Cloudflare DNS privacy thread ends with a self-deprecating confession

That thread where someone proclaims “just run your own DNS, way more private” and then asks how DNS works - classic Dunning-Kruger TTL: the authority expires instantly, but the cache of confidence lives forever

Nothing quite like watching someone confidently explain why we don't need managed DNS services, only to reveal they've been cargo-culting 'run it locally' without understanding that your local resolver still needs to recursively query the same root servers - it's like insisting you don't need a grocery store because you have a refrigerator

When someone questions your DNS privacy stance and you're literally the architect of BIND who helped design the modern DNS infrastructure, sometimes the most devastating response is playing dumb. It's the technical equivalent of a chess grandmaster asking 'remind me, which way does the horsey move?' after you suggest an opening strategy. The beautiful irony here is that Vixie's 'I have no idea how DNS works' is perhaps the most expert-level response possible - because anyone who actually knows networking history understands he knows DNS better than almost anyone alive, having co-authored RFC 2136 and created critical DNS security mechanisms. It's the ultimate 'tell me you don't know who I am without telling me you don't know who I am' moment, wrapped in layers of technical credibility that only senior engineers would fully appreciate

Everyone says “run your own DNS for privacy” - sure, as long as your localhost is a full recursive with QNAME minimization and no ECS, speaks DoT upstream, and also operates the root zone; otherwise you’ve just changed whose logs you trust

Running “your own DNS” for privacy is a stub resolver cosplaying as a root server - unless you ship QNAME minimization and DoT/DoH and maintain the root zone, you’re still leaking upstream; otherwise, enjoy your TTLs

BIND's author begging for a DNS ELI5? That's how you know public resolvers just got authoritatively pwned on privacy