Ask HN: How do you GDPR for your small side projects? - <AUTHOR> As a user, I think GDPR is great, tracking is pretty much getting out of hand. But as a web tinkerer I wonder how do you get your side projects compliant. Where do you start? <comment><USER3> It's not too tricky, fortunately!

1\. Stop collecting any data you don't need. If you don't collect it, it's not an issue!

2\. Have a way for users to access their data or request it be deleted. This can be a manual process.

3\. Make sure you gain explicit consent for any data you capture from users, and explain why you are using it.

4\. Make sure any data you capture is stored securely using industry best practices.

5\. Put a retention policy in place for backups and logs – for example, delete them after 30 days.

That's basically it. It's more complex if you have a product that needs to store lots of data to function, or if you have a sprawling set of databases, or if you have some kind of un-deletable storage. But in general, you only need to do the sort of things that you should really already be doing if you use personal data.

And bear in mind that the goal of GDPR is not to fleece companies for fines, but to achieve compliance with the rules. If you do something wrong but act in good faith, you can expect a letter from whichever SA is coming after you. But you're not going to see a €20m fine any time soon.

<comment><USER4> > Stop collecting any data you don't need. If you don't collect it, it's not > an issue!

That's trickier than it sounds.

If you embed a copy of jQuery on your page hosted by a CDN, you're collecting and sending personal data to the CDN. Do you have consent for that?

Same with web fonts, icon fonts, javascript libraries, social media follow/share buttons, analytics tags, etc you embed in the tags.

Every time your page is loaded, you're sending personal data to all those third parties, most of them not even located in the EU, which means you're sharing with a third party and doing a cross-border transfer.

You need more than just consent to do that, they're sub-processors for you, and you likely need signed Data Processing Addendums with each of those companies, and they need to have adequate protections for cross-border data transfers, like participation in the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework. Have you signed those agreements?

You can easily be sharing more data than you meant to, too. Let's say you send a newsletter for your website and you host a copy of phpList or similar software to manage and send it. In each mail you send out, you include an unsubscribe link, which has the address to unsubscribe embedded in the link.

When someone clicks that link, their email address will be part of the HTTP referrer header sent to all those third party scripts on your page. Now you're transferring email addresses to a half dozen third parties with no legitimate business reason to do so. Do you have consent to do that?

<comment><USER5> > If you embed a copy of jQuery on your page hosted by a CDN, you're > collecting and sending personal data to the CDN. Do you have consent for > that?

You're not collecting anything there, so it's nothing to do with the GDPR - <USER2> might impact the CDN, but it's unlikely without them tying your IP to other personally identifying information. Analytics would be, because that's personal data _you_ are collecting, so you'd need to ask permission for that.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> I'm sure I'll be shot by HN for this, but I'm not bothering. If a side project starts to gain traction then I'll look in to it, but if it's a small web app with a handful of users then sod it.

<comment><USER7> While I understand the sentiment this might be risky. Creating the required documentation after the fact should your project take off might not be possible in every case.

<comment><USER8> The goal of GDPR is compliance not punishment. So long as you are eventually following the rules it's all ok.

<comment><USER7> Yes, compliance is the goal.

However, the rules are vague enough to be interpreted in other ways as well. If some authority decides to make an example of pesky local startups for whatever reason there is little that prevents them from doing so. Remember, both the actual implementation and the enforcement of the regulation lies with the EU member countries, which even might decide to further devolve that responsibility to a local level.

Moreover, in the past similar regulations such as the legal notice requirement for websites in some EU member countries were abused by shady lawyers who specifically target small business that supposedly don't comply with these rules.

<comment><USER9> Give me an example of an overly vague rule.

<comment><USER7> GDPR requires companies to use "state-of-the-art measures" to protect personal data, which is intentionally vague because the state of the art obviously changes over time.

However, who will decide what the state of the art actually is at any given time? Politicians, lawyers, competitors, actual IT experts? The latter don't commonly work for either EU or local authorities.

Because the laws are implemented by each EU member state that state of the art might even differ depending on whether you're located in, say, France or Germany.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER10> I try not to be an asshole with user's data and it worked out great for me even before GDPR.

I haven't actually read the regulation and couldn't care less if I comply (I'm sure there is like 10% of it that I might not comply with), but my point is that nobody ever complained - I give users an easy way to nuke all their data (actual delete, not pretending to delete), I don't share their data with anyone, no analytics/tracking/advertising and problem solved.

</comment><comment><USER4> I have enough on my plate working on GDPR for the sites I pay my bills with, so I shut down almost all of my side projects (and one business with a few customers) to avoid having to worry about them.

</comment><comment><USER11> Some people here have mentioned ignoring it completely in the short term. While I wouldn't recommend this, for a small, personal, non-profit side- project, it is worth mentioning that lot of the checklists and advice out there are:

1\. aimed at, at the very least, medium-sized for-profit businesses, and as such include requirements that explicitly don't apply to very small projects

2\. very often are trying to sell you something (consulting services, compliance audits, training, etc.) and as such are motivated to make GDPR sound as scary as possible.

There is a _little_ more to it than this, but, my advice would be to just be mindful of any info you collect on users.

If you are worried about it, you can focus on projects that are open-access or don't necessarily involve accounts and login, but if you are implementing auth, just note what the auth collects, and be careful with it, both in terms of consent and securiy.

Don't give it to 3rd-parties (the easiest way to do this is doing things like sending userIds to Google Analytics in custom JS events). Consider whether your small side-project really needs Google Analytics (logging, crash analytics is good for debugging issues, but behavioural analytics is moving towards building a business, imo).

Note: I'm not implying side-projects shouldn't be moving toward building a business, but I'm just making the point that if that is your intent, you _should_ be spending a little bit more time considering user privacy and compliance. And getting proper advice about it. You don't even need a DPO for <250 employees, so this really isn't that burdensome.

</comment><comment><USER12> Can someone clarify what exactly is the legal liability that comes from GDPR?

My very basic understanding is that countries set up SAs (supervisory authorities) to deal with complaints, and have the legal power to sanction and so forth.

So is it only the SA that can take action against you? If someone wanted to harass you, must they complain through the SA, or can they bring a civil suit based on the GDPR?

<comment><USER5> > So is it only the SA that can take action against you?

Yes.

> If someone wanted to harass you, must they complain through the SA, ...

Yes. There are also provisions for handling malicious requests to access personal data:

[https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general- da...](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-the-general-data- protection-regulation-gdpr/individual-rights/right-of-access/)

> ... or can they bring a civil suit based on the GDPR?

Nope.

</comment></comment><comment><USER13> I'm not clear on how to revoke PII from distributed systems, like git, when mischievous peers can copy data or ignore changes as they wish. Likewise for any other distributed information storage.

So... Blackhole .eu and move on with my life?

</comment><comment><USER14> All the most important data that shouldn't be for my eyes -- is 256-bit encrypted as it gets entered into any database. All passwords and most user- inputted data is encrypted. Stripe takes care of the payment information which I don't store, but I do keep the expiration date in my database which usually cannot be used to identify anything. Definitely trying to be more GDPR- compliant as I take privacy and security very seriously. Wouldn't want my data exposed if I was using someone else's product and that is how I try to think when developing and encrypting the data.

<comment><USER15> > All passwords [...] is encrypted.

Hopefully you're storing encrypted hashes and not simply encrypting passwords.

<comment><USER14> Is there another way to store them? Ha. All the hacks of major companies got me paranoid.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Would be great if someone made a check list of things, since legal documents are barely readable for normal humans

<comment><USER4> There are many such resources already.

[https://gdprchecklist.io/](https://gdprchecklist.io/)

[https://blog.varonis.com/gdpr-requirements-list-in-plain- eng...](https://blog.varonis.com/gdpr-requirements-list-in-plain-english/)

[https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/resources-and- support/d...](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/resources-and-support/data- protection-self-assessment/)

<comment><USER17> What's interesting is that I've had to meet many of those already for California's COPPA and previous privacy laws, so I'm quite confused at why people are acting like this is all brand new and never existed before...

As an aside that checklist is misleading. Some of the requirements they list expressly don't apply to small businesses, for example you don't need a DPO unless you're over 250 employees.

<comment><USER18> Nope. Look at article 37:

[https://gdpr-info.eu/art-37-gdpr/](https://gdpr-info.eu/art-37-gdpr/)

Are you a large scale data processor of special categories of data as defined in Article 9? That includes data that can be used to determine racial or ethnic origin, health data, and data about sexual activity and orientation.

Large scale is helpfully not defined anywhere.

So if you run a site around a health condition or that lets people specify their sexual orientation some place you might need a DPO.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER19> I don't, but I've never kept personal information. As someone with a background in the security and finance industry. I don't want that burden. If you don't have it, you don't have to deal with it. So if you have a side project, why would you collect personal info?

<comment><USER4> Many side projects involve people signing up for something, like an account or an email list. A username is personal info. An email address is personal info. An IP address is personal info. Your side project can't be much more than static webpages without analytics to avoid collecting "personal data" as defined by this regulation.

<comment><USER20> It's my understanding that an IP address is not personal info and that nobody can, say, make a GDPR request for information associated with an IP address. An IP address is not personally identifiable information.

<comment><USER4> Under GDPR's definition and recitals, IP addresses are most definitely personal data.

<comment><USER20> It seems that you're correct and it does indeed include IP addresses. Good catch.

<comment><USER21> It's a little more subtle than that AIUI - they're only personal if you have a way of linking them to a user. E.g. if someone logs in with an email and you record that with the IP, or if you're an ISP. I don't think the IP is personal if you are just hosting a static site say.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> If you have a project that doesn't allow users to enter any kind of information but simply displays ads (via Adsense), is that in scope for GDPR or is a proper Privacy Policy enough?

<comment><USER18> Do you set cookies that are not functionally required for the site to operate? Have to allow opt-in and opt-out of those cookies. Adsense cookies almost certainly fall into this bucket.

Do you set cookies that are required? Need to identify them and inform the user.

Server logs? You probably have ip addresses. Despite what us nerds think the EU considers them personal data.

<comment><USER22> Thanks for the answer. The only cookies are adsense and those are functionally required to run the site (as it's the only revenue stream). I already use a cookie banner for that.

I run the site behind cloudflare and don't store X-Forwarded-For IP, the analytics software I use immediately anonymizes them before storing them. So I should be fine I hope.

<comment><USER18> Functional for GDPR does not take into account revenue from my understanding. You'd need a fallback ad solution that doesn't rely on cookie targeting for users who don't opt in.

Isn't GDPR fun?

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER23> Blackhole all connections from Europe.

<comment><USER3> Or, you know, just do the minimum amount of effort to not be a jackass with your users' data…

<comment><USER23> When simply including an IP address in a system log file counts as tracking a user's private information, "not [being] a jackass" is meaningless.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Cold emails to EU region recipients aren't allowed unless they give you consent to receive your email (you as a company or marketer can do this by mentioning or using check-boxes in the web form's popup template)

Email list needs to be updated - Only consented customer data needs to be stored, and erase the other unless you want a fine of 20 million euros or so. (remove data of those who have unsubscribed to your service immediately). Data erasure - Remove data of those who have unsubscribed to your service. Check for the Unsubscribe button everywhere - It's mandatory that each and every mail of yours needs to contain an unsubscribe button with updated privacy policy given below. Update the privacy policy & terms of service - these need to contain what and how you are going to use the user's data. For more info, read from the links given below in this answer. Double opt-in- for both entry and exit needs to be mentioned. Permission for profiling - Sales people can get prospective customer's data through gated content(whitepapers, e-books) etc and they shouldn't get this data from any other source like email hunters etc. (without their consent you can't even breathe!) Employee data handling - You need to mention how and where is the data used and stored and for which purpose too. If you are using the data for multiple purposes, then you need to mention each purpose every time. Referral Program - You can't process the referral email ids/data gained through offers/discounts etc. Yes, even they have to be GDPR compliant. Data usage policy - already mentioned in this answer(this is just to remind its importance in this context) Right to forget - option to be provided if the user wants you to erase(forget) their data from your databases. Usage of cookies - to track email opens etc you need to mention you are using cookies to the user. Some notes you would want to keep for GDPR compliance:

GDPR: Key Points and Steps to Prepare ([https://www.agilecrm.com/blog/gdpr- key-points-steps-prepare/](https://www.agilecrm.com/blog/gdpr-key-points- steps-prepare/)) [https://www.superoffice.com/blog/gdpr- marketing/](https://www.superoffice.com/blog/gdpr-marketing/) ([https://www.superoffice.com/blog/gdpr- marketing/](https://www.superoffice.com/blog/gdpr-marketing/)) Salesforce PDF on GDPR(fiction vs fact) ([https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documen...](https://www.salesforce.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/legal/gpdr- fiction-versus-fact.pdf)) GDPR Regulation ([https://www.eugdpr.org/the- regulation.html](https://www.eugdpr.org/the-regulation.html))</comment>


Wikipedia founder calls for social media strike - <AUTHOR> https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48825410 <comment><USER2> >On the Hacker News list that shares tech headlines one commenter said: "I feel that even if everybody who cared went on strike, the difference in daily visitors would probably be in the error margin."

>They added: "I think most people who really care have already left the centralised social media or scaled it down to the point that a non-strike day is an exception."

BBC quoted Hacker News!

<comment><USER3> This is the comment that is quoted by BBC: [https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20316140#20316792](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20316140#20316792)

<comment> yoz-y Wow... I am saving this.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Definition of preaching to the choir.

Social media is like the movie 'The Matrix' where most people don't want to wake up and don't care about what is 'real'

<comment><USER5> Yeah. What they should have done is call on ops engineers at socmed companies to have a weeklong sick-out.

</comment></comment><comment><USER6> Already discussed on HN (as per the quote in this article)...

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20316140](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20316140)

</comment><comment><USER7> I don't see anything wrong of taking off Facebook/Twitter some days (especially, because I don't use it) but personally, I see there is a problem with taking a break of social media service called GitHub. I know many companies and organizations that use GitHub service as their git repository hosting, so 48h break would actually mean a two days off work for their employees [0].

[0]: ... as long they won't switch to other git hosting or implement some proxy, but it does not count.

</comment><comment><USER8> The network effects are too strong. Even if you leave, it is likely some useful communication is still using these channels. For example, the summer camp my kids are attending are using social media this year to share photos from camp; where as prior years they had actually used their own site. I am sure direct costs played into some of the decisions. So I am more likely to use social media site this week than the rest of the year combined.

</comment><comment><USER9> I definitely agree that things need to change but I have a hard time seeing this really effect anything.

<comment><USER10> We could try it and see. Sometimes these things make no difference but once in a while it turns out everyone was thinking that.

<comment><USER11> Many of us (myself included) could use a 48 hour break from social media anyway.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER5> He should call for a weeklong sick-out by ops engs at all these socmed companies. Can you imagine all the red status and trust pages...

</comment><comment><USER12> I didn't like Facebook so I sat down and made my own social network. It really isn't that difficult; Larry could have probably done the same thing himself in less time than it took him to create this campaign.</comment>


How to automate EC2 instance setup with user-data scripts - <AUTHOR> http://alestic.com/2009/06/ec2-user-data-scripts

<comment><USER2> We do something similar for our apps on ec2. We use userdata to configure our ami, which then connects to our puppetmaster with the node details and everything happens like magic (ssl certs, web adresses, databases, web apps, security, users etc).

</comment><comment><USER3> This feature is really underutilized. I render these bootscripts on the fly with ERB to bootstrap clusters on EC2 with a few config vars, the script then determines node type at boot from the security group then pulls full source code from github, which handles mounting drives, NFS, etc.</comment>


Re-Imagining LinkedIn: How to Fix an Outdated Underlying Philosophy of Work - <AUTHOR> https://dtank.co/reimagining-linkedin <comment><USER2> I am not going to be putting projects I work on or internal details covered by NDA on any platform. Short of someone doing their own thing and selling their own services I think most people would be in the same boat as me.

Titles convey some data- but a CV is just a glimpse at someone. I don't ever want to put even more data out there. The author suggests way to much engagement for my taste. LinkedIn is a network I use a couple of times a year, tops. It has landed me four jobs in the time it has been around. I don't think its design is "outdated" by any stretch.</comment>


Microsoft earnings blow past estimates in every category, beats Street - <AUTHOR> http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/26/microsoft-earnings-q2-2017.html <comment><USER3> Yea the smart play Microsoft is making is to go to businesses and say "look you could go with us or AWS.. AWS essentially says "good luck you're on your own" and we will hold your hand and our premier support people will come to your business and set it all up for you and show your like 2 IT guys how to manage things.. They will make a ton of money on cloud because a huge amount of businesses are basically lagging behind the rest of the industry with cloud adoption and getting rid of their old servers and hosting services.

<comment><USER4> I can't agree more.

I work in an enterprise place and we discuss this frequently. Even worse than AWS is Google, they just don't get the fact that Technical Managers at big enterprise places want hand-hold turn-key solutions. The amount of money they leave on the table is mind-bending.

You go to Google and say "We need to do X" and they say "Here is product Y that connects to product Z, but you need to write your own connector." And each product has it's own pricing structure (one by CPU usage, one with flat fees, one based on throughput) so working out total cost is a nightmare. Then you have to hire around those techs, project manage the build of the infrastructure, etc. At that point you start to ask "Why are we using them again?"

I've heard "Amazon and Google don't understand enterprise" at least a dozen times in the last couple of months. You don't hear that about Microsoft. Coming from a startup/open source/indie background I thought AWS and Google would be eating the world but at least in enterprise they appear to be missing a big opportunity.

<comment><USER5> > "We need to do X" and they say "Here is product Y that connects to product > Z, but you need to write your own connector." And each product has it's own > pricing structure (one by CPU usage, one with flat fees, one based on > throughput) so working out total cost is a nightmare. Then you have to hire > around those techs, project manage the build of the infrastructure, etc. At > that point you start to ask "Why are we using them again?"

This is a feature(?) of AWS. Google Cloud provides fully built solutions for majority of use cases. AWS provides nuts and bolts and tell you to integrate them.

