I assume most users here have some sort of tech/IT/software background. However, I’ve seen some comments of people who might not have that background (no problem with that) and I wonder if you are self-hosting anything, how did you decide that you would like to self-host?

  • Hiko0@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    55
    ·
    19 days ago

    Teacher here. No professional affiliation with PCs, Linux or self-hosting. Started out with a Synology NAS and got my first experiences with Linux, CLI, Docker, etc. Switched to Unraid last fall and I self-host quite a lot of services now. 100% self-taught.

    • navi@lemmy.tespia.org
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      19 days ago

      I love unRAID so much. It’s crazy how just a simple GUI can help solidify docker concepts.

  • drhoopoe@lemmy.sdf.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    31
    ·
    19 days ago

    I’m a college professor in the humanities (religious studies, history). Got into linux about 5 years back, partly because it comports better with my lefty politics than the alternatives, but also just because I’ve long been a closet computer nerd. I currently run a couple of proxmox servers on old optiplexes I grabbed off ebay. Full *arr stack with jellyfin on docker, a Tails VM for TOR stuff, NAS (omv on a vm), some other dockerized stuff: linkding, radicale, alexandrite (a self-hosted lemmy client, which I’m currently writing this on), various backup utilities.

    It’s basically just a hobby for me, though the switch to linux has also totally changed my academic workflow, e.g. I do all my writing in nvim + latex now, use syncthing to sync my home desktop, laptops, and office computer, etc. I dig divesting myself from corporate computing to the greatest extent possible, appreciate the privacy benefits, and generally just enjoy the community-driven spirit of the whole thing.

  • helenslunch@feddit.nl
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    15
    ·
    19 days ago

    I’ve worked in auto repair and real estate. Have no professional experience.

    Why self-host? Because its cool. And for privacy. And save a few bucks on subscriptions.

    • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      As someone with a strong tech background, that’s just impressive to me. It’s cool to see non-technical people are interested in self-hosting too, and for good reason.

      • helenslunch@feddit.nl
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        1
        ·
        18 days ago

        I didn’t say I was good at it. I’ve used various GUIs that simplify things a bit (Yunohost, CasaOS, ZimaOS, Runtipi, Unraid, TrueNAS, etc. but they all seem to be missing different things that each other have. Yunohost makes things as simple as possible.

        • ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          18 days ago

          Still impressive imo, I have friends who work in IT who don’t even self-host lol

          • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            2
            ·
            18 days ago

            I don’t blame a lot of IT professionals for not wanting to self host. Especially if they are maintaining services for a living. When you do that same thing you do at work at home it gets very annoying quickly.

  • gedaliyah@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    14
    ·
    19 days ago

    Just getting started but yeah, I have basically no technology background. Mostly I’m too stubborn to know when to quit something so here I am lol.

  • ikidd@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    13
    ·
    18 days ago

    I’m a farmer that was an IT guy a decade or so ago, which I guess is a background in it, but that’s not why I do it. Self-hosting is a self-reliance thing. I like to fix my own equipment, metal and silicon.

    When it comes apart, I want to know the reason, and I like to invent new ways to do things, which means I have to be able to control my infrastructure.

    • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      18 days ago

      Honestly it would be really cool to see more self hosting in the farming space. I want to see a iot system that it run by the farmer.

      Before we know it there will be a server room at each farm

  • dosse91@lemmy.trippy.pizza
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    10
    ·
    19 days ago

    When they were installing the alarm at my house I noticed that the main guy had nextcloud on his phone and it sparked a nice conversation about privacy. He has no technical background but managed to self-host it on his old laptop with one of those distros that have an easy UI for self-hosting (don’t remember which one exactly). He’s a pretty cool guy.

  • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    edit-2
    17 days ago

    No background but I can read and listen. There are plenty of resources around.

    I started out of privacy concerns and I wanted to deGoogle It started this year with a RPI and pihole. Then I saw Mealie, bought a domain, and started sharing recipes with my family.

    At first I messed around with Casa OS. It’s like a gateway drug. So easy to use and get stuff running.

    Last week a 2nd hand i5 arrived and now I moved everything to proxmox. The RPI is still running pihole. At the moment I’m setting up Immich and I’m thinking about buying a NAS.

    Since it is a new hobby I keep everything low cost. If it sticks I’ll invest in a proper home server.

  • balancedchaos@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    19 days ago

    I work in logistics. I’ve always had a fascination with tech, and was leery of all these neato things on offer from big tech, from social media to the cloud.

    Found out I could self-host, and got to learning.

  • Atropos@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    18 days ago

    Medical device engineer here (mechanical engineering). I host jellyfin, game servers (Minecraft, factorio, valheim, etc), my website, and a bunch of other minor services I find useful.

    I got into it originally through a combination of poor internet, and being fed up with Google and others discontinuing products/features. The internet problem is solved now, so my only goal is not being reliant on someone else’s cloud.

  • Saiwal@hub.utsukta.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    9
    ·
    19 days ago

    yes! structural engineer here, computers has been my passion for a long time and self hosting is a joy! i have learnt a ton in the past year about networking, security and so many things!

  • youmaynotknow@lemmy.ml
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    18 days ago

    I believe that most self holsters actually are more hobbyist lifestyle than people with actual tech background.

    I read and research a whole lot, which has taken me down this rabbit hole.

  • bdonvr@thelemmy.club
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    19 days ago

    I’ve never been in tech professionally, I’m a truck driver (now working in the office of company but still drive sometimes) but I have always been into tech. I selfhost as much as possible. Bitwarden, jellyfin, seafile, etc. and also run a Lemmy instance. I like tech projects and control.

  • walden@sub.wetshaving.social
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    19 days ago

    I don’t have a tech background. Currently hosting 25 different things in docker. I wonder if there are actually more non-tech people who do it, because tech industry people might want to take a break in their off time.

  • Zikeji@programming.dev
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    19 days ago

    Programming and self hosting the results when I was ~14 is what led me to a tech background. No university, but I’ve been working professionally in both IT and software for over a decade and self hosting even longer.

  • CrimeDad@lemmy.crimedad.work
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    19 days ago

    Mechanical engineer here self-hosting my own Lemmy and Pixelfed instances in a Yunohost VM on an old Ubuntu box. It just feels better being my own admin.