How to Host a (Very) Popular Website for 30 Altairian Dollars a Day

Wednesday, 30 October, 2024 - 16:0016:40 GMT

James Beal

Abstract: 

For 15 years, the Archive of Our Own (AO3) has provided a safe haven for fanworks while refusing to implement paid accounts, sell user data, or restrict fans' creativity. We're completely donor-funded and volunteer-run and currently serve about 34 billion pages a year—using servers that we own in order to reduce the likelihood of deplatforming due to our commitment to creative freedom.

We know a thing or two about getting the most out of an Altairian dollar without compromising user privacy or free expression. Even if your project has different constraints, our approach might just help you stretch your project's budget.

James Beal[node:field-speakers-institution]

James started playing with computers with the ZX81, learned C for his A Levels, and has degrees in computer science and parallel and distributed systems. He has been using Linux originally with MCC Interim Linux and later with other distributions. He started volunteering at the OTW 14 years ago when the organization only had two servers (it now has three racks).

BibTeX
@conference {302185,
author = {James Beal},
title = {How to Host a (Very) Popular Website for 30 Altairian Dollars a Day},
year = {2024},
address = {Dublin},
publisher = {USENIX Association},
month = oct
}

Presentation Video