<comment><USER4> > Google Cloud provides fully built solutions for majority of use cases.

That is not my experience. In fact, you just need to look at the Google Cloud documentation solution use cases. For example: [https://cloud.google.com/solutions/mobile/mobile-gaming- anal...](https://cloud.google.com/solutions/mobile/mobile-gaming-analysis- telemetry) (chosen more or less at random).

You need:

* Cloud pub/sub * Cloud dataflow * Big Query * Cloud datalab

They don't stitch all that together for you. Nor do they have a good way of calculating how much each of those services will cost when used in conjunction with each other.

<comment><USER5> If you are looking for a solution for mobile analytics: [https://firebase.google.com/docs/analytics/](https://firebase.google.com/docs/analytics/)

If you want a customizable solution, you connect the tools. Pub/Sub for streaming, Dataflow for processing data, Big Query for Data Analytics (Warehousing), Datalab is your development environment. Its hard for a single solution to serve 100% of customer needs. That why they suggest tools. Care to share what a better technology stack looks like? I would love to know if there are better alternatives for services like Google App Engine, Google Cloud Load Balancer, BigQuery, Pub/Sub, Dataflow, TensorFlow Cloud ML, Container Engine (Kubernetes), Stack Driver, ...

Speaking about cost, its all flat rate, with usage discounts (the more you use, the more discount you get) and there are no upfront payments / reservations / locking / hourly billings (like AWS)

<comment><USER4> > If you are looking for a solution for mobile analytics

I'm not at all, that example was pulled at random as an example.

> Its hard for a single solution to serve 100% of customer needs. That why > they suggest tools.

It would be hard to describe just how custom of a solution my company would need. My company certainly likes to do things in a unique way. However there is a huge grey area between "here is a specific product that doesn't quite fit your needs" and "here are the blocks you need to build a custom solution on your own". That grey area is filled with money.

> I would love to know if there are better alternatives for services like ...

Don't underestimate the ability of large enterprise to roll their own. It isn't like Google is the only company that can build a message queue or a load balancer. Nor are they the only game in town selling them. This is a time to remember: The customer is always right. You and I may think that "Google is the best" but my manager wants what my manager wants. We may select a lesser solution simply because the support is significantly better. And that support should be vertically integrated. If we have support for pub sub, support for big query but not support for the integration between them ... that is a drawback.

> Speaking about cost, its all flat rate

Not really. For example data flow is based on the size of machine you are running (plus some extra percentage for the service), pub sub is based on number of events, big query is based on query time + egress, etc. I probably still have the spreadsheet I used to try to get a handle on costs kicking around somewhere. "Flat rate" does not describe the monstrosity that is that spreadsheet.

I totally understand that some people don't understand the enterprise mentality. I'm not trying to defend it - maybe just give a small view into it. Now that I live in it, I may not agree with it, but I understand it. Google doesn't.

<comment><USER5> > I'm not at all, that example was pulled at random as an example.

Then give me an example of what you are looking for and I will give you a solution

> My company certainly likes to do things in a unique way.

And every company has a unique way of doing things. That is why they provided all the tools you want and let you combine them to fit your custom needs. Instead, if they were to provide turnkey solutions, you would not use them because you have unique needs.

> It isn't like Google is the only company that can build a message queue or a > load balancer. Nor are they the only game in town selling them.

If there are any better solutions, please let me know. Support is first class on Google Cloud. That is one of the reasons why Spotify choose Google Cloud over AWS.

> "Flat rate" does not describe the monstrosity that is that spreadsheet.

Google Cloud pricing structure is far easier to work with, as you don't need reservations/upfront payments and at the same time leaves room for scaling up and down elastically. The amount you pay is simply based on usage. For Pub/Sub its the number of messages, for BigQuery its the amount of data that is queried. I would love to see a simpler pricing structure. Would you care to share the details if you know of any?

<comment><USER6> A simpler pricing structure would be an Enterprise flat rate. Charge five to ten times what any possible scaling might cause. There are corporations that will pay. That's the point about "mind-bending".

<comment><USER7> AWS and Google already charge five to ten times as much as dedicated hosting for cpu, storage, and bandwidth.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER8> Nicely done Microsoft. Also interesting note in the earnings release[1] is this, _" Search advertising revenue excluding traffic acquisition costs increased 10% (up 11% in constant currency) driven by increased revenue per search and search volume."_ A collection of businesses that make up most of the revenue and search-advertising with strong growth year over year. What's not to like?

[1] [https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/Investor/earnings/FY-2017-Q2...](https://www.microsoft.com/en- us/Investor/earnings/FY-2017-Q2/press-release-webcast)

</comment><comment><USER9> Seems like what was good for developers and hackers is good for their bottom line. So glad this "new" Microsoft is working for them as well as for us.

<comment><USER10> New is better, but not quite there yet. They supported AOM codecs initiative, but didn't support Vulkan.

<comment><USER11> >but didn't support Vulkan

Do they really need to ?

<comment><USER10> Depends on how you define need. If you want to have a common open standard - absolutely. Same as with HTML instead of some ActiveX abomination. But if you want to have balkanized lock-in mess, then it's a different story.

As long as MS has the notion of lock-in going on, I don't buy this whole "reformed" MS story.

<comment><USER11> I don't get what you're trying to say. Vulkan needs nothing from MS it's purely a driver thing, as for MS using DX over it I guess Vulkan is far too new and DX is proven and something you control (I wouldn't bet my core platform tech on something done by a committee either, maybe once it's a defacto standard), meanwhile GL is garbage compared to it, talk a aout Balkanization, good luck writing dx11 level features that work across two GL drivers.

<comment><USER12> shmerl mentions Vulkan on every thread he possibly can, it feels like. It's his hobbyhorse. I think an Xbox owes him money or something.

<comment><USER13> Without having any understanding what people on the games industry actually care about.

<comment><USER10> And you apparently represent those who profit from lock-in. Is that why you justify it all the time? Because no one would objectively do it. I never saw an engineer who said "lock-in is good, more lock-in please!". Those who do it, are backwards thinking managers like the one from this quote: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Microsoft#Vendor_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Microsoft#Vendor_lock- in)

<comment><USER13> No, I represente those that have real life experience in the industry, and don't care one little second about lock-in, because the industry learned to profit from it since the early 80's.

\- game studios specializing in ports among hardware platforms

\- consultants doing optimization work in specific APIs

\- hardware platforms that offer an unique experience in terms of gameplay, due to their CPU and GPU architectures, that no portable 3D ever exposed, not even Vulkan (hence NVN on Switch)

\- middleware engines that allow for portability, while providing access to all hardware features, with better debugging tools that so called portable APIs ever had

Your problema is that no one in the industry, the people that actually pay for tickets to attend GDC and similar conferences not weekend indie devs, don't see lock-in as a burden, rather as a way to make the game exclusive and sell their IP.

Which incidently is something I bet you also don't agree with, the way IP is managed throughtout the industry.

Once upon a time I did think like that, during my FOSS/GNU/Linux phase, then I had the opportunity to have a glimpse how the industry works from the inside, not how people think they should.

Are you aware that even Intel is not putting that much effort on their Vulkan drivers for Windows?

<comment><USER10> _> No, I represente those that have real life experience in the industry, and don't care one little second about lock-in_

An oxymoron. Those who care about the industry understand perfectly well, how lock-in is a problem for it. It's like saying that MS cared about the Web so much, that they pushed ActiveX, to benefit it.

Dan Baker (from Oxide) wrote[1] about problems of lock-in and need for portability in computer graphics. And don't try claiming he doesn't know about the industry, he is one of the creators of DirectX itself.

Oxide put their words in action, and were involved in Mantle creation, and naturally participate in the Vulkan working group.

 _> don't see lock-in as a burden, rather as a way to make the game exclusive and sell their IP. Which incidently is something I bet you also don't agree wit_

Yes, I see exclusivity as a stinking practice. Why would creator want to exclude some users on purpose? Normal creator tries the opposite, to reach as many users as possible. Only backwards thinking legacy publishers don't do that. But they aren't equal to creators.

Also, normal creators don't call their art "IP". Just a hint for you, whom you really represent.

1\. [http://www.oxidegames.com/2014/05/21/next-generation- graphic...](http://www.oxidegames.com/2014/05/21/next-generation-graphics- apis/)

<comment><USER13> > Dan Baker (from Oxide) wrote[1] about problems of lock-in and need for > portability in computer graphics. And don't try claiming he doesn't know > about the industry, he is one of the creators of DirectX itself.

You mean the same one that a year later wrote about how cool it is that Oxide supports DX 12?

[http://www.oxidegames.com/2015/08/16/the-birth-of-a-new- api/](http://www.oxidegames.com/2015/08/16/the-birth-of-a-new-api/)

As I said, you don't get how the industry works.

<comment><USER10> _> You mean the same one that a year later wrote about how cool it is that Oxide supports DX 12?_

The main point that you conveniently ignored in the link above was this:

        > Oxide has a strong interest in supporting platforms
        > beyond Windows. Our hope is that Mantle will be a call
        > to arms to bring an industrial-strength API to such
        > platforms as SteamOS, Linux, Android and MacOS. The
        > biggest problem for us moving to other platforms is the
        > relative weakness of the graphics software on the
        > platforms. Added to this is that we yet have no word on
        > whether we can have D3D12 on Windows 7. From a business
        > standpoint, it makes little sense to rely exclusively on
        > Microsoft doing the right thing.

