One of my goals with ham radio is to be able to help if something were to happen.
And no, I'm not one of those weird pepper larpers that think amassing toilet paper and canned tomatoes with guns will save them, I mean that genuinely.
In the very unlikely event that all networks are down, I want to be able to assist with recovery efforts and help others communicate, as simple as that. That's why I think it's important; you can learn a skill and put it to the service of the community in times of need.
As said, it's very unlikely that a situation like that ever arises, networks nowadays are very resilient and the region I live in is pretty stable to say the least; however, it's still a good thing to have just in case, just like knowing first aid. Thankfully, you won't need to use it for probably your whole life, but it could certainly save someone the one day it's needed.
This basically gave a bunch of people, including some I knew, a space on the web by default, some still using it.
I also remember some teachers even using the free.fr personal page thing where you could have a website hosted free of charge there.
I'm sad that the only spaces you're allowed to exist without effort online nowadays are large social media silos that have no customisation nor personality whatsoever. I find all those large social media websites soulless, everything looks the same, uniform, without colours, sanitized.
I find it interesting how most ISPs in Finland stopped doing e-mails.
And a bit sad, tons of ISPs all around the world used to provide an easy way to have an e-mail address and some kind of webspace to have a personal website.
That should be brought back. DNA, Elisa, if you're listening, you know what to do :)
@hack13 I was thinking of self-hosting some scribbling solution, but in the end doesn’t makes much sense. ListenBrainz is more public and has the API I needed for my silly widgets.
Some people will say that it's "weird" to be nice to others.
I don't know man, maybe I just like seeing the people around me smiling, happy and seeing their lives improve rather than being stuck in the depths like I was for many years.
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