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Chapter 8

Running Your Own Corner

Metaphor: Keeping a small shop Mental image: “It doesn’t have to be big to be real.”

Key Ideas

The final chapter brings everything back to the reader. This is about ownership, agency, and the quiet joy of running your own piece of the web.

Core concepts to cover:

  1. You don’t need permission

    • The web was built to be decentralized
    • Anyone can run a server, serve pages, join the conversation
    • This isn’t nostalgia — it’s still true today

  2. What does “hosting” actually mean?

    • Having a server that’s reachable on the internet
    • Pointing a domain name at it
    • Keeping it running and responding

  3. The minimal setup

    • A small VPS (Virtual Private Server)
    • A domain name
    • A web server (Nginx, Caddy) or a reverse proxy like Sentinel
    • Let’s Encrypt for HTTPS
    • That’s it. That’s a real website.

  4. Responsibilities of ownership

    • Security: keeping your server safe from misuse
    • Maintenance: updates, backups, monitoring
    • Availability: making sure it stays up
    • These aren’t burdens — they’re care

  5. Sentinel in context

    • If you’re running your own corner, Sentinel can be the doorman
    • Security-focused, designed for people who want control
    • Not a replacement for understanding — a tool that respects your understanding

  6. The free web is worth protecting

    • Corporate platforms are convenient but have costs (data, control, dependency)
    • Running your own server is an act of independence
    • It doesn’t have to be big — a personal site, a blog, a small API
    • What matters is that it’s yours

  7. You now have the map

    • Requests and responses (Chapters 1-2)
    • Servers (Chapter 3)
    • HTTP (Chapter 4)
    • Reverse proxies (Chapter 5)
    • Encryption (Chapter 6)
    • Scale (Chapter 7)
    • And now: your own corner

Tone for this chapter

Empowering and warm. The reader has learned the fundamentals. Now they’re invited to use that knowledge. This isn’t a call to action — it’s a gentle welcome. The web is still open, still simple at its core, and still waiting for them to participate.

Closing

End with a callback to the introduction: the web began as a simple exchange. It still is. Now you understand how it works, and you can decide how much of it you want to own.

Status: Work in progress