You of course would pretend he didn't mean that. But he did, and he spoke about Vulkan quite a number of times.

Vulkan came out when exactly? Yes, February 2016. So he couldn't have spoken about implementation of WIP API in their own engine until then. But he spoke about Vulkan design itself around that time, like "Going Wide: Vulkan and Many Threads". See [https://www.khronos.org/assets/uploads/developers/library/20...](https://www.khronos.org/assets/uploads/developers/library/2015-gdc/Valve- Vulkan-Session-GDC_Mar15.pdf)

See others in that presentation talking about the need for common standard. And again, don't try to claim they aren't representing the industry - <USER2> those people undeniably are representing it.

 _> As I said, you don't get how the industry works._

The "industry" you have in your mind doesn't represent creators, but backwards thinking legacy players like MS who profit from lock-in. They aren't moving the industry forward. You made it clear whom you support.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER14> Microsoft's board made the best call in selecting Satya Nadella. Bringing an outsider was the sexy thing to do but I think today's earnings show the wiseness in picking the right person for the job.

</comment><comment><USER15> I am glad as well. It is funny how ms reinvented itself and how apple became new "old ms"

<comment><USER16> From a high level it is looking that way. Response to recent MS products has been good (surface and surface studio). Apple can't get away from negative press (the headphone jack, lack of innovative features, lack of ports on macbook, touchbar etc).

I am hoping that Apple really knocks it out of the park with the iPhone 8 given the 10 year anniversary an dall.

<comment><USER17> Looking at recent trends, I think the innovation on iPhone 8 is going to be

1) Slimmer than ever (remember to bring your battery pack) 2) No-bezel screen (remember to bring your bumper case) 3) Force touch on the home button too

<comment><USER16> I know this is said a lot, but who are the users asking for cheaper phones? Here on HN, where presumably most people are technologically inclined, the sentiment is "I'll take a bigger phone for large battery life." But all phone manufacturers are going the opposite. Are regular users asking for smaller phones? There must be a user group that wants it smaller and smaller (actually just thinner).

<comment><USER18> And (practically) everyone puts their iphone in a case, frequently an Otter box or something, so the thin phone never seems thin.

<comment><USER19> I had the original Motorola Droid and the Droid Bionic, both with no case, and the iPhone 6 Plus with a case is certainly thinner than either of those phones with no case. Since I put it in my pocket, I certainly don't want it to be any thicker. Yeah the Droid fit in my pocket too but I would not go back to a phone of that thickness even if the battery lasted for days.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER20> I hope Microsoft uses some of that profit and fixes Azure Blobs. I was hoping to use them instead of S3 for static site hosting (ended up going with Gitlab) and it doesn't support even the most basic of functionality. [1]

[1] [https://feedback.azure.com/forums/217298-storage/suggestions...](https://feedback.azure.com/forums/217298-storage/suggestions/6417741-static- website-hosting-in-azure-blob-storage)

<comment><USER21> This might not meet your needs but you can use Azure App Service (free) to host a static website

[https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/acoat/2016/01/28/publish-a-...](https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/acoat/2016/01/28/publish- a-static-web-site-using-azure-web-apps/)

EDIT: also [http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31653643/how-to- deploy-a-...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/31653643/how-to-deploy-a- simple-static-micro-site-on-microsoft-azure)

</comment></comment><comment><USER22> > The Street also expects Microsoft to formally announce 700 job cuts as part > of its previously announced plan to cut 2,850 jobs by June 2017.

Interesting, the linked article calls it an "effort to update skills across the company."

<comment><USER17> Out with the old, in with the new. Why pay a senior $250k, when you can pay a junior $100k, and get more hours out of them too?

<comment><USER23> In a certain respect I can also see that meaning "we don't sell WebTV anymore, I think we can lose people that were maintaining that crap." I mean heck, they shut it down only in late 2013 years and years after it left consumer consciousness, who knows how many random enterprises were trying to keep paying Microsoft to maintain the business equivalents of Microsoft Bob, right?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER24> Wow, this post is 10 hours old and I'm the first to point out how bad Satya Nadella is making Steve Ballmer look.

Maybe it really is a new Microsoft.

</comment><comment><USER25> Looks Azure is working well.

<comment><USER26> Azure no, O365 yes. They are doing some funky accounting.

</comment></comment><comment><USER27> Does drive home the point that making consumer products is really hard? I mean their Surface, phone business seems down but B2B(Azure) is thriving[0]. Comparing that to Apple's business wouldn't be all that fair?

[0][http://venturebeat.com/2017/01/26/microsoft- reports-26-1-bil...](http://venturebeat.com/2017/01/26/microsoft- reports-26-1-billion-in-q2-2017-revenue-azure-up-93-but-phone-down-81-and- surface-down-2/)

<comment><USER13> From the look of what is on display in consumer stores across a few European countries I visit regularly, I am betting they will wipe out the lower segment of hybrid tablets and netbooks.

Nowadays the majority of those devices on display are running Windows 10, not Android or OEM variant of GNU/Linux.

<comment><USER28> Maybe. But after having used a Win10 tablet for a while i find that the whole "app" side of things feels bolted on.

If you want to do some serious file manipulations you invariably has to drop back to the age old file explorer and the related Win32 file picker window. And those are anything but fun to operate via a touch screen.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER29> Makes me wonder what a "hacker" portfolio might look like -- companies building product and services people who build things use for a living.

<comment><USER30> > _Makes me wonder what a "hacker" portfolio might look like_

Lots of concentration and no voting rights.</comment></comment>


Go away Cameron – Bypass UK's porn filter - <AUTHOR> http://goawaycameron.co.uk/ <comment><USER2> As much as this is a brilliant idea (opting out could possibly be recorded)

I think the general consensus of the government right now needs to change, I seem to recall a hacker game from years ago (maybe 'Hacker Evolution') which described in it's prologue: "The world has been divided; governments censor and restrict access to the internet that was, hackers and technologists moved away from traditional means of communication and established the undernet..."

This kind of dystopian path is what we're on. We should not hide, we should not have to. if we do, then law enforcement will go unchecked and start penalizing us for simply hiding our tracks.

I can easily imagine a world in which using Tor becomes illegal, accessing the internet with a non-licensed browser, or having a method of tracing back to the point of origin (behind NAT) for ISP's.

ultimate accountability, ultimate censorship- possibly even having to get some form of license to even get access to the internet.

British people often forget the monopoly BT/Openreach have, it ties in closely to government (probably since they were state owned) it would be very easy for them to enforce these kinds of legislations, and of course, when they do, they'll be doing it under the banner of 'whats best for the public'

They've taken filesharing. They've taken sexual material. -and forced you to identify yourself- They will take more.

there are inherent problems with even identifying yourself like this; what if another extremist party got into power. "those people, those are the perverts, we'll incarcerate them", or, assuming a 21 year old guy grows up and becomes a candidate for prime minister, the current administration could accidentally leak that he bypassed porn filters.

no, hiding should not be the default, patching should not be the solution.

I will fight, I will not stop. and should I lose, I will simply leave this country and it's countrymen. the EU convention lists internet access as a human right.

I find it ironic that we have more censorship now than some known human rights violators.

<comment><USER3> How do we incentivize people to fight back against every single law that could potentially harm privacy or force censorship? The people making these laws have every bit of incentive to do so, while the regular people have limited willpower, limited resources and limited time.

Sure we can pull off another SOPA blackout, but I don't think we can do it consistently. They'll keep proposing harmful laws and we can't stop them all.

<comment><USER4> You can't. There was some guy on here yesterday arguing "your right to privacy is less important than protecting my children". Hello, parental responsibility? But something funny happens in the minds of (some, but not all) new parents and they want to see the world remade into a giant daycare centre. It doesn't occur to them that their kids will grow up and they'll find themselves in a world they don't want to live in.

<comment><USER5> I had a similar conversation with a friend recently. Turns out everyone with such opinions, most with good intentions I assume, seem to evaluate the merit of any such legislation based on its best case scenario of utilization; that is where no law makers or enforcer is corrupt and everyone is very responsible. But, no one seems to ever think about how the same legislation can be misused and abused. If you allow someone to setup infrastructure to censor, perhaps with good intentions now, but perhaps a successor might misuse it.

On somewhat related note, a probable idea of how such infrastructure could be misused is [1], I couldn't believe it when I saw that history was changed quite simply.

[1] [http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/16/north-korea- era...](http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/16/north-korea-erases-kim- jongun-uncle-archives)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> For what it's worth, we bought the lease for our office from a firm who's business it was to provide filtering solutions to schools.

Upon moving in, we decided to take a look at what was on the stacks of hardware that had just been left in piles here.

To our complete lack of surprise, they were full of the personal details of children, their browsing histories, and even poorly configured squid caches full of things like views of hotmail accounts.

Needless to say, disks were removed and turned into appropriate bits of broken metal. Were we bad actors, we could have run a magnificent identity theft and child-stalking ring.

