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This Gemini space is _not_ fully user sovereign.
Gemini is a mostly user sovereign way to publish content on the internet. The
protocol spec is open and free for anybody to use, however it isn't officially
a standard protocol yet. By default it requires all connections to be encrypted
using TLS, preserving user privacy with encryption.
The only blatant violation of the principles of user sovereignty is the lack of
pseudonymity by default. Gemini relies on TLS over TCP over IP. Even though I am
running the Pollux Gemini server that does not have any built-in IP address
logging, my private virtual server vendor absolutely logs the IP addresses of
incoming connections. Your best bet at this moment is to use Tor or I2P
or—to a lesser degree—a VPN tunnel to mask your IP address and preserve your
pseudonymity.
The long term solution is for all of us to use a pervasive and ubiquitous mix
net that masks all of our IP addresses mutually. Unfortunately that doesn't
exist yet, but it is definitely being worked on.
This series of articles has been a long time coming and in many ways it even
predates me and my thoughts on the subject. I want to pay homage and recognize
that I am standing upon the shoulders of giants in the thinkspace of privacy
and dominion over our data and interractions online. I owe a debt of gratitude
to all that have come before me and influenced me. With this series I hope to
contribute something novel that enhances our understanding and synthesizes a
useful mental model that guides our software constructions to be more humane
and respectful.
To all who have come before me and to all that will read this and critique it
and enhance it: thank you.
Part 0: The Principles of User Sovereignty
Part 2: The Web Was Never Decentralized
Part 3: Git Isn't Very Decentralized
Part 4: Bitcoin Isn't Very Decentralized
Anon's Triangle: Pseudonymous, Trusted, Zero-Cost: Pick Two
=> discovery Part 5: Decentralized Discovery
=> introduction Part 6: Decentralized Introduction
=> coherence Part 7: Decentralized Coherence
=> public-services Part 8: Decentralized Public Services
=> trust Part 9: Decentralized Trust
=> privacy Part 10: Decentralized Privacy
=> coordination Part 11: Decentralized Coordination
=> membership Part 12: Decentralized Membership
=> persistent-state part 13: Decentralized Persistent State
Email me at: dwh@vi.rs
Content on this Gemini space is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License: