I’ve been mulling over a question that popped up in one of the tech communities I follow recently, and it’s one of those deceptively simple queries that actually opens up a fascinating discussion about security practices. Someone asked why using a reverse proxy is considered safer than directly exposing service ports, and honestly, their follow-up question was spot on: “Doesn’t it just bump the problem up a level?”

The question really resonated with me because it touches on something I see all the time in my DevOps work – people implementing security practices without fully understanding the underlying principles. It’s like following a recipe without knowing why each ingredient matters. Sure, you might end up with something edible, but you won’t know how to adapt when things go sideways.

The tech world is buzzing with news of Tailscale’s latest funding round, and my notification feeds are lighting up with concerned users discussing what this might mean for the future of the service. Sitting here in my home office, watching the autumn leaves fall outside my window, I can’t help but feel a familiar sense of dread.

Remember when Reddit was just a gathering place for communities? Or when LastPass was the password manager everyone recommended? The pattern is dishearteningly familiar - a beloved service gains popularity, attracts investor attention, and then begins the slow descent into what’s now termed “enshittification.” It’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck, and many of us in the self-hosted community are bracing for impact.

Remember those days when every house had a landline phone? The familiar ring echoing through the house, the satisfying click of picking up the handset, and that curly cord that would inevitably get tangled? While most of us have long abandoned traditional landlines in favor of our smartphones, there’s something fascinating about bringing this technology back with a modern twist.

Reading about someone’s recent DIY VoIP phone system project got me thinking about our increasing dependence on mobile phones. The setup they described - using FusionPBX and FreeSWITCH on Proxmox - sparked my inner geek’s interest. It’s precisely the kind of project that would keep me happily occupied during those scorching summer weekends when staying indoors with the air-con is the only sensible option.