Censorship in and of itself is a problem.

Censorship by incompetent buffoons is an even greater problem.

<comment><USER7> > Needless to say, disks were removed and turned into appropriate bits of > broken metal. Were we bad actors,

You were bad actors. A serious criminal offence had been committed and you not only didn't report it, but you destroyed the evidence.

<comment><USER6> And whom exactly would have been pursued? The directors of the defunct company who had variously jumped the country or disappeared? Or us, for being in possession of such data?

Answer: Us. Because Kafka runs the criminal justice system. Bringing crimes to the attention of the police is just not worth the risk.

<comment><USER8> > Answer: Us. Because Kafka runs the criminal justice system. Bringing crimes > to the attention of the police is just not worth the risk.

Kafka does not run the criminal justice system. Your actions are disgraceful.

<comment><USER6> His spirit quite certainly does. I would assume that you've never attempted to report a crime in the UK. It's a fruitless endeavour that typically results in the police threatening the reporter, or simply declaring it a civil matter in which they have no interest.

<comment><USER8> Your experience is not universal. Out of myself and many young friends, there are few bad dealings with Police and mostly positive. Including people convicted and sentenced.

<comment><USER6> Fair enough. My experiences have left me very cop-shy.

In 2007 I had removers sho, rather than taking my belongings from A to B, took them from A to an auction house. The police started with a stance of "it's a civil matter" and ended with a stance of "we will prosecute you for wasting police time".

In 2002 my girlfriend at the time was receiving unsettling, perverse text messages from an unknown number. When I responded in an equally threatening tone, I had a call the next morning from East Kolbride police for sending a threatening communication to a police officer.

In 1996, I was arrested for being outside in the snow, aged 13. I was kept in a holding cell and denied food, water, or the means to contact my parents.

I have a very, very low opinion of the efficacy of the current application of the rule of law.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER9> Hah, this is weird. I created GAC, and submitted this a few hours ago, but got not much love. And now you have some :) Anyways, the server is having a serious hug of love. Things are slowed down now.

Anyways, AMA!

<comment><USER10> @nubela: if this service can be used to bypass BBC content restrictions, you're going to have a bad time. A lot of BBC content can only be viewed within the UK, so if you can use GAC to access this content abroad, the following will happen:

\- they can contact nominet to get your personal data

\- you will likely get a letter from their lawyer

\- you may get your .co.uk domain taken away

\- you may be asked to hand over your entire database of users

\- you may be sued for damages.

IANAL, just FYI.

<comment><USER11> Maybe you can help me. I actually paid for the licence this year but during the summer I moved to some other country and thus I'm unable to listen to the BBC radios. Is there a (legal) way around this?

<comment><USER12> Licenses apply to locations. You bought a license for your previous dwelling - you can get a refund for the unused part but other than that I don't know of any legal method to access BBC's domestic offerings from outside the appropriate geographic area.

Don't take this as gospel, I've read the laws that apply to TV licensing a couple of times but I'm not an authority on it.

<comment><USER13> Pffft. Let me tell you about this so-called refund. I applied for said refund of UK TV license after leaving the UK at the end of September. They told me they could only refund unused _quarters_ of the license, meaning that they would only refund me from the start of December (well in the _future_ at that point). Then they had the hide to tell me that because I was applying for a refund from a _past_ date (Sept) I had to prove that I was no longer in the UK. I sent them a lease, and a letter from my employer in my new country which they required by snail mail. They rejected it and told me they needed a final gas bill from the UK or something equivalent, which I again had to send by snail mail. I wrote them a letter about how the TV license was "a national disgrace, isn't it", and "should be abolished, shouldn't it". So glad to be out of Cameronland.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER7> This thread elegantly demonstrates the problem.

Most people - even in a technical audience with a deep interest in the subject - have no fucking clue what's actually happen nor how it's happening.

This is how stupid laws get passed. People don't bother to write the correct letters to the correct people to get the stupid laws stopped.

I find it profoundly depressing to realise that so few people know what the filters are doing.

<comment><USER14> Generally speaking there seems to be a lack of engagment by experts in a varity of subjects. This is no different.

The problem is the ease of access to pornography for anyone, mainly children. It is hard to deny this is a problem. A solution is an opt in web filter.

I don't like web filters but in this case I see little alternative. The only other option is to try to prosecute websites that do not do some form of age checking for the UK. I don't think this is viable at all.

<comment><USER15> An opt-in[1] filter isn't a solution, it's a snake oil pill that has no effects whatsoever on trivial access to pornography anyways.

It will hamper a stressed kid trying to go to the local youth NGO's site with info on condoms (a true example blocked by one of the UK filters). It won't hamper a horny teenager trying to look for porn, he'll find it rapidly anyway and tell his peers how to do it.

In short, these web filters are a worse solution than simply doing nothing. You're accepting a tradeoff of real harm for imaginary, nonexistant benefits.

[1] By the way, isn't the implementation on-by-default, making it an opt-out filter instead of opt-in?

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> Let me get this straight: Instead of entrusting my ISP with my preference for porn, I'm entrusting you.

I fail to see how this is any better. You're a recent compsci graduate and I'm sure you have good intentions. Can you explain how your "private proxy" servers work, so that it's infeasable for an attacker, or even yourself, to know which websites I've accessed?

ProTip: Saying "we don't store logs" doesn't really give me the proof I need.

This isn't how the internet is supposed to work.

</comment><comment><USER17> You can't beat politics with technology [http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-11/18/peter- sunde-h...](http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-11/18/peter-sunde-hemlis- political-apathy)

<comment><USER18> Political change is often forshadowed by technological revolutions. The mechanisation of agriculture, for instance, had a major influence on the decline of serfdom.

Also, certain technologies have an obviously direct form of political influence, like the AK-47.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Why not just opt out of the filter? Or use one of the many smaller ISPs who don't implement the filter in the first place? You don't need plugins/extensions.

<comment><USER20> One opt out I've seen requires a credit card. One might not have one. Before you ask, me. I have an internet connection, but no credit cards.

Not all ISP cover all of the UK.

You also assume that the person wanting to bypass the ISP filter is the same person controlling the connection. So, say a 16yo wants to explore homosexuality, but is not ready to discuss this with parents who simply didn't bother opting out because they simply didn't think it was necessary.

Plenty of cases for using this extension, especially in the UK when we are routinely lied to about the scope of laws, and mission creep is universally denied, while it happens. For example, anti terror laws used by local councils to investigate fly tipping. We know that sooner or later other subject areas will be blocked by this distopian nut job government. Anything they feel is not in the public good will be considered and possibly censored. Make no mistake, this is the thin end of the wedge. We also know that it was originally dreamed up by the previous Labour government, so we wont get any changed even if we boot this lot out. Anything that bypasses these vile thought control freak nanny filters, and exposes the technical impotence of them is welcome. Remember, we dont have freedom enshrined in fundamental law. Its a granted privilege here, not a right. Oh, Human Rights act. Yup, this government wants rid of it. If Americans think their freedoms are under threat, the threat in the UK is many factors higher.

<comment><USER21> > Not all ISP cover all of the UK.

If they use BT Wholesale backhaul then their coverage is exactly the same as BT Retail.

ID Net, A&A, Zen, many others will give you as much coverage as the big boys even in Market 1 exchanges ( only BT Wholesale provision ).

If you're in a Market 2 or 3 area ( lots of competing backhaul ) then there's basically no restriction to how many ISPs from which you can choose.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> I don't like the name. It's too tied to the current leader of the Conservative Party. If internet censorship is tied to David Cameron, then a party could pretend to be anti-censorship by changing leader (happens often).

Maybe "Go Away, Mary Whitehouse" might be better?

</comment><comment><USER23> first, i'd like to say i quite enjoy the UK, both as a country and its people. however, politicians in the UK have a history of doing some very extreme and very stupid things. since i am not a citizen of the UK, i cannot vote to try to change the current censorship regime, but i can say that (1) i will not be visiting the UK unless absolutely necessary until these rules change and (2) i think this is a further reason for Scotland to secede from the UK.

this is a great plugin and i commend the author's defiance of these draconian internet filtering rules. while i agree that, fundamentally, this is a political problem and not a technological one, a technological solution is needed to prevent smart people from being drowned in an ocean of stupidity. if you're a UK citizen, don't forget that you need to mobilize politically to truly fix this. talk to your friends, develop a consensus.

cameron (and everyone who supported this censorship crap) needs to go, he is a muppet of the highest degree and a disgrace to the legacy of the UK. keep jerking off and carry on.

</comment><comment><USER24> Don't you need a GoAwaySalmond to cover Scotland? I thought they had a separate law.

<comment><USER25> There is no law mandating this filter. It's put in place through the _threat_ of much more extensive regulation, with no democratic oversight.

</comment></comment><comment><USER26> How can I test if my connection is being censored? I've lost track if it's particular ISPs or all ISPs that have put blacklists in place which block more sites than they should.

</comment><comment><USER27> Should probably stop calling it "Porn Filter" it's kind of playing in to it.

Customer: "Hi, I can't access some websites"

ISP: "Oh, we see you have the PORN FITLER enabled. You mean YOU WANT TO WATCH PORN YOU PERVERT?"

Customer: "Uhm, never mind."

Let's be honest, the biggest issue with this isn't that it's harder to look at tits online, so let's not trivialise it and stigmatise it as such.

</comment><comment><USER28> This looks to be from the same team that produced singapore's [http://getgom.com/](http://getgom.com/) \- Go Away MDA, a response to non- optional censorship of several adult websites in Singapore. If so - well done guys! I guess increased global prevalence of censorship is creating a global market for tools which bypass it.

</comment><comment><USER29> I'm finding this a bit strange. As far as I am aware you have to opt-in to the porn blocker on existing packages. The chances are its already going to be off for most people, especially those who know how to use a chrome extension.

I get the impression that this was created for other, more illegitimate purposes, that has nothing to do with "Cameron's porn blocker"

<comment><USER30> Nope, it's opt-out for new subscribers and existing subscribers have to choose to opt in or out. There are many reasons why someone would want to use this extension. Sexual abuse support sites are currently being blocked by the filters, so a child being abused by a family member could use the extension to find help on the internet, despite the abuser having the porn filter on. Or a chap who has been pressured into opt in in might just want to have a wank over some internet porn - it's not illegal.

If nothing else, it shows how broken the whole mess is. Opt-out filtering is ineffectual, often targets the wrong sites, and was basically introduced as a sop to a vociferous minority who would rather go back to Victorian standards and sweep all this nastiness under the carpet, than have an actual discussion about pornography and sexuality.

<comment><USER29> Yeah, I'm aware its opt out for new customers, but its opt in for current customers. I would like to think that the reasons you gave are all mistakes with the blocker that would get ironed out over the coming weeks, especially more likely with the press attention it has got.

Ulterior motives aside, if this saves even a handful of kids from growing up with porn addiction, its probably worth it, right?

<comment><USER30> It's not opt-in for existing customers. At some point they will be presented with a screen that forces them to make a choice.

If you think that all mistakes with the blocker will be ironed out, then you don't have any idea how large the internet is. This is a problem that is so ingrained with automated filters that it has its own name - the Scunthorpe Problem - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scunthorpe_problem) It is an inevitable consequence of this sort of system. Innocent sites will continue to be blocked.

As for your other point - it's pure conjecture. Furthermore, it will not stop kids accessing porn. When I was a kid we used to swap dirty magazines. Now they will be swapping memory sticks. And those are the ones who don't take 2 minutes to go to google to search for a way to get around the filter. For all the other ones it's business as usual.

The whole thing is a farce, designed to appeal to the Daily Mail / Think of the Children subset of noise-makers, while completely burying any hope of a rational debate.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER17> Why do you need to login? Sounds suspicious to me.

</comment><comment><USER31> _> > If this extension violates any law in UK, please send me an email at email@example.com and I will be more than willing to comply._

Is this how the law works?

Citizen: _" …um…sorry officer, I didn't know that this is illegal"_

Police Officer: _" …well, if you didn't know…off you go then"_

<comment><USER2> ignorance does not imply malice.

I don't think it'd stand up in court though.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> Are those filters simple DNS filters or do they do deep packet inspection?

<comment><USER33> It will almost certainly be a combination of layer 2 (IP filtering) and HTTP header scanning via proxies or TCP reset injection

</comment></comment><comment><USER34> This is interesting and cool, but would be much more interesting and cool if the source code for the extension was available somewhere so it can be easily reviewed.

Is the code up on github or somewhere else?

</comment><comment><USER35> Can't you just call your ISP and opt in for porn?

Ain't that easier?

</comment><comment><USER36> Tor.

<comment><USER2> Tor.

except where your exit node is another machine in the UK, or you need faster than dial-up speeds.

How long until this is also illegal?

<comment><USER33> You can, in theory, choose your exit node.

<comment><USER37> You can't choose but you can change your exit node until get some one you want.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> Am I the only one around here who tries to match every article with "Go" keyword with Golang?

</comment><comment><USER39> Does anyone know if the so called Cameron filter, blocks HTTPS/SSL sites?

<comment><USER40> There's not one filter, each ISP can implement whatever they like.

</comment></comment><comment><USER41> You can try zenmate.io as well if you want to do this.

</comment><comment><USER42> How long before the censorship is extended to sites which help you bypass censorship?

<comment><USER43> In general with these things there's a time lag of approximately one or two Daily Mail articles.</comment></comment>


Show HN: Pinball Map – user-updated map of public pinball machines - <AUTHOR> https://pinballmap.com/ <comment><AUTHOR> HN suggested I repost this, since last time it didn't get much attention (cool feature!).

Here is the description I wrote last time:

Hi, Pinball Map is a hobby project we've been doing in our spare time for the past 10 years. It's currently listing 7,291 locations and 24,918 machines. Code is on github[1][2], and we have an API that is used by various folks.

Web Stack = ruby on rails, heroku, tile server on aws. App = React Native (launched the redeveloped app last June).

We took a relatively slow-growth approach for the first 9 years: we added "regions" one at a time for places where people demonstrated a strong desire to update the data, and a volunteeer administrator could oversee it (in fact, we originally intended for this to just be a map of pinball machines in Portland, Oregon, but people kept asking us to expand to their areas). This gave us a pretty strong userbase and a reputation for having clean, up-to-date data. Each regional map was a distinct, silo'd map. Lately we've de-emphasized this model in favor of a single map that covers the whole world.

For the first 7 years, all map updates were made anonymously. But after two instances of abuse, we implemented a user system. We now have about 9,000 registered users. The map gets around 3,000-5,000 edits per month, including 100-200 new locations.

Search experience on the web could use some updating. The app is where it's at right now. We spent the past 14 months on its design/development, and we think it came out well. Throughout the 10 years, the majority of our users use the app rather than the website (but we don't have great analytics).

We have no ads, no analytics aside from the free new relic stuff that comes with heroku, and no business model.

[1] [https://github.com/scottwainstock/pbm/](https://github.com/scottwainstock/pbm/) [2] [https://github.com/bpoore/pbm-react](https://github.com/bpoore/pbm-react)

<comment><USER2> The website seems very North America centric. So much so that I thought it was North America only. Elsewhere ITT you mentioned Japan though.

Have you considered making the site more global friendly? Also, on mobile at least when I go to look at the map I expected to be able to see all machines in the whole world but instead it only tells me there are no machines within 50 miles of me and won't show me any machines at all.

<comment><AUTHOR> The brief history of the site is that for the first 8 years or so it contained many separate maps, each for a distinct region. These regions were comprised of places where people had contacted us and said they wanted a map, and that they would manage the data for. It just happens that almost all of those regions were in North America.

So, we let the users decide what the map would show.

Additionally, we had a pact with findapinball.com that we'd stay out of Europe. We recently backed out of that because we merged all the regions together and wanted to allow people to submit locations anywhere.

We don't really have the resources to load data for the whole world. But the code is available, and if you want to figure out a way to cluster data at that scale...!

Also, I agree that the website search experience needs improvement. Try the mobile app! We recently redesigned it, and it's easier to browse the world.

<comment><USER2> I see, and I will try your mobile app then :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><AUTHOR> Someone just anonymously noted that we need to credit OSM contributors (so I can't respond to them, but will respond here). We do credit OSM contributors. When you load the map, the standard credit is present.

Let me know if more needs to be done to fulfill this requirement.

<comment> vertex-four Uhh, I just loaded the map and couldn't find this credit?

<comment><USER3> There's a "(c)OpenMapTiles" on higher zoom levels over the map. I assume this is what they meant?

<comment><AUTHOR> That's not what I was referring to. I was looking on mobile (browser) when I responded, and there's a little "(i)" in the lower right that you click on and it says "OpenStreetMap Contributors".

But I'm not seeing it on desktop. We'll fix this! It might just be hidden behind another div.

OpenMapTiles packages the vector tiles, which we are hosting on our own. Usually attribution shows up automatically...

<comment><AUTHOR> Ok, this is resolved now :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER4> Cool project!

I never loved pinball growing up, but I played my fair share as I cruised around the arcade. I think I appreciate it more now as I've gotten older.

There is something very satisfying about playing an 'analog' game, in a world where digital video games and the internet dominate our attention.

Good to see the pinball community is alive and well, and people are actively contributing. Keep up the good work!

</comment><comment><USER5> Love it! Feature idea: Add links from the machines to the Internet Pinball Machine Database: [https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl](https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl)

Here's Eight Ball Deluxe's entry, for example: [https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=eight+ball+delux&search=S...](https://www.ipdb.org/search.pl?any=eight+ball+delux&search=Search+Database&searchtype=quick#762)

<comment><AUTHOR> We've had that feature for like 9 years! Click on any machine name in the location details.

I suppose we could make it more obvious!

<comment><USER5> Oh, I see them now. When I couldn't click the machine names in either the pop- up box on the map or the top-level of the location panel, I gave up too soon. I needed to click on the location to expand the details first, gotcha. I see there are also links to Pintips there (example: [https://pintips.net/games/41](https://pintips.net/games/41)). Cool!

Thanks for building and making this available.

