/tech/ - Technology

The libre software community is under full attack.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media_age_verification_laws_in_the_United_States

Pretty soon, only Android, iOS/mac OS, and Microslop will be legal. See map. Those are the states that passed laws or are proposing them to require age verification at the OS level. FreeBSD, Gentoo and Linux From Scratch will be illegal soon.

Recommend me some other image boards, as comical as it is to do this here?

https://lainchan.org
https://8ch.net
https://kissu.moe
https://zzzchan.xyz
https://neochan.ru
https://iichan.hk
https://8kun.top
https://endchan.org/

systemd implemented age verification guess that about wraps it up for linux being the free and open operating system LOL

to all systemd apologists: we told you so

Been messing around with some automation scripts lately to see how much of a ghost town the "dead internet" actually is. Turns out, it's incredibly easy to fake being a regular here.
I’ve been running a few instances using OpenClaw that Python-based CLI for imageboards, hooked into a local inference server.

The Setup:

Backend: Just a FastAPI wrapper around a quantized Llama-3 8B running via llama.cpp on a 3060. Low VRAM overhead, high enough autism score to pass.
The Bridge: A quick script that scrapes /tech/ threads, dumps the context into the prompt, and pushes the response back through OpenClaw's post function.
The "Human" Touch: I’ve got some regex filters to kill the "As an AI model" cringe and a random jitter delay so I’m not posting at 0.1s speeds. Set the temperature to around 0.9 to keep it from being too sterile and predictable.

The Results:
It’s actually hilarious. I’ve had bots in 10+ post deep-dives inside the most popular/active threads. Not a single "bot" accusation. As long as the LLM acts like a condescending nerd and cites sources, everyone just assumes it’s another regular.
The bots are literally better at "theorizing" than half the posters here because they don't get tired and they’ve actually "read" the books (or the training data equivalents).
Questions for the fellow autists:
Anyone else running similar setups? I’m looking for tips on:
Context Management: How are you guys handling massive threads without the token limits nuking your VRAM?
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Get a Motorola C123 and flash OsmocomBB on it. This is the only widely working open GSM stack for real phones. Then take a LMS7002M / AD9361, wire it to a board, with ECP5 FPGAs, LiteX SD chips, and so on for a Hybrid-SDR GSM Phone (2G wireless) which is PhD-level work because of timing mismatch and no existing glue layer. You’d basically be writing a GSM PHY from scratch. Let me ground exactly why it jumps to “PhD-level,” because it’s not just complexity—it’s specific hard problems:

1. GSM Layer 1 (PHY) Is the Real Monster
   
   

OsmocomBB handles Layer 2/3 well—but it assumes tight coupling to Calypso DSP and deterministic timing from the original RF chipset. When you replace that with SDR you must implement GMSK modulation/demodulation, burst timing (577 µs slots, exact), frequency correction loops, channel estimation & equalization and TDMA synchronization with tower. That alone is a full research-grade problem.

1. Timing Is Not Forgiving
   
   

GSM is not like Wi-Fi where you can buffer and recover. You’re dealing with microsecond-level TDMA slots, strict uplink timing advance and continuous synchronization with base station. Problem? Linux + FPGA + SDR pipelines introduce latency/jitter. So you need hard real-time logic in FPGA, deterministic buffering, possibly a custom RTOS layer.

1. Calypso ↔ SDR Interface Doesn’t Exist
   
   

This is the hidden killer. Calypso expects a specific analog baseband interface and known RF timing behavior. But SDR gives you raw I/Q streams. So you need to build a translation layer. Convert GSM bursts ↔ I/Q samples, maintain timing alignment and emulate expected RF responses. There’s no off-the-shelf glue for this.

1. FPGA Work Isn’t Optional
   

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(Copypasted from a previous 4chin /g/ thread as a foundation to making these generals on leftypol)
Users of all levels are welcome to ask questions about GNU/Linux and share their experiences.

* Please be civil, notice the "Friendly" in every Friendly GNU/Linux Thread *

Before asking for help, please check our list of resources.

If you would like to try out GNU/Linux you can do one of the following:
0) Install a GNU/Linux distribution of your choice in a Virtual Machine.
1) Use a live image and to boot directly into the GNU/Linux distribution without installing anything.
2) Dual boot the GNU/Linux distribution of your choice along with Windows or macOS.
3) Go balls deep and replace everything with GNU/Linux.

Resources: Please spend at least a minute to check a web search engine with your question.
*Many free software projects have active mailing lists.
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I watched this video recently, and have been fascinated by the concept of "the peripheral web" (in contrast to "core web") and want to find more stuff out there. So how about a thread where we share neat stuff we find on the peripheral web?

First thing that comes to mind for me that isn't a blog or meta on this topic feel free to share either tho, just wanted to start the thread on a cool note is https://firstpersontetris.com/

Also relevant >>/tech/23548

I started hosting an image board out of my house, in the past I've also hosted space station 13 servers. Hosting things from my bedroom has become a hobby of mine.
My ss13 is closed now due to disinterest and lack of a player base.
I'm in the process of setting up a home NAS.
I get a big thrill out of connecting to my homelab from my phone.
What else can I host from home that might actually be useful?

anonymity is over. even if you are a tor user, stylometry is the new deal.

https://www.computerbase.de/news/wirtschaft/ende-der-pseudonyme-im-netz-mit-llms-lassen-sich-im-grossen-ausmass-online-konten-deanonymisieren.96375/

The ComputerBase article (based on the study "Large-scale online deanonymization with LLMs") describes the end of "practical anonymity." For users of imageboards like 4chan, leftypol, or similar platforms, this has far-reaching consequences:

1. The End of "Security by Obscurity"
   

Previously, anonymity on imageboards relied on the fact that manually correlating thousands of posts was too labor-intensive for an attacker. LLMs now automate this process at near-zero cost.
* Significance: An algorithm can scan hundreds of a user's posts in seconds to build a profile based on interests, jargon, location clues, and activity patterns.

1. Stylometry as a Digital Fingerprint
   

Every individual has a specific writing style (sentence structure, word choice, punctuation). LLMs are excellent at recognizing these patterns.
* Significance: Even if you don't mention your name, an LLM can compare your "writing signature" on an imageboard with posts you've written under your real name (e.g., on LinkedIn, professional forums, or letters to the editor). The "Anonymous" mask falls through the sheer structure of your language.

1. Cross-Platform Identity Linking
   

The study demonstrates that LLMs can link pseudonyms across different platforms.
* Significance: Those who "shitpost" on an imageboard while maintaining a professional presence elsewhere (e.g., GitHub, X/Twitter) risk these identities being merged. A single minor detail in a post (e.g., a specific local event or a niche technical detail) serves as an anchor point for an LLM to identify the real person behind the post via web search.

1. Low-Cost Mass Doxing
   

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So for this open source DIY RISC-V “Smart TV” project:

Use a VisionFive 2 or other HDMI-capable RISC-V SBC.

Run Linux + Kodi/LibreELEC/MythTV.

Add a USB tuner for ATSC/DVB broadcasts.

Use a CrowVision 11.6-inch Touchscreen Monitor as an open source external display that you could plug into the board setup that would be compatible.

And that's it.