Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to some frequently asked questions regarding dns.sainternet.xyz and sainternet.xyz.
Your ISP Is OK with This?
This Is Residential, Right?
Yes.
How Is Your ISP Possibly OK with This?
I honestly have no idea.
Historically my ISP has been quite progressive, and they have also been willing to work with me. My suspicion is that they're not so much "OK" with the dns.sainternet.xyz research resolver, as they are "not, not OK" with it. They have every opportunity to stop me.
Time will tell.
What’s with All the Rainbows?
People Actually Ask This Question?
Yes.
Lots of Your Projects Seem to Incorporate Rainbow Schemes, What Gives?
I like rainbows.
Who doesn't like rainbows?
This Whole Site Is a Rainbow, Is It Some Kind of LGBTQIA+ Thing?
Would that matter?
Are You Some Kind of LGBTQIA+ Person?
Would that matter?
Also, yes.
It Does Matter
That's not a question.
I Don't Like It
That's not a question either.
I Don’t Like It, but in the Form of a Question?
I don't care.
Could You Maybe Tone It down a Bit?
No.
You can't tell me what to do.
Is dns.sainternet.xyz Legal?
Yes.
I am not aware of any locality in which resolving a domain to an IP using publicly accessible root and authoritative DNS servers is a crime.
I am also not aware of any locality in which it is a crime to supply NXDOMAIN responses for arbitrary domains for any given reason.
Content hosted at a given IP may however be illegal and use of dns.sainternet.xyz does not shield you from liability. This service processes DNS requests and DNS requests alone, it is not a proxy and will not obscure your browsing habits from anyone with access to your data stream.
Does dns.sainternet.xyz Have an API?
No.
Why Doesn’t the PWA Version Ever Change?
In Short
It be how it do.
Not So Short
Progressive Web Application versioning is difficult, and unpredictable. PWA versioning is not tied in any meaningful way to either the application service worker or manifest.
Typically one of the main points in deploying a service worker in the first place (other than managing offline) is to have a largely static core, and assets that can be updated dynamically.
Who, What,
When, Where and Why?
Who?
Sainternet is chiefly managed by myself, saint (aka. Hayden Pearce), but would not be possible without contributions from my Chief Analyst/Technician (CAT) Tiggy, and the invaluable oversight of my Knowledge/Information Technologist in charge of Testing Immersive Experiences (KITTIE), Willow.What?
As mentioned, Sainternet is a set of validating, recursive, caching, mostly specification compliant, filtered DNS servers with a zero logging policy.
Notes:
- What "mostly specification compliant" means is that relevant specifications are adhered to provided they don't provide a net negative experience for other Sainternet DNS users and/or the Internet at large
Examples of this include but are not limited to: Denial of the request type "ANY", refusing very large/oversize but otherwise valid payloads, selective rate limiting/introducing progressive jitter, etc. - Here "zero logging policy" refers to a self enforced policy whereby any/all logging of relevant services (those involved with processing some or all of a Sainternet DNS query and its response) are either disabled entirely, or set to their minimum possible verbosity and redirected to "/dev/null"
When?
Sainternet research resolvers or their spiritual ancestors have been operating in some capacity or other since 2016.
Where?
Sainternet is based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Why?
Mostly because I can.
To better educate myself in the deployment, management and development of related technologies, while hopefully providing a better domain name resolution experience along the way.
How Much?
Nothing.
Sainternet services are provided free to all.
How Does Sainternet Make Money?
It doesn't.
So, Who Funds Sainternet?
I do.
Sainternet requires very little additional overhead outside of my own network requirements, and its continued development is somewhat of a hobby for me.