<comment><AUTHOR> Yeah, that first list is just kind of a quick overview of the location, and then you get more detail when you click into it (as you found).

We worked with Andreas, the Pintips developer, on developing the Open Pinball Database ([https://opdb.org/](https://opdb.org/)). The games on pintips and on pinball map both share an OPDB ID. On his other app - [https://matchplay.events/](https://matchplay.events/) \- you can automatically populate your tournament with the machines listed at that location on pinball map.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER6> Love it! I always wanted to make this, but for public basketball courts.

</comment><comment><USER7> Love this app. Has helped me track down TAF pinball. Great work!

<comment><USER8> That's the first one I searched for, too!

<comment><USER9> TAF = Addams Family? If so, what's interesting about it?

(I see Galloping Ghost has it, so I assume it's somehow great.)

<comment><USER10> The game is fun for a few reasons.

First, there are two really viable strategies for playing it which are equally fun. Bashing the bookcase will get to the multiball and hearing Gomez shout "It's SHOWTIME!" is super satisfying.

If the multiball strat isn't for you, then working your way through the "room" of the mansion are just as rewarding. Completing all the rooms starts a mode where every mode just plays one after the other. Super satisfying, if you can get it.

Second, the callouts, art, and design are fun and full of character. Having thing grab the ball and pull it into his box is a particularly nice touch.

Finally, the layout of the table allows for some nice "flow" where you can transition between shots nicely.

</comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER11> Very nice!

I thought that I knew of all of the public pinball machines in my area. Not only are all of the ones I know of (around 200 of them) listed, but there are several more that I didn't know about. Excellent work!

<comment><AUTHOR> Thank you! Some areas are definitely more up to date than others. But overall, we've tried hard to build a strong userbase, and we're happy that people are so into updating it.

</comment></comment><comment><USER12> This is a cool service, and has surprisingly good coverage of Helsinki. Couple of places are missing though – I need to check what machines they currently have, and submit them!

</comment><comment><USER13> Great to see some pinheads around HN.

If you want to watch some pinball, remember [https://pinballvideos.com](https://pinballvideos.com)

</comment><comment><USER14> This is awesome! I want more in Europe as I love Pinball! I'll add the one I know tomorrow (especially there is a nice pinball museum in Rotterdam, NL)

For the maps feature I'll be happy to discuss with you using [https://dokomaps.com](https://dokomaps.com) we're making a platform for anyone to create communities of place sharing!

</comment><comment><USER15> Finally! Now if I could actually figure out how to play pinball well...

Any resources for a beginner or tips on learning how to improve?

<comment><USER10> Generally, flipper skills are a good place to start. The PAPA website has a nice guide: [https://papa.org/learning-center/players- guide/#152269588216...](https://papa.org/learning-center/players- guide/#1522695882169-f1e0fd96-e0cc)

It's also a good idea to pick one machine and learn its rules. The PAPA YouTube channel has guides for most classic games (Addams Family, Twilight Zone, etc)

<comment><USER15> Thanks! Appreciate the links

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER16> I've been searching for something like this for Dance Dance Revolution. The only thing I've found was old forums that are now outdated.

I was visiting NYC and searched for any DDR machines left. The last one was in ESPN Zone but that too closed down.

The last one I found was in a random arcade near a ski village in the Italian Alps.

<comment><USER17> [https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcades.php](https://zenius-i- vanisher.com/v5.2/arcades.php)

This site is very consistent for Pump it Up machines, might work well for you too.

</comment></comment><comment><USER18> so cool .. i can verify all the ones in my city , i was in one of the places last night and my buddy owns one of the other ones.

city of 75,000+ and we have 3 public pinball machines.

<comment><USER11> > city of 75,000+ and we have 3 public pinball machines.

That makes me sad. Perhaps there's a business opportunity, though? There are almost 300 pinball machines in my (admittedly more populated) area, and 150 of them are in a single establishment that combines a pinball arcade (that runs on nickels) with a bar (that does not run on nickels). It's been doing great business for 10 years or so now.

</comment></comment><comment><USER19> Your app has literally just given me plans for the evening. Awesome stuff!

</comment><comment><USER20> Is there anyone else like the pinball hall of fame in Las Vegas NV?

<comment><USER21> Museum of Pinball in Beaumont CA comes to mind, it only opens 3 times a year, however.

The Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda is open daily as far as I know.

<comment><AUTHOR> Top 20 sorted by number of machines. [https://gist.github.com/RyanTG/11b4f4442c6efc4cc58ca8eaaa8c5...](https://gist.github.com/RyanTG/11b4f4442c6efc4cc58ca8eaaa8c5eaf)

Big places like this can be extra-tough to keep up to date, because it's takes more work to crosscheck between the map and what's actually there. Some of these locations are actively kept up to date by the owners/operators. That's the way to go, because they know what's coming in and out.

Also, the Krakow Pinball Museum was just submitted today. Haven't added it yet, but it has a lot of machines.

<comment><USER21> Neat. You're aware the Museum of Pinball (museumofpinball.org) in Beaumont CA has 500 or so machines? Not sure if it counts since its only open 3 weekends a year.

I live within driving range and have been there dozens of times...

<comment><AUTHOR> I am aware. I live in LA, so it's pretty close to me, too. But yeah, it doesn't quite seem to count as public since it's just a special events venue, open only a couple days a year. I could be swayed otherwise, though, given that we're not 100% consistent when it comes to this.

Also, it be tough to keep that location up to date on the map!

For now, we have a link here: [https://pinballmap.com/la/about](https://pinballmap.com/la/about)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER22> Cool project, may also public virtual pinballs added to list too.

Talking about this, do you know any table under free license that could be ported to gnu/linux pinball emilia.

Here is a template project if anyone is interested:

[https://github.com/rzr/pinball-table-hurd](https://github.com/rzr/pinball- table-hurd)

Thanks and sorry for noise if it's not relevant but I assumed that pinball lovers and developers would like also to play home.

</comment><comment><USER23> This is awesome! Reminds me a lot of the Zenus -I- vanisher [0] arcade cabinet locator. Similar to this but its more focused on Japanese import games.

The site looks quite dated now and doesn't have any geo location support. It would be awesome if somebody could give this a refresh in the same vein as your project.

[0] [https://zenius-i-vanisher.com/v5.2/arcades.php](https://zenius-i- vanisher.com/v5.2/arcades.php)

</comment><comment><USER24> I love PinballMap.com. I am a Patreon donator as I felt their service deserved my support.

</comment><comment><USER25> I wonder if OSM has clean extension points for adding this sort of specialized metadata. Might be a nice way to create these kind of specialized geo- databases without having to do as much of your own implementation and hosting.

</comment><comment><USER26> Love the concept, when I put in Detroit and clicked on the red indicator it listed one machine here and then the next entry was 2 hours away, maybe the threshold what what is considered close enough to the search location is too lenient?

<comment><USER20> I think the data is just sparse for either reality reasons or lack of users, but sadly probably lack of machines.

<comment><AUTHOR> Try [https://pinballmap.com/detroit](https://pinballmap.com/detroit)

I'm not sure why so few locations were found in your initial search. I see 13 places of I search here [https://pinballmap.com/map?utf8=&address=Detroit](https://pinballmap.com/map?utf8=&address=Detroit)

There's also a "redo search results when map moves" button. It defaults if disabled, so you gotta check it on. We're going to make it enabled by default, since I think that's what users expect.

Also, the mobile app provides a better search/browse experience.

<comment><USER20> Mine was New Mexico ;)

<comment><AUTHOR> NM is indeed pretty sparse. We list 20 places with pinball. 11 are in Albuquerque.

<comment><USER27> Sister bar is da best :)

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER27> I want the same for pianos :)

<comment><AUTHOR> We like to try and think of other maps that we could adapt the code for. I don't think we would have ever come up with publicly-accessible pianos!

<comment><USER28> Businesses/pubs/clubs where people actually seem to socialize.

<comment><USER29> Please think of the unintended consequences. There's even an ancient saying about them: "whom the gods want to punish, they grant [his/her] wishes".

I discovered a pub where people actually socialise. This being the internet, I'm not willing to say which one and where. The last thing it needs is getting flooded with more seekers than it can handle, and in the process losing its charm as the locals would be drowned out, eventually taking themselves elsewhere.

For those who think I'm being unnecessarily over-protective or snarky, I can only recommend to read this link: [https://petapixel.com/2019/07/22/photographers- instagrammers...](https://petapixel.com/2019/07/22/photographers- instagrammers-stop-being-so-dmn-selfish-and-disrespectful/) (as happens, it was on HN about 6 months ago).

<comment><USER30> "Nobody goes there anymore -- it's too popular!" Yogi Berra

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER31> Named after an In Flames song? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCvq8VN9owY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCvq8VN9owY)

<comment><AUTHOR> Ha, no they named the song after us! Just kidding.

I have a google alert for the phrase, and have to -"in flames" or else I'll get flooded with In Flames stories.

</comment></comment><comment><USER32> Any chance you could enable search for countries such as Germany? I.e. searching for "Hannover, Germany" (a city with 500k people) just shows the whole globe without machines.

