nadir wrote:What i fail to understand is how i can "purchase" a domain name.
If i search (seldom, i admit) i alway find "info" how great the service is i am planning to use,
but seldom detailed explanations. All is quite vague.
A real life step by step explanation would be very nice.
Some places bundle hosting and domain name (along with the services needed to control it) so you pay for hosting and you get a 'free' domain name for as long as you have hosting. In this case you do not need to mess with the DNS control panel since it is all in one place and configured for you.
Some just sell you a domain name (along with the services needed to control it) needed to control it. In this case you would point or direct the domain name to wherever your files are hosted. Simple as that.
Either way it isn't hard at all. Even if you get just the domain name then you should also get a control panel to log into so you can control the domain name. It provides a easy way to manipulate DNS records is all.
For an example, I registered the refracta.org domain name with doteasy (i think) and I login to the control panel and configure it to send all refracta.org queries to http://www.ibiblio.org/refracta/ since that is where the hosting is at. I could just as easily send it to any other site as well.
I still think that using riseup.net or, even better, and much better, setting up crabgrass oneself, for the only purpose of refracta/debian/computing, would be the best solution
solution to what?
Personally I think the 'best' solution in regards to freedom and websites/forums/whatever is to have control of the data. If you cannot access the raw data, save the data locally, manipulate the data, and destroy the data then I consider that to be the same as wrapping your data up in a proprietary file format that someone else controls. In other words, it is non-free.
So the best solution is to have your own server under your desk at home and install/run everything yourself. The problem with that is you have to have your own server under your desk at home and install/run everything yourself. Not to mention that this solution involves your ISP, bunch of routers between you and the world, so on and so forth. A lot of stuff to handle with a number of possible points of failure.
I usually compromise and just go with a good host provider that provides me full access to my data. I give up some control of the system but still keep control of my data which I consider to be the important part.
Obviously distributing your data (whether under desk or with a hosting provider) provides redundancy and ensures that others have access which is sort of a bonus freedom or ensures the data has freedoms.
Anyway....gotta run for bit....
As far as refracta and this forum, none of this was meant to be applied to refracta. I did mention a free host that I ran across but that is just for consideration IF it was ever decided that something needed to be changed. I was thinking about the restrictions of this forum and that ibiblio seems to be a bit more frugal. But only the web host suggestion has anything to do with refracta at all, that is why I posted this in the nonsense section.