We want to create a link aggregator service that can only be accessible via SSH. Think hacker news but authentication and authorization happens via SSH.
The trick is making it usable.
Here's how we imagine it could work:
- User initiates an SSH tunnel to links.sh (imaginary name)
- links.sh launches a dedicated web server for that user
- This allows the user to access links.sh from localhost
- We automatically authenticate and authorize the user accessing links.sh
- User can read, comment, and post articles in their browser
We would also create an SSH app to allow the user to easily submit links without having to setup an SSH tunnel
1ssh links.sh post https://bower.sh/front-end-complexity
How does this differentiate from existing link aggregators? Well, this will not be widely accessible because users need to understand how to use SSH. This will add a barrier for mobile users to access this website. In fact, we will not build a mobile friendly version of the website at all.
Our hypothesis is that mobile access to a link aggregator degrades discussion.
This will be an exclusive service for hackers: a clubhouse for us to relish in
our own intrigue. Steeped in our exclusive discussion. What makes us excited
about this idea is having a passwordless user experience, all relying on the
familiar public-key cryptography. Even further this has really interesting
implications: We don't need cookies or Authorization headers for
authentication. No passwords, no cookies, no http headers, only a lone SSH
command.