The ancients said, "Small seclusion hides in the wild, while great seclusion hides in the city," which makes a lot of sense. A true hermit should not spend all day avoiding the world, but should enter the world with an open mind and deal with the hustle and bustle of life in their own relaxed way. It is truly the reasonable thinking of simple materialistic Taoist thought. Many people spend their whole lives hoping to find a quiet place to live alone, but they are unable to fulfill their dreams of a pastoral landscape due to the obstacles of reality. Little do they know that the life of seclusion should start from the ground beneath their feet, from the most tense moments, proposing seclusion - sometimes even from the busiest place in the world - the internet seclusion.
Some people may ask, in a place like the internet where everyone visits and speaks, it's like a market, with everyone talking at once, how can one achieve seclusion, let alone a good night's sleep? But this argument lacks reason. If the internet is too noisy to seclude oneself, then these people are probably unable to enjoy the pleasures of the mountains and forests either. The mountains and forests are not prepared specifically for humans, dangers lurk in every dark corner, and at any moment a large insect could jump out and devour you. Just the constant anxiety alone is more detrimental to seclusion than the noise of the internet. Furthermore, secluding oneself in the mountains and forests requires physical labor, while secluding oneself on the internet only requires using one's brain. So, the so-called "seclusion" must involve sacrifices compared to a completely worldly life, otherwise, what's the point of seclusion? In secluding oneself in the mountains and forests, one must sacrifice physical strength and even life; in secluding oneself on the internet and in the world, one must sacrifice mental strength and even spirit, which is quite similar.
Some may also think that those who seclude themselves on the internet are indulging in the internet and ignoring reality. This idea is also unrealistic. First of all, the internet is not a place where people are naturally indulgent. The internet of the Web 1.0 era can be considered the most innocent network of computers, its utilitarian nature is very clear, and there are very few entertainment applications, which are so simple that they are not worth mentioning. Although I was only able to access the internet in the late stages of Web 2.0, I can still see from the legacy of the early internet that the original intention of the internet was really just a simple scientific research information exchange network. It was only when the researchers involved in the project underestimated the social changes that computer networks could bring, and only realized it belatedly when the scale of the internet had grown to encompass everything and its side effects became increasingly apparent. Even in this late stage of Web 2.0, there are still many computer researchers maintaining the utilitarian nature of the internet, avoiding it becoming a tool for profiteering and mindless addiction. Large organizations like the W3C go without saying, and even small organizations can consciously take on this social responsibility. Their collective efforts have made it possible for the internet today to fulfill the grand aspiration of "seclusion". Secluding oneself on the internet does not mean losing oneself on social platforms and public platforms. On the contrary, it means finding one's own island in the ocean of the internet - this is the profound meaning of "seclusion" in seclusion. And to "reside" means to find a way to connect the isolated islands in the ocean one by one. In this process of connection, the islands are no longer lonely in their communication with each other, and seclusion becomes even more valuable as a result.
Seclusion, in the end, is a form of escape. And escape is something that can never solve problems. After all, people live in reality, so leaving the internet is a common choice. Various forms of withdrawal, even quitting the internet altogether, are typical cases. But the internet has permeated into every corner of life, so instead of hiding from the internet's overwhelming presence, it is better to embrace the belief of hiding in the vastness of the internet. After all, both are forms of escape, so why not make it more meaningful? When unbreakable links are established between internet islands, in fact, links of care and warmth are also extended between the islands of people's hearts. Why do people want to seclude themselves? Isn't it because of loneliness? However, by using open-source software, by decentralization, by self-hosted services and self-owned domains, after truly facing this loneliness, one can gain the true openness and happiness that seclusion brings.
From now on, we will seclude ourselves on the internet, seclude ourselves on a server, and seclude ourselves within a domain name. This is an island, waiting for someone to come and connect.
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