I do not know the reasons the forum admins have for not using https,
but for the kind of forum it is, and the purpose of the forum, I think
it is better not to use it (https), personally I do not like it much.
Why ?, to many times it is problematic, I find it very annoying
when I try to access a site, and get that stupid warning, or error
saying something is wrong with the certificate, bla , bla.
Some times, if one jumps through some hoops, the site still
can be accessed, but other times no.
I think something to consider, if someone is trying to install Debian,
and having problems, maybe they do not even have a DE and working
"fancy browser", or also maybe the date and time on the system is not yet
set correctly and that is something that can cause a "access denied" error,
when https is being used.
The point is, the user is trying to get help, maybe on a "crippled" system,
the last thing I need, or others , is to get the (bad words) HTTPS "access denied"
error,...
I am glad this forum does not use https,...
The other day, there was a problem here posted, and when I did some searches,
one of the most promising looking links was at "archlinux",... Guess what ?
When I tried to follow the link, the good for nothing https, " sorry this site can not be
accessed, the certificate is expired ",.... something to that extent,...It said
the date it would be good, was in a few days,...and now, the "archlinux" site
is accessable, but this is not the only time,..or only site,...it is a regularly occuring
problem with any site using https,...
I can see how a e-mail service, banking, or some kinds of business sites need and should have the additional security,... but I don't think https is a good idea on a site
where many of the people trying to access need help, and may be trying to access
with a system not working properly, ...and those are the people that need to be
able to access the most.
On many sites, the error message , is more like a warning, but it says "This
site is not secure" Bla , Bla,...but does offer a "advanced" option, where one can
still access the site, if they want to , and don't mind the risk,... well on many of those
kind of sites,.... that is enough to scare me, and decide to try elsewhere,
look for a site not using the "https" abomination,..... honestly most of the
time I find https just plain annoying.
And just because a site uses https, does not make it secure,...https is mostly a gimmick, being promoted to make money selling certificates,.....hopefully the
"free certificates" maybe bring a end to that,
I found some interesting things, ....of course the "https" promoters won't like
this , but ,........ anyway:
From:
https://perezbox.com/2015/07/https-does ... r-website/
The actual act of securing a website is a very complex process. HTTPS does not stop attackers from hacking a website, web server or network. It will not stop an attacker from exploiting software vulnerabilities, brute forcing your access controls or ensure your websites availability by mitigating Distributed Denial of Services (DDOS) attacks.
Here are a number of articles I’ve written that better explain the dynamic nature of securing your websites, and what happens when you don’t. Notice how HTTPS has very little to do with the process. ---snip---
To prove this point, you can see various examples in recent history in which several entities had their certificates spoofed. In 2014, Threatpost reported that a number of popular entities were having theircertificates spoofed:---- read more--
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Another:
https://www.sott.net/article/275524-Why ... -you-think
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Some searches will show there are more,...in a nut shell "https" does not make anything more secure,... a server or website , forum can be hacked, scraped, etc, and all the data, "stolen", even when they are using https,.......so what is the point ?
I suppose though, if it gives the forums members a false sense of security, and
keeps them happy, well, then we need https,. sort of like a "pacifier",......
Then we will have the other,
"unhappy members" complaining, "Hey why can't I access, it says the date is wrong",
or the "certificate expired", etc..... Oh,... no that won't be a problem, they won't
be able to access the forum,...so we won't get any complaints from them.
The forum is working quite well, like it is. If it isn't broken, maybe it is best to
not try to fix it.