01

Own the software.

Good software is free, and it is useful. You can read each line of the code. The software runs on your own machine. If you cannot read the software, you do not own it. You rent it.

02

Keep the data local.

The data is yours, and it stays on your machine. You merge it with the data of other people only when you make that decision. To work together, people exchange signed deltas and merge them. They do not give the data to a host. The RheoServ Waumpaum post shows such a merge.

03

Do not trust the center.

Central computation and central storage are usually bad. They are good only if a community makes them by active merges. Keep the keys and the computation on the machines of the users.

A central host compared with local copies that merge On the left, three users send all their data to one host. On the right, each user keeps a local copy, and the users exchange signed deltas to merge the copies. Central host Host has all the data User User User All data goes to the host. Local copies that merge Copy 1 Copy 2 Copy 3 signed deltas Each user keeps the data.
Figure 1. A central host has all the data. With local copies, each user keeps the data and merges signed deltas.

Own the software. Read it. Run it on any machine. Keep your data local. Exchange your data freely. Trust a center only if a community made it by merges.