darknet.ca
est. 2003
Server Setup Overview
a_server.jpg
The server this site runs on is modest by design. A shared virtual machine, operating under AlmaLinux, provisioned with 1 GB of RAM and one virtual CPU. NGINX serves static HTML. No database, no backend scripting. It is sufficient.
More powerful systems exist, but complexity introduces dependencies. A small server is easier to audit, control, and replicate. The purpose is to maintain availability without increasing the surface area of trust.
Ownership matters. darknet.ca is hosted on a domain I control. Not leased, not reverse-proxied, not abstracted behind third-party panels. It resolves to an IP I configure. The DNS is manual. I can move the server. I can wipe it clean. I can start over.
This is infrastructure you can rebuild from scratch with basic tools. No login required to deploy. No vendor lock-in. No recurring license to access the code.
The pages are written in plain HTML. They render in any browser. The site loads without JavaScript. There is no cookie banner because no cookies are set. No analytics script runs in the background. There is no telemetry to interpret, and nothing to optimize for engagement.
The server stack is entirely composed of free software. The operating system is Linux. The philosophy is GNU. The intent aligns with decentralized systems such as Freenet and BitTorrent, and with the design logic of Bitcoin — minimal trust, maximum auditability.
I use this space to experiment, not to extract. There are no ads. No upgrades. No premium tier. The site functions the same for every user. Access is uniform. No session is created. No password is stored.
A VPS of this nature costs less than a streaming subscription. But it offers full administrative control, not temporary access. A rented application grants you permission. A server grants you sovereignty.
If you cannot run it locally, you do not control it.
If you cannot inspect the code, you are subject to it.
If you must ask permission to deploy it, you are not free.
Freedom in computing is often mistaken for convenience. In practice, it is the inverse. Freedom is responsibility. It is the willingness to host your own site, serve your own files, and manage your own risk.
What is presented here is not novel. It is a return to fundamentals. The early internet was composed of such nodes — small, autonomous, decentralized, maintained by individuals who understood their stack.
Over time, complexity increased. Control was abstracted. Convenience became monetized. Most now operate inside platforms, not protocols. Software is rented, not owned. Data is mined, not served.
To reject this trajectory does not require activism. It only requires disuse.
Use open protocols.
Run your own server.
Host what you need.
Leave the rest.
This site is an example of that model. It is not optimized for discovery. It is not indexed for growth. It simply exists — and continues to, without renewal.
No scripts.
No sessions.
No surveillance.
Just a static signal.
And a machine that speaks only when queried.
More powerful systems exist, but complexity introduces dependencies. A small server is easier to audit, control, and replicate. The purpose is to maintain availability without increasing the surface area of trust.
Ownership matters. darknet.ca is hosted on a domain I control. Not leased, not reverse-proxied, not abstracted behind third-party panels. It resolves to an IP I configure. The DNS is manual. I can move the server. I can wipe it clean. I can start over.
This is infrastructure you can rebuild from scratch with basic tools. No login required to deploy. No vendor lock-in. No recurring license to access the code.
The pages are written in plain HTML. They render in any browser. The site loads without JavaScript. There is no cookie banner because no cookies are set. No analytics script runs in the background. There is no telemetry to interpret, and nothing to optimize for engagement.
The server stack is entirely composed of free software. The operating system is Linux. The philosophy is GNU. The intent aligns with decentralized systems such as Freenet and BitTorrent, and with the design logic of Bitcoin — minimal trust, maximum auditability.
I use this space to experiment, not to extract. There are no ads. No upgrades. No premium tier. The site functions the same for every user. Access is uniform. No session is created. No password is stored.
A VPS of this nature costs less than a streaming subscription. But it offers full administrative control, not temporary access. A rented application grants you permission. A server grants you sovereignty.
If you cannot run it locally, you do not control it.
If you cannot inspect the code, you are subject to it.
If you must ask permission to deploy it, you are not free.
Freedom in computing is often mistaken for convenience. In practice, it is the inverse. Freedom is responsibility. It is the willingness to host your own site, serve your own files, and manage your own risk.
What is presented here is not novel. It is a return to fundamentals. The early internet was composed of such nodes — small, autonomous, decentralized, maintained by individuals who understood their stack.
Over time, complexity increased. Control was abstracted. Convenience became monetized. Most now operate inside platforms, not protocols. Software is rented, not owned. Data is mined, not served.
To reject this trajectory does not require activism. It only requires disuse.
Use open protocols.
Run your own server.
Host what you need.
Leave the rest.
This site is an example of that model. It is not optimized for discovery. It is not indexed for growth. It simply exists — and continues to, without renewal.
No scripts.
No sessions.
No surveillance.
Just a static signal.
And a machine that speaks only when queried.