<comment><USER33> Zooming in on Germany on the map on the main page, it doesn't show any machines (or pins on the map, rather)?

<comment><AUTHOR> This might be a weakness in how we're using the geocoder. If you search Berlin in the Near field on [https://pinballmap.com/map](https://pinballmap.com/map) you get results. You can also zoom in and check on the "redo results when map is moved button". Or use the app. It's easier to browse on the app.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER34> Searched "Bangkok" -> got some specific place called "Bangkok Lounge"

Searched "Bangkok, Thailand" -> 0 results

<comment><AUTHOR> In Asia, most of our listings are in Japan. That's because we have a dedicated administrator there who is eager to document all the machines. Outside of Japan, there are only a couple locations.

</comment></comment><comment> 52-6F-62 This is awesome!

It already has a bunch of my Toronto favourites and others I'd never heard of!

How long has this been running?

<comment><AUTHOR> Around 11 years. Sorry, HN suggested I "repost" this Show HN. I should also repost the description I wrote!

<comment> 52-6F-62 No apology needed! It's great! Glad you did repost it!

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER35> Awesome!

I have used this before, pretty great stuff!

</comment><comment><USER36> The map does not allow me to browse, it requires search. That is not ideal, as per me.

<comment><USER37> I tried to search thinking, "No, there is no way there is anything here in Sweden". But yes, just a few kilometers from my house there is a new arcade where private people put up their flipper games. Members only but anyone can become member. There was also an old one I had forgotten about.

You can scroll around once you have found one location, the map only updates if you click the checkbox on the left on higher zoom-levels.

Mabe one solution for this, without putting too much demand on the server would be to cluster the map points and deliver just the coordinates of the clusters until you hit zoom level 12 or so?

<comment><AUTHOR> We hope to do some clustering like that in the future.

We're also going to turn on that "redo" checkbox by default (except still disable when zoomed out too far).

> Members only but anyone can become member.

We only list publicly-accessible locations, but "public" can be very very tricky to define. This place seems to count because anyone can become a member (so it's basically equivalent to paying an entrance fee). There are also some members-only places that open up to the public once a month. I consider those to be barely public.

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER38> Anyone know if the data for this comes from or is published to OpenStreetMap?

<comment><AUTHOR> It doesn't and isn't. All the location and machine data is generated by users on this site.

We use OSM vector tiles for the map.

<comment><USER38> Would be interesting to add the data to the OSM database somehow.

<comment><AUTHOR> For one, that would require regular syncing. The map is updated frequently, so snapshots get out of date quickly.

There have been 143,478 map edits in the last 3 years.

<comment><USER38> It seems that OSM has ways to do syncing with external databases, it looks like the best option here would be to use Osmsync.

[https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Import/Guidelines](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Import/Guidelines) [https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Automated_edits](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Automated_edits) [https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osmsync](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Osmsync) [https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/GO- Sync](https://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/GO-Sync) [https://github.com/CUTR- at-USF/gtfs-osm-sync](https://github.com/CUTR-at-USF/gtfs-osm-sync)</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment>


Violence Has Not Been Declining Over Time - <AUTHOR> https://arxiv.org/abs/1505.04722 <comment><USER2> There has been lots of contention around this topic. I personally agree with the contrary and Steven Pinkers position. You can see him refute Taleb's claims here: [http://stevenpinker.com/files/comments_on_taleb_by_s_pinker....](http://stevenpinker.com/files/comments_on_taleb_by_s_pinker.pdf)

<comment><USER3> I don't understand. Are you saying that Pinker claims that violence HAS been declining over time??

<comment><USER4> his book is titled "Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence has Declined"

</comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> [http://bigthink.com/videos/steven-pinker-redefines-moral- rel...](http://bigthink.com/videos/steven-pinker-redefines-moral-relativism) : so looking around for what pinker has been upto..clearly he has lost it. Even this example of moral solutions vs non moral solution is wrong as it's possible to do both.

Secondly: he brings up Norman Borlaug of the green revolution. First of all, he IS well known. I learnt about him in school. Maybe they didn't in North American schools. Secondly, his 'technology' has made a desert out of the most fertile lands in India. It was chemical farming that destroyed lives, economies, created poverty and spread cancer through the farming community. The land where green revolution was implemented in India is not even arable now. I am not only surprised but shocked that he would bring up Norman Borlaug as a hero..albeit maybe he meant well and didn't know the consequences of his actions.

I don't recognize this Steven Pinker or his words from over 15 years ago.

</comment><comment><AUTHOR> I have seen a lot of comments supporting Pax Americana, stating that we have seen fewer conflicts and therefore that violence has been in decline... This would seem to refute that.

<comment><USER5> Pax Americana is kind of riddiculous name for the fact that US has started over 200 military conflicts since WW2. America is at war 93% of it's existence:

[http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/america- war-93-time-2...](http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/02/america- war-93-time-222-239-years-since-1776.html)

<comment><USER6> To be fair, Pax Romana worked the same way right?

<comment><USER7> It did - while the inner parts of the empire were quite peaceful, there were still conflicts along the outer borders. Since there haven't been any wars on US soil for ages, calling it Pax Americana seems alright to me.

<comment><USER8> > there haven't been any wars on US soil for ages

I think, to be meaningful, Pax Americana must refer to an "empire" larger than the territory of the United States. There hasn't been a war in Western Europe since 1945; the longest lasting war in South America was the Falklands War at 74 days.

<comment><USER9> You don't consider Columbia's conflict with the FARC a war?

<comment><USER8> I meant to write "non-civil" or "international" war. Oops. I definitely had that in mind.

</comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment></comment><comment><USER3> Has anyone read Pinker's book?(better angels..) Thoughts?</comment>


Twitter changes its blocking policy - <AUTHOR> https://support.twitter.com/articles/117063-blocking-users-on-twitter

<comment><USER2> What's the change?</comment>


Quantum Computing Hardware Teardown - <AUTHOR> https://hackaday.com/2018/01/22/quantum-computing-hardware-teardown/ <comment><AUTHOR> I can definitely follow this article, but I still don't feel like I have an intuitive understanding at all the way I do with traditional processors that use plain old electron flow. It makes me wonder if that's how people felt when integrated circuits were first being seen in the world.

<comment><USER2> I think the harder transition was from tubes to bipolar transistors. FETs were/are more like tubes.</comment></comment>


Easily delete all contacts uploaded to Instagram and Facebook - <AUTHOR> Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accounts/contact_history/<p>Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/mobile/facebook/contacts/?tab=contacts <comment><USER2> Clickable links:

[https://www.instagram.com/accounts/contact_history/](https://www.instagram.com/accounts/contact_history/)

[https://m.facebook.com/mobile/facebook/contacts/?tab=contact...](https://m.facebook.com/mobile/facebook/contacts/?tab=contacts)

</comment><comment><USER3> Wow I actually never remember enabling this and don't think I ever did either

</comment><comment><USER4> very relieved to see I've never by mistake sent my adresbook to FB. However, that doesn't count out others who might did with my data in there. Probably not really GDPR-proof.

<comment><USER5> Same. Unfortunately my number is probably up there from someone else uploading it :/</comment></comment>


Massive crater under Greenland's ice points to climate-altering impact - <AUTHOR> https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/massive-crater-under-greenland-s-ice-points-climate-altering-impact-time-humans <comment><USER2> I find this bit especially chilling:

"But Jay Melosh, an impact crater expert at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, doubts the strike was so recent. Statistically, impacts the size of Hiawatha occur only every few million years, he says, and so the chance of one just 13,000 years ago is small."

Pay special attention to that idea. This guy is drawing a line in the sand, offering an opinion based on statistical probability alone... on a topic that has grave implications for our kind -- because with space travel and weapons technology we have been in a position to DO something about the threat -- and we have so far done NOTHING.

He is just a gambler, engaged in the most dangerous "gambler's fallacy" of all. It is a mental disorder just as surely as any homeless compulsive gambler, and his disorder affects others. And there are many like him. Try this one:

[https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/throwback-thursday- are...](https://medium.com/starts-with-a-bang/throwback-thursday-are- asteroids-dangerous-1ce5dec7cb0b)

There we have someone telling _children_ that asteroids are nothing to worry about, because.... we have this statistical engine of perfect clockwork and big rocks only fall according to our statistical 'timetable', and none are 'scheduled' for next week. And he goes on to imply that we should accept the idea of extinction (despite being technologically advanced) as a stress reliever. It's an insidious way of thinking. People do it out of angst too. They'll take a dark view of humankind as if the planet would be better off without us, completely ignoring the concept that if we could defend the planet we would be protecting _all life_ on it.

It's one of the issues I write letters about,

[https://www.scribd.com/document/374712301/20180227-David- L-G...](https://www.scribd.com/document/374712301/20180227-David-L-Goldfein- Letter-SC)</comment>


UK coronavirus mass home testing to be made available 'within days' - <AUTHOR> https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/25/uk-coronavirus-mass-home-testing-to-be-made-available-within-days <comment><USER2> This sounds like it could be a game changer. If it's accurate and can be mass produced, widespread regular self testing would surely be a most effective way of controlling new infections until a vaccine is developed.</comment>