Everyone hates each other. Graphene OS, Tech lore, privacy guides, privacy tools. I cannot follow all this drama and it makes it hard to know who to trust. It’s all so childish and toxic for furthering privacy.
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Not really sure, but there are lots of extreme views and different privacy solutions that work for different people.
One person might think VPNs are useless, while another person thinks they are the best thing ever. These people fill disagree, even though they’re both right; for their thread model.
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It’s just tribalism, it’s not unique to privacy, it happens everywhere.
Just look at the Linux community, they will fight to the death over what distro, desktop, or editor to use.
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I agree that it’s a lot and it’s unfortunate to see. Like others have said, it’s not unique to the privacy community, but it’s still felt and off-putting.
The best thing to do for this is to try to be a positive impact in the communities we participate in so that we help establish a culture of respect. “Be the change you want to see in the world” and all that. It can be hard because privacy and security is all about having opinions and making judgement calls. Those things are very easy to disagree over. The important thing is to not become disagreeable.
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The internet in general brings out the worst in everyone.
And if you disagree with me you must be a nazi, transphobe, kitten abuser who disseminates misinformation and needs to be censored.
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There definitely seems to be something special about Linux. I try not to even look at Topics if they include the word “Linux”.
On this forum, I’ve had several Linux questions and I’ve made a point to look around at different threads for someone who seems to have a good knowledge base so I can direct message them rather than put the question out to everyone. It just avoids drama that way.
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Not to start more drama, but I have felt similarly about discussion about Linux on this forum. It feels like Linux is categorically eliminated as an option for people to use on here because the response from some will be that it’s not secure. Not that it has some problems or tradeoffs, but that it’s security is so low that only macOS or Qubes should be considered. I understand that folks may disagree with using Linux, but we should at least recognize that it is a respected option in the privacy space similar to using Firefox over Chromium. Otherwise we’re just going to butt heads over and over every time someone brings up the subject. I know the line between pointing out misconceptions and giving room for other opinions is blurry and hard to place, but we gotta be aware that there’s a balance to strike rather than just bulldozing in with our opinions.
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You can always choose to ignore drams and use what’s best for YOU. You can use privacyguides’s guide and it’s app recommendations on a GrapheneOS phone. No one’s really stopping you.
There are specific threads where security misconceptions are discussed and there are specific threads where Linux questions are answered. No need to make a spaghetti out of it.
Most people who want to discuss Linux and security don’t know much about it, most of the time they are just regurgitating Madaidans insecurities. The second someone doesn’t agree with them, they are out of arguments and the only option left is basically name-calling.
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I never heard of Madaidans until just now. Looks interesting.
See. That’s why I’m on this forum.
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https://madaidans-insecurities.github.io/
Don’t expect people to post their own “original” research on a forum. Those people usually post in their blogs and stuff.
I also see that with folks that deny the existence of flaws in the Linux world. Nonetheless name callers must be banned from the forum.
There are specific threads where security misconceptions are discussed and there are specific threads where Linux questions are answered. No need to make a spaghetti out of it.
Consider my advice while discussing stuff related to GNU/Linux.
The best option is to do your own research. Read privacy policy of every software you use. Cannot go wrong with that route. You don’t need to rely on other people to suggest you anything.
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The trouble comes in threads where folks are talking about Linux and then the whole conversation is dismissed by someone who comes in to say that Linux is not a good option to consider. If it’s one person, they can just be ignored because that’s not the topic, but sometimes the whole thread just shifts to discussing the pros and cons of Linux again. And then it’s exacerbated by folks on the other side of the Linux debate who don’t think X11 has problems. Of course we shouldn’t be going around causing conflict in this area, but it does come up together sometimes and it’s a bummer.
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VPN is better than nothing IFF there is no logging of real IP with sites accessed. If I get the time I will get an anonymous server and do wireguard I control through it.
I think the drama comes from the nature of privacy as a topic. People want to have the level of privacy/security that makes them feel comfortable. This means being ‘wrong’ may mean being exposed in some way that is deeply troubling on a personal level.
Mix this with the fact that what amount of exposure is concerning varies based on the individual and it is kinda rigged for drama. The only way to mitigate this is by being very empathetic to others goals/threat models. Understanding that no matter where you fall on the threat model spectrum there will be those who are more comfortable with more/less privacy than yourself.
There is no wrong threat model. There are ineffective ways of executing whatever threat model you have. That is a subtlety that can be easily lost in online communication. Especially on technically complex topics.
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