crimes.

But the same telco lobbyists that convinced 20+ state houses to ban municipal fiber aren’t going to sleep on this one. They’ll be whispering in state and local politicians’ ears about the evils of “socialist” public broadband (and not mentioning the massive public subsidies they depend on):

https://www.iftf.org/future-now/article-detail/cory-doctorow-redesigning-a-broken-internet/

We must be the counterforce to that depraved lobbying. Lucky for us, state and local governments are far more responsive to public pressure than their federal counterparts. Call your state legislator and tell them you want them to say yes to the Feds’ state grants for broadband. Find your town council’s next Zoom meeting and use the 5-minute open comment period to demand that your local lawmakers throw out the craven broadband monopolists and get you and your neighbors onto future-proof, 21st century, fast, symmetrical fiber.

There aren’t many times when individual actions can have a real impact on systemic problems — but this is one of them.

Here’s the podcast episode:

https://craphound.com/news/2022/03/06/all-broadband-politics-are-local/

And here’s a direct link to the MP3 (hosting courtesy of the Internet Archive; they’ll host your stuff for free, forever):

https://archive.org/download/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_417/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_417_-_All_Broadband_Politics_Are_Local.mp3

And here’s the RSS feed for my podcast:

https://feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast

Image: EFF https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/why-fiber-vastly-superior-cable-and-5g

CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/us/

#pluralistic

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atplblog · 7 days ago

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stitch-n-time · 4 years ago

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Can you explain how the US housing laws work? You have me interested

Short answer: they don’t.

Longer answer (because I have to work tonight and truly don’t have like 8 hours to write the thesis, because you bet your ass I could):

There is actually an internal structure that the low income housing system has been built around that makes it nearly impossible to navigate, difficult to get into, and specifically works against the people that it was supposedly built to help.

I’m actually not quite sure where to start with this, so it’s going to be all over the place and bouncing back and forth, but that’s also kind of on brand for the low income housing system.

The system as we know it is very much a post WWII thing, so the info here will be from after that point. A lot of this will be in kind of broad, sweeping terms. But since the US is like 60 different states in a trenchcoat trying to sneak into an R-rated movie, very little of it actually covers the entirety of the country. There are also state and city levels of bullshit that people have to wade through. Most people don’t make it.

I’m going to use my own experiences as an example. But know that my experiences are NOT typical. When I started down this rabbit hole, I was a 30-ish year old white woman, a part time student, presented as a professional female on a daily basis, had a fairly stable income from a job I had held for years, and a vehicle (though making payments). All of this put together meant I had it pretty easy.

Some of that caused problems, though. The vehicle was a problem. It was a newer model gently used vehicle. According to the dealership, the previous owner had traded it in because it was a manual transmission and they wanted an automatic. When I bought it, it had less than 60k miles on it and was in excellent condition. In the eyes of the people who approve the paperwork and rubber stamp applicants for low income housing, I could get rid of that vehicle, and the moneys spent on the payments and insurance could go toward housing. Which would be reasonable, except most of the US doesn’t have public transportation at all. What public transport does exist is sketchy, rarely runs on schedule, and often does not go into residential areas. I COULD have gotten rid of the car, but that would have meant a 2 mile hike to the nearest bus station, 4 hours on a bus to get to class and 5 hours on the return trip twice a week, then a 2 mile hike home OR a 2 mile hike to the nearest bus station, 4.5 hours on a bus, another 2 mile hike to get to work, and the same on the return. At that point, I would have been spending more time on the bus than either at work or school, and might as well just live on the damned thing, since all I would have time to do at home is shower and MAYBE eat a sandwich?

But that’s also typical. Part of the laws as they are written specifically state that a person or household can not own physical properties that are over a certain value, because those properties could be sold in order to elevate the person/family’s lifestyle. That also makes household absolutely reliant on public transportation, which is simply not available in many poor areas.

Which goes into redlining, and systemic racism, which is a huge part of this, but is a whole ‘nother essay.

