HN Explorer

Ask HN: What does self-hosting mean?

2 points by mycloud ↗ HN
Out of curiosity, I went to the wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-hosting to read up on self-hosting. I run several web services on my own server and was pretty much sure the term means that, but how come the wikipedia article does not even mention this with a single word?

Searching here reveals apparently both use-cases for the term. There is a subreddit /r/selfhosted which in contrast to the wikipedia article only deals with hosting server software.

I wonder if I miss something entirely and what the connection between the two use-cases is, or is there none at all?

7 comments

[ 3.6 ms ] story [ 25.4 ms ] thread
dozzie
> Self-hosting is the use of a computer program as part of the toolchain or operating system [...]

There you have it. The article talks about the term from around compilers, not web services.

By the way, what you mean by "self-hosting" is usually described with the term "on-premises software".

mycloud
Ok that is just quoting the wikipedia article, my question though was if that is actually the only correct usage of the term, since searching on google reveals pretty much only what you refer to as "on-premises software". Somehow this is strange to me that so many people are off, thus my question in the first place.
dozzie
> my question though was if that is actually the only correct usage of the term

Is the meaning of "server" the only correct usage of the word "host"? Because it's the same situation.

mycloud
At least in those situations wikipedia does not have a single answer, which is what I would have expected for self-hosting as well. Especially given the quite different use-cases of it. That triggered my question.
twobyfour
The great thing about Wikipedia is that when it's inaccurate or confusing, you can correct it yourself!
mycloud
Indeed. Thought it would be good to get knowledgeable feedback here about the issue.
brudgers
Self-hosting is often used to describe running SaaS products (software as a service) on one's own hardware rather than on the SaaS vendor's servers.

Self-hosting is often important for companies with significant privacy, confidentiality, and security risks or governed by data protection regulations.

Wikipedia is Wikipedia. It improves over time, but these days more slowly.