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Title: Mysterious Missing Blog Post, and Windows XP
Date: April 2, 2024
Written On: Notepad++ on Windows XP VM (Windria)
Listening To: "Dance Dance Revolution 20th Anniverary Nonstop Megamix" - DJ KOO

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 So, I'd originally made this post to mention something I said yesterday on my
Dreamwidth blog[0], and to talk a bit more about it in a space that's far safer
than the open internet. But the post is missing, and I'm not sure why. It was
just about why I started using Windows XP again in a VM, so I don't think it
was removed by staff. And comments are turned off, so that wouldn't be it.

 Dreamwidth is one of the /good ones/ among the web, in my opinion. They're
an open source continuation of LiveJournal's codebase, after LiveJournal was
purchased by a Russian company years ago. They've done an amazing job keeping
up good updates and feature additions without ripping out the soul of the whole
project, and have even been fighting for user freedoms through assisting some
lawsuits.

 But yeah... About that blog post.

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 So I've been using Windows XP in my life a bit more often lately. It's a VM
in Parallels on my MacBook Pro, but I also have actual hardware to run it on:
my Dell Inspiron E1505. It's an upgraded Core2Duo laptop rougly on par with my
MacBook Pro in everything but memory, with only 4GB DDR2 instead of 8GB DDR3.
I mistly use it as a retro gaming laptop, for those games that absolutely need
a physical CD-ROM drive and disk.

 Thing is, I'm completely fine with what I'm using now in Mac OS X land, but
I'm the kind who needs a backup for my backup, and having a plan for if I can't
get another Mac going is paramount to making sure I can keep going with my
writing and studies.

 With Windows XP and Windows 7, getting hardware online is fairly easy, and
getting a VM going is just as easy. I don't /want/ Windows 10/11 for my main
operating system, and while I'm *comfortable* with Linux, I don't really want
to go back to the relentless upkeep that's required for a mostly hobbist OS.
It's why I'm reluctant to switch to Haiku OS as well.

 In my case, Windows XP is still fun to use. I'd go with Vista, but being able
to use much lower hardware specs can be nice as well. Cheaper hardware, easier
VM setups, and so on.

 It's still *just* as a backup, but I've been doing this for both that reason,
and /because I can/. After all, it's my system. I can do with it as I like,
unlike with their newer OSes.

 Between RoyTam1's browser builds for Windows XP, the plethroa of period
software from the XP era, and my not needing a lot of web-oriented
enshitification to function in computing, I have absolutely zero issues being
on an old OS. Especially since I also know how to set up proxies, local mail
servers, and keep myself safe in general. Hell, I still run ClamWin AV on the
virtual macine, and I'm not grabbing seedy executables from random sites, so
I'm already more secure than many people on Win10/11. :3

 But cheap shots aside, a lot of it boils down to being knowledgable enough to
stick to limits, and being safe on an ever-increasinly hostile world wide web.
I'm not going to pretend that getting crap off random gopher/ftp/gemini servers
is any safer, but I grew up during the time of constant paranoia among download
sites, when there were constant safety warnings drilled into everyone from the
various media that taught people how to use the web. I know that I can't truly
trust anything from anyone, so I don't. I simply have to be careful.

 That seems to be something people just don't get these days. I see others get
compormised constantly around me, sometimes without even having to do anything
on their end, simply because of a zero-click or OAuth issue, or a cookie/token
skimmer, or any number of other problems created having everything online all
the time. And that sucks, because I had legit interest in the web until the
professionalization[^0] of it all.

 Meanwhile, I'm sitting here using Windows XP on the internet, which many a
YouTube influencer will decry as being "too dangerous for anyone but pros to
try at home". And I'm not getting pwned just by existing. It's like having a
bit of knowledge and general savviness in the subject--or at least not blindly
clicking all the things you see--makes you less vulnerable, instead of being
sheltered by some supposed professional trying to make some money on waving a
thing in your face.[^1]

 Personally, I think we need more people getting basic internet safety drilled
into their brains, especially when almost everything they do and have ends up
in some cloud server that can be accessed without any hint given to the victim.
It's just too important to avoid, and the more knowledgable people are, the
better their chances to delay getting compromised. It's never a matter of /if/,
only /when/.

 And I think I'm done with my rant. This isn't going up on my SDF phlog, but
meh. I think it's more of a personal entry anyway.

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[^0]: I hate how everything tends to turn into something "professional" at some
     point. Gaming really got screwed over by that, and the web suffers from
         it as well.

[^1]: Can you tell I've gotten tired of the doom-and-gloom-but-give-me-money
     attitude seen on social media and many video sites?

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[0]: https://gallowsgryph.dreamwidth.org/

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