The fact that I was a student also worked against me. If a person can afford to go to school, they can afford housing. So why would you want/need help from the government? I’m just thankful that I was a part time student when the need for low income housing arose… If you’re a full time student, you are automatically denied on any application for low income housing. There are different legal designations for “low income housing” and “student housing”. They can not exist in the same housing complex for legal reasons. So if I had been taking one more class that semester, I would have been denied, and would have been homeless.

That in itself doesn’t sound terrible. And there’s reasons for the legal differences. But think about it… What if I had been in the last semester of school and something had happened? What about the people who are both enrolled in school and are working, trying to make ends meet, trying to be able to do something better, and either their lease is up or they get evicted or… I don’t know… their house burns down or a tornado hits or suddenly medical bills? If a person fills out that paperwork while still a student, even if they say “I’m graduating next month and want to move in the month after that” they still count as a full time student and would get denied. Which means leaving school and being spit out into the post graduate world probably without a job, while being denied help with keeping a roof over their head, when it’s absolutely necessary to have a physical address while searching for a job.

Which goes into the anti-homeless way of thinking, which is a huge part of this, but is a whole ‘nother essay.

I’m going to lump the “fairly stable income from a job I had held for years” and “presented as a professional female on a daily basis” into one, because they are directly related. I had worked my way through a trade school, and had been working in the medical field for nearly 4 years. The practice was open 4 days a week. I was there 2 days, the male counterpoint was there the other 2 days. If a client preferred one of us over the other, either they scheduled appropriately, or the doctor asked us to come in for that client’s appointment time. Because a large portion of the clientele were middle aged and older, as well as conservative, the dress code reflected accordingly. Since I actually REALLY liked the job, and the doctor and his family were pretty awesome people, I dressed and styled accordingly, on a daily basis. But because the number of hours on the clock varied with the number of clients scheduled for therapy appointments, there were times when those paychecks got mighty thin. There were absolutely trends of busy seasons and light seasons. Sometimes during that light season there were days when I would go to work for a couple of hours, go home until about 3PM, then go back for 2 or 3 hours. It was hard to pin that down.

Having to explain that I could not pinpoint an amount of annual income with any accuracy while filling out the application worked against me. And just about anybody who works in retail, food service, etc. - all the jobs that people with low incomes tend to have – will tell you that they suffer the same thing. Go into work, put in a couple of hours, and have the manager come tell you to go home because it’s not busy enough to justify having people on the clock. But without having an accurate estimation of annual income (that could be verified by their calling your employer) means that the application is denied. The general consensus is that if you can’t pinpoint your annual income, then you’re lieing on the application, which means you’re untrustworthy, and therefore don’t deserve to get the help you need to keep a roof over your head.

That conservative professional look helped me here, though. I went into the office dressed well, in khakis and a nice blouse, to fill out the application and speak to the people. While I was there, another lady came in to fill out an application. This is somebody who I happened to know personally. She was also a professional, who was arguably in a slightly better place than I was because her income did not fluctuate (though it was low, as she was recovering from a divorce and most of the family income had come from her ex husband), but she was “dressed down” in shorts and a t shirt. We made the same arguments. I ended up in an apartment, and she did not.

Honestly, I was actually lucky to get into an apartment. A lot of people don’t realize it, but even with things being classified as low income housing, it takes a LOT of money to get into places. Just like every other rental in the US, before you move in, you have to pay the first month’s rent. And a deposit. And if you have pets, another deposit. And the cost of having the electricity and water turned on. And depending on the specific details of the contract you have to sign, possibly trash pickup. And if you want internet, either you pay for that and get a modem through the ISP, or you pay extra on signing the lease. And if you want to do your laundry in your home (if there’s even a hookup), there’s an extra rental fee for a washer and dryer, unless you bring your own.

I got lucky. When I applied and was approved, this particular housing development was running a “special” - if you sign a lease, you get one month rent free to use within 12 months of signing. I had to use it immediately. With all the extra fees and everything else, I could either pay for the rent OR the deposit, but not both – so I paid the deposit and laughingly told them I’d like to use that free month on the first month, immediately, right now, please and thank you, now where’s my key? They almost turned me away at that point.

I honestly believe that if it hadn’t been for my professional clothing and the fact that I could point to a couple of scabs on my face, that I would have been denied at that point. (The scabs were from a dog. I had been renting a room from a “friend” who is no longer a friend. Her dog bit my face, and instead of punishing the dog, she decided I needed to move out that weekend. Note: this is literally the ONLY time I’ve had a dog bite me, despite having been around them most of my life, and this particular dog had snapped at multiple people before.)

Which goes into classism, which is a huge part of this, but is a whole ‘nother essay.

Now the thing that has been on my last nerve for a few years now is a good one. The laws state that if your household changes in any way, you have to fill out the application again. Doesn’t matter if you literally got approved the day before: you fill it out again. Because there have been household changes. It doesn’t sound terrible at all, but I know somebody who got evicted from low income housing and ended up homeless because his wife left. Suddenly the household size was smaller, but had the same income, and it was over the limit for the household size. Sorry not sorry you have to go. I know somebody who was evicted for “falsified paperwork” because she had a baby and was in the hospital for 2 weeks, so didn’t get the paperwork in on time. They ended up in a homeless shelter (in this city, homeless shelters are more expensive than a lot of low income housing). Now she’s in debt that she’ll probably never get out of, due to that.

What’s more is that the eligibility requirements to be able to pass those income thresholds change constantly. Out of curiosity, I tracked the changes over the course of a year. Just checking on the first of the month. In a single year, the income requirements changed 10 times. It’s not easy to keep track of, and there’s not much reason to track it unless it’s literally part of your job, in order to keep in compliance with the laws.

My own personal gripe is much less severe than that. I can’t get married. Technically, my fiance can’t live with me. On paper, he lives with his parents, miles away. But he spends most of his time in my apartment, which is under my name only, because I’m disabled (but ineligible for disability) and need his help. We’ve been together for a decade. We’ve been engaged for over 5 years. But if we get married, then the household changes, and we have to fill out the paperwork and get approved again. The thing is: if we put together our incomes into one “household” income, we would never be eligible for low income housing. Which means we would have to move out.

Moving out comes with it’s own difficulties. Because of the paperwork you have to sign to lease low income housing – and depending on where you are because 60 states in a trenchcoat – there are hoops to jump through. The lease in this particular development, you get a choice. If you break the lease you either a) pay the full amount of rent on the apartment through the end of the lease term or b) pay two months’ rent on the apartment after termination of the lease. So not only would we have to find other housing that we could afford (with all of the move in fees, deposits, transfer of service fees for utilities, bla bla bla), we would also have to pay 2 months’ rent on top of everything else. Which means either borrowing literally thousands of dollars from an individual – banks won’t do loans for this – or having to decide which bills get paid and which don’t while surviving off of ramen noodles for months at a time. Which… uh… would not work well with the man-thing’s diabetes.

Which all goes into respectability politics, and deciding whether or not poor people deserve to have stability and emotional fulfillment, which is a huge part of this, but is a whole ‘nother essay.

Now this may sound like a whole lot of personal whining. And it kind of is. But I can’t speak for anybody else. This is my personal interactions with these people and with the laws behind their behavior. But it’s the laws themselves that are written to be exclusive of the people that need help the most.

Homeless people can not apply, because they don’t have a current address.

Unemployed people can not apply, because they don’t have an income.

Full time students can not apply, because of the legal definitions of the different types of housing.

People with “disposable” property (such as cars) are often denied because they could turn those assets into monies.

People who rely on that “disposable” property for work are unable to take advantage of low income housing due to the above.

People of color who have been relegated to specific neighborhoods where public transportation is not available due to the redlining of the last century are unable to take advantage of low income housing due to the above.

People who do not have thousands of dollars readily available are denied because they can not pay both the deposit and rent.

People who face employment discrimination (even though it’s illegal) are denied because they can not provide proof of steady income.

