The Freedom to Write

Why do I host everything on ianreppel.org rather than publish on popular social platforms?

There are three reasons why my website is self-hosted: control, freedom, and respect.

Control

I write to think out loud. I write about topics that are of interest to me. I write for fun, not as a side hustle.

By having ianreppel.org under my control, I decide what stays up, how it is organized, and who gets access. Every post is free for everyone. No logins required. Maybe not every topic I write about is something you care about. And that’s fine! Read what you want; skip what you don’t.

Freedom

I spend a decent amount of time researching and writing each post. Even the work on oracle.rtfd.io is completely free. Why not monetize all that effort?

First, that leads to the hustle culture I despise, where everything you do, every hobby, every minute of the day needs to be a source of revenue rather than pleasure or downtime. If I do not care about a topic, I do not research it or write about it.

Second, the primary options for monetization are abhorrent: advertising and subscriptions. I use ad blockers to make browsing the web palatable, so I would be a hypocrite if I shoved ads into my own website.

Third, most people already have more subscriptions to digital services than they care for. They do not need yet one more subscription. Subscriptions and ads also penalize low-income regions: ads gobble up mobile data plans while subscriptions might not be affordable around the globe. Why punish people based on where they happen to live?

Fourth, affiliate marketing is also not something I care about: it tends to lead to too many spammy links. Most posts of mine are peppered with references that I carefully read and vet for inclusion. I prefer quality over quantity.

Respect

As I have said, I do not have any intention of monetization. I tried Buy Me a Coffee, but that experiment failed after several months with zero tips.

I respect the thousands of monthly readers. There is no need to add friction by means of logins. Your email address is also none of my business. And with plentiful disposable email services, the value of such email address collection is very limited.

What is more, I detest walled gardens and the digital feudalism they enable. Whenever I see an article behind a paywall, I leave immediately. That is why I have not chosen Substack, Medium, or any of the other popular platforms. Again, I would be a hypocrite if I used such platforms for my own content. Social platforms will also inevitably change the rules to their own advantage later on, by which time they expect lock-in and network effects to be sufficient barriers to migration. That goes against my principle of control.

Substack & Co. are perfect for building and growing audiences, which is primarily of interest to thought leaders, professional conference presenters, and influencers. I do not consider myself such a person, nor do I aspire to be one. In fact, anyone who claims such epithets for themselves I view with great suspicion.

So, ianreppel.org contains all the posts, quantum insights, and short stories I have penned over the years and cared to share. Free for anyone to enjoy, or not. But free nevertheless.