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====== Joining a Tilde ======

How to get an account on a shared unix server, make the SSH key you need, and stay safe once you are in. Adapted from the [[https://github.com/brennanbrown/tilde|tilde repo]] wiki.

===== Why Join =====

* A real linux or BSD system to learn on, usually free
  * Your own page at ''host/~you'' on the web, and often gopher or gemini too
  * IRC chat, games, mail, and tools written by your neighbours
  * Small communities run by volunteers: no ads, no tracking, human scale
  * A living tradition going back to 1960s timesharing (see [[tilde:history|Pubnix History]])

===== Pick a Server =====

Browse the member list at [[https://tildeverse.org/members/|tildeverse.org/members]]. A quick guide by temperament:

* **tilde.town**: the most community features and built-in tools; slower, careful manual signup
  * **tilde.club**: a plain, standard unix box
  * **tilde.pink**: gopher and gemini culture
  * **envs.net**: minimalist, long service list, popular
  * **tilde.team**: teaching and learning unix
  * **cosmic.voyage**: collaborative science-fiction writing
  * **rw.rs**: experimental, minimal, 199X aesthetic; open source and free to join
  * **sdf.org**: not a tildeverse member, but the original pubnix; signup is fast and many services unlock with a one-time membership payment

Each host's signup page is linked from its homepage. Signup asks for a username (lowercase; it becomes your ''~name'' everywhere), an email address, your SSH public key, and sometimes a sentence about what you want to do. Approval is manual on most tildes: expect days, not minutes.

===== Make an SSH Key =====

SSH replaces passwords with a key pair: the private key stays on your computer, the public key goes to the server.

<code bash>
ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"
</code>

* Accept the default path ''~/.ssh/id_ed25519''
  * Set a passphrase; it protects the key if your computer is lost
  * Send the server only the ''.pub'' file: ''cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub''
  * The file without ''.pub'' is private and never leaves your computer

Already have a key? Reuse it, or make a second one just for tildes: ''ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/id_ed25519_tilde''. A host entry in ''~/.ssh/config'' keeps logins short:

<code>
Host tilde.town
    User yourname
    IdentityFile ~/.ssh/id_ed25519
</code>

===== First Login =====

* The first connection asks you to trust the server's host key: type yes
  * If the host issued a password, change it with ''passwd''
  * Create your site directory if needed: ''mkdir public_html && chmod 755 public_html'' (check the host's docs for the right name)
  * Write ''~/.plan'' and ''~/.project'' files; test with ''finger yourname@host''
  * Read the ''motd'', the host's wiki, and say hi on IRC

===== Staying Safe on a Shared Machine =====

A tilde is one computer that many people share. Assume little is private.

* ''chmod 700 ~'' makes your home directory private, but check the host's norms first: some tildes expect readable homes for finger and ''.plan'' culture
  * Assume everything under ''public_html'', ''public_gopher'', and ''public_gemini'' is public, because it is
  * Never store passwords, private keys, or API tokens on the shared host
  * Use one keypair per device: if a device is lost, you revoke only that key
  * Put a passphrase on every private key; ''ssh-add'' loads it into ssh-agent so you type it once per session
  * Check ''~/.ssh/authorized_keys'' occasionally for entries you do not recognize
  * Turn on two-factor login where offered (tilde.club supports TOTP via ''.google_authenticator'')
  * Keep your signup email current so admins can reach you

===== See Also =====

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