July 4, 2026
Net Worth, But Make It Internet
My ASN Journey series (2024)
One person’s quest to own part of the internet sparked cheers, cost panic, and AWS nitpicks
TLDR: A new guide says ordinary people can claim their own slice of the internet, but the comments quickly turned into a fight over who can actually afford it. Fans loved the ambition, while critics pointed out regional costs and one reader jumped in with the classic correction: Amazon already offers a cheaper path.
A hobbyist’s mega-guide to getting your own internet address block and your own place on the online map could have been a dry how-to. Instead, the comments turned it into a deliciously nerdy mix of admiration, reality checks, and budget anxiety. The article pitches the dream in plain terms: if regular people can buy domain names, why not own internet addresses too? The author lays out a beginner path, promising cleaner browsing, fewer shared-address headaches, and even a way around the misery of being lumped in with strangers on sketchy internet connections.
The strongest reaction was basically: “Cool idea, but not everyone lives in cheap-and-easy land.” One commenter from Australia thanked the author, then immediately dropped the vibe-killer: local costs are much higher and the rules are stricter, with fewer friendly middlemen to help. That turned the guide from “fun side quest” into “regional privilege discourse,” fast.
Then came the classic comments-section correction: one reader pushed back on the guide’s claim about cheap bring-your-own-address options, popping in with the very internet-comment energy of “Actually, AWS does this for free” and linking the docs like a courtroom exhibit. Another commenter simply echoed the guide’s subtitle back at everyone, which somehow reads like either sincere applause or the world’s driest meme.
And yes, the article itself adds extra drama: do this wrong and angry network engineers may come for you, while doing it right can still publicly tie your name to your internet identity. Owning part of the internet suddenly sounds equal parts power move, privacy nightmare, and geek fantasy.
Key Points
- •The article introduces a beginner-focused series on obtaining an ASN, acquiring IP address space, and setting up BGP from the ground up.
- •The planned tutorial series covers acquiring and configuring an ASN, BGP on a VPS, IPv6 delivery methods, joining an IXP, adding upstreams, geolocation, and RPKI.
- •The article presents IPv6 access, avoiding CGNAT-related IPv4 reputation issues, and using non-proxy-tagged personal IP space as key motivations for getting an ASN and IP addresses.
- •It warns about limitations including public exposure of personal identity in ASN registration, the risk of BGP misconfiguration affecting the DFZ, and contributing to routing table growth.
- •The post includes example costs for ASN-related service, RIPE NCC annual fees, and BGP-capable VPS hosting, while noting that IPv4 is possible to obtain but significantly more expensive than IPv6.