When I was around 11 years old, all I wanted was simple:
to create a Minecraft server so I could play with my friends.
I didn’t want to use paid hosting. I wanted to do it myself.
So I tried hosting the server on my own Windows PC at home. That’s when I hit my first real technical wall:
I was using a 4G router, and it didn’t support port forwarding. No matter what I tried, my server simply couldn’t be reached from the outside world.
At that moment, I learned something important:
building things isn’t just about software — it’s about networks and infrastructure too.
Discovering Tor (and a New World)
After a lot of research, I discovered Tor.
I realized that with Tor, I could expose services to the outside world without port forwarding.
At first, I ran everything on a Windows laptop, but it quickly became clear that it wasn’t stable enough for long-running services.
So I found an old desktop PC and decided to turn it into a real server.
That decision led to another important step:
I installed Linux for the first time.
I didn’t know Linux back then — I learned it by using it.
I broke things, fixed them, reinstalled systems, read documentation, and experimented constantly.
That’s how I learned about processes, services, networking, permissions, and system reliability.
Building Platforms, Not Just Servers
Once the desktop server was running Linux, everything changed.
I started hosting multiple Tor-based services, including social platforms, forums, chat systems, and a public hosting environment.
For privacy and anonymity reasons, I can’t mention the exact service names or URLs of these Tor platforms.
Respecting anonymity was a core principle of the ecosystem, and it’s something I still take seriously today.
What started as curiosity slowly grew into something much bigger.
The platform became surprisingly popular — at its peak, it had more than 60,000 users.
At that age, I wasn’t thinking about titles or careers.
I was learning — fast.
Learning the Hard Way
Running platforms at that scale taught me things no tutorial ever could:
- Linux system administration
- Security fundamentals
- User management and moderation
- Abuse prevention
- Performance, uptime, and monitoring
- The reality of maintenance and responsibility
Keeping everything stable, secure, and compliant with rules became a huge responsibility, especially at a young age.
After four years of running the project, I made a difficult but mature decision:
I shut it down.
Not because it failed — but because I understood my limits and the responsibility that came with running large public platforms.
From Experiments to Real Infrastructure
After shutting down the Tor hosting project, I was around 16 years old.
I repurposed my local server into a NAS system, connected to UPS batteries, learning about reliability, backups, and power protection.
From there, I moved on to more structured projects — including MultiverseHosting and later ProdoPedia — applying the lessons I had learned the hard way: cost control, scalability, and proper infrastructure design.
Why I’m Still Here
Looking back, I realize something important:
I didn’t start in IT because of money, trends, or titles.
I started because I wanted to understand how things work.
That curiosity — from an 11-year-old installing Linux on an old desktop server — is still what drives me today.
And this blog is my way of documenting that journey.