People who have bounced from employer to employer are often denied for the same reason.

People who have successfully gained low income housing are often unable to change anything about their household.

People who have successfully gained low income housing are often unable to get out of it if their situation improves.

All of it is written into the laws surrounding the housing itself.

So…. Yeah. It doesn’t work. But if you want me to actually get into the nitty gritty, I can start actually researching. But somebody’s gotta pay me for it.

#long post is long #hey nonny nonny #what was that?

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atplblog · 11 days ago

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mostlysignssomeportents · 5 years ago

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alt.interoperability.adversarial

Today, we are told that the bigness of Big Tech giants was inevitable: the result of "network effects." For example, once everyone you want to talk to is on Facebook, you can't be convinced to use another, superior service, because all the people you'd use that service to talk to are still on Facebook. And of course, those people also can't leave Facebook, because you're still there.

But network effects were once a double-edge sword, one that could be wielded both by yesterday's Goliaths and today's Davids. Once, network effects made companies vulnerable, just as much as they protected them.

The early, pre-graphic days of the Internet were dominated by Usenet, a decentralized, topic-based discussion-board system that ran on UUCP -- AT&T's Unix-to-Unix Copy utility -- that allowed administrators of corporate servers to arrange for their computers to dial into other organizations' computers and exchange stored messages with them, and to pass on messages that were destined for more distant systems. Though UUCP was originally designed for person-to-person messaging and limited file transfers, the administrators of the world's largest computer systems wanted a more freewheeling, sociable system, and so Usenet was born.

Usenet systems dialed each other up to exchange messages, using slow modems and commercial phone lines. Even with the clever distribution system built into Usenet (which allowed for one node to receive long-distance messages for its closest neighbors and then pass the messages on at local calling rates), and even with careful call scheduling to chase the lowest long-distance rates in the dead of night, Usenet was still responsible for racking up some prodigious phone bills for the corporations who were (mostly unwittingly) hosting it.

The very largest Usenet nodes were hosted by companies so big that their Usenet-related long distance charges were lost in the dictionary-sized bills the company generated every month (some key nodes were operated by network administrators who worked for phone companies where long-distance calls were free).

The administrators of these key nodes semi-jokingly called themselves "the backbone cabal" and they saw themselves as having a kind of civic duty to Usenet, part of which was ensuring that their bosses never got wind of it and (especially) that Usenet never created the kind of scandal that would lead to public outcry that would threaten the project.

Which is why the backbone cabal was adamant that certain discussion forums be suppressed. Thanks to a convention proposed by EFF co-founder John Gilmore, there was a formal process for creating a Usenet newsgroup, requiring that a certain number of positive votes be cast for the group's creation by Usenet's users, and that this positive force not be checked by too many negative votes. Though this compromise stacked the deck against controversy by allowing a critical mass of objectors to block even very popular proposals, some proposed controversial newsgroups made it through the vote.

When that happened, the backbone cabal response was to "protect Usenet from its own users," by refusing to carry these controversial newsgroups on their long-haul lines, meaning that all the local systems (who depended on on the backbone to serve up UUCP feeds without long-distance fees) would not be able to see them. It was a kind of network administrator's veto.

Usenet users chafed at the veto. Some of the "controversial" subjects the cabal blocked (like recreational drugs) were perfectly legitimate subjects of inquiry; in other cases (rec.gourmand -- a proposal for a group about cooking inside the "recreation" category, rather than the "talk" category), the cabal's decision was hard to see as anything but capricious and arbitrary.

In response, John Gilmore, Gordon Moffett and Brian Reid created a new top-level category in the Usenet hierarchy: alt., and in 1987, the first alt. newsgroup was formed: alt.gourmand.

The backbone did not carry the alt. hierarchy, but that wasn't the end of things. Gilmore was willing to subsidize the distribution of the alt. hierarchy, and he let it be known that he would pay the long distance charges to have his UUCP server dial up to distant systems and give them an alt. feed. Because UUCP allowed for the consolidation of feeds from multiple sources, Usenet users could get their regular Usenet feeds from the backbone cabal, and their alt. feeds from Gilmore; as time went by and new services like Telenet provided new ways of bridging systems that were cheaper than long-distance modem calls, and as the modems themselves got faster, and an Internet protocol for Usenet messages called NNTP was created and the alt. hierarchy became the most popular part of Usenet.

The crisis that the backbone cabal had feared never materialized. The alt. hierarchy's freewheeling rules -- that let anyone add any newsgroup without permission from third parties -- came to dominate the Internet, from the Web (anyone can add a website) to its many services (anyone can add a hashtag or create a social media group).

The story of the alt. hierarchy is an important lesson about the nearly forgotten art of "adversarial interoperability," in which new services can be plugged into existing ones, without permission or cooperation from the operators of the dominant service.

Today, we're told that Facebook will dominate forever because everyone you want to talk to is already there. But that was true of the backbone cabal's alt.-free version of Usenet, which controlled approximately one hundred percent of the socializing on the nascent Internet. Luckily, the alt. hierarchy was created before Facebook distorted the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to try to criminalize terms of service violations. Usenet had no terms of service and no contracts. There were only community standards and mores, endlessly discussed. It was created in an era when software patents were rare and narrow, before the US Patent and Trademark Office started allowing patents on anything so long as you put "with a computer" in the application – a few years later, and Usenet creators might have tried to use Duke University and UNC’s patent portfolio to try to shut down anyone who plugged something as weird, dangerous and amazing as alt. into the Usenet (wags insisted that alt. didn't stand for "alternative," but rather, "Anarchists, Lunatics, and Terrorists"). As alt. grew, its spread demanded that Usenet's software be re-implemented for non-Unix computers, which was possible because software interfaces were not understood to be copyrightable – but today, Oracle is seeking to have the courts seal off that escape hatch for adversarial interoperability.

Deprived of these shields against adversarial interoperability, Usenet's network effects were used against it. Despite being dominated by the backbone cabal, Usenet had everything the alt. hierarchy needed to thrive: the world's total population of people interested in using the Internet to socialize; that meant that the creators of alt. could invite all Usenet users and to expand their reading beyond the groups that met with the cabal's approval without having to get the cabal's permission. Thanks to the underlying design of Usenet, the new alt. groups and the incumbent Usenet newsgroups could be seamlessly merged into a system that acted like a single service for its users.

If adversarial interoperability still enjoyed its alt.-era legal respectability, then Facebook alternatives like Diaspora could use their users' logins and passwords to fetch the Facebook messages the service had queued up for them and allow those users to reply to them from Diaspora, without being spied on by Facebook. Mastodon users could read and post to Twitter without touching Twitter's servers. Hundreds or thousands of services could spring up that allowed users different options to block harassment and bubble up interesting contributions from other users -- both those on the incumbent social media services, and the users of these new upstarts. It's true that unlike Usenet, Facebook and Twitter have taken steps to block this kind of federation, so perhaps the experience won't be as seamless as it was for alt. users mixing their feeds in with the backbone's feeds, but the main hurdle – moving to a new service without having to convince everyone to come with you – could be vanquished.

In the absence of adversarial interoperability, we're left trying to solve the impossible collective action problem of getting everyone to switch at once, or to maintain many different accounts that reach many different groups of potential users.

Regulators are increasingly bullish on interoperability and have made noises about creating standards that let one service plug into another one. But as important as these standards are, they should be the floor on interoperability, not the ceiling. Standards created with input from the tech giants will always have limits designed to protect them from being disrupted out of existence, the way they disrupted the market leaders when they were pipsqueak upstarts.

Restoring adversarial interoperability will allow future companies, co-operatives and tinkerers to go beyond the comfort zones of the winners of the previous rounds of the game -- so that it ceases to be a winner-take-all affair, and instead becomes the kind of dynamic place where a backbone cabal can have total control one year, and be sidelined the next.

https://boingboing.net/2019/11/13/alt-interoperability-adversari.html

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