Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Quickies: Assistance Requested

     I was at one time a first-rank software engineer; I specialized in operating systems and their customization, real-time executives, embedded applications, and communications. However, I am unschooled in the ways of the Web, especially blogging software and the database technology beneath it. (My knowledge of HTML ends with version 3.2.) As Google has proved hostile to opinions such as mine, and is becoming ever more likely to “do something about it,” I’m contemplating abandoning Blogger, a Google subsidiary, and moving to an independently hosted website beholden to no one but myself.

     I need help setting up such a website:

  • What blogging software is best for the sort of material that appears here?
  • Where do I get it?
  • What does it cost?
  • How is it installed and customized?
  • What does the administrator need to learn to manage it?

     Are there any Gentle Readers willing to walk me through this process?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Following this....

HoundOfDoom said...

Good idea. Heartiste got deplatformed by wordpress, so I'd avoid that. Your best bet may be to get a server from Hosting Matters for cheap and run something on that. And back it up to a different cloud based provider in case they get pressured.

Michael Stone said...

Very good idea, Mr. Porretto.
I'm de-googling myself at the moment.
I'm a software engineer with 30 years experience so I can help you with every aspect of this.

Perhaps setting up a Skype call to discuss your requirements would be a good first step.

E-mail me and we can get things rolling...

Ed Bonderenka said...

I use managed WordPress hosted by GoDaddy to host the online version of my newspaper. So to deplatform me, GoDaddy would have to.
I hate WordPress' interface and prefer blogger for my blog.
I also have another hosting company Doteasy that I used to blog out of and maintain a domain for my personal email, and they support WordPress software without the restrictions of WordPress hosting. They also supply a blog platform that is not as featured as WordPress.
Many hosting platforms do.
I don't know if that helps.

Unknown said...

Mr. Stone, please consider sharing your recommendations on this thread. Thank you.

Linda Fox said...

Wordpress is the Gold Standard - many bells and whistles, lots of people with expertise. However, they also have been pressured to de-platform. I just updated my Rasbian OS, and will check to see what the Linux community has developed.

I'll get back to you.

Michael Stone said...

OK.

1. what sort of traffic do you get?
2. do you want to self-host or use a 3rd party? i.e. a "Hillary" server in your bathroom or a slot in the cloud?
3. as mentioned above, wordpress software doesn't need to be hosted by wordpress. However, if they can kick you off of their hosting platform, can they ban you from using the software? If not, here's a page that details all you need to do to host your own.
4. if you don't want wordpress, there are others that you can self-host.

Michael Stone said...

Bugger! I just posted when I meant to hit "Preview". Hopefully there's enough info to get you started. Let me know if you need more...

Unknown said...

A great start, thank you. I prefer CMS vs rolling my own. I'll check the link for an open source option. For security (denial of attacks, etc), it seems to leave the SysAdmin to a hosting service. I could host a Mac Mini worse case but that appears a huge headache.
Thank you again.

CGHill said...

I'm in my 11th year on WordPress -- the software, not the site of the same name -- and it does pretty much everything I ask of it with little fuss. It's largely self-maintaining: if you're using one of the several hundred hosts that permit that sort of thing, actual upgrades to the operating system are done automatically. They claim it takes five minutes to install; I have to admit, the best I've done is about 6:40.