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Since the author didnt mention it, the original creator of the patchwork project is https://github.com/pfrazee https://github.com/pfrazee When I used it, which

Since the author didnt mention it, the original creator of the patchwork project is https://github.com/pfrazee https://github.com/pfrazee When I used it, which admitedly was a long time ago now, the biggest setback was lack of cross device identities. So I ended up having two accounts with two feeds, `wesAtWork` and `wes`. Maybe they have solved this by now. ps. Does patchwork still have the little gif maker? Because that was a super fun feature.

wesleytodd 10y ago
Also, because Paul has awesome projects, and deserves some attention when a project of his makes it to the top of HN but doesn't even mention him, he is working on a browser for the distributed web called Beaker (I am using it to write this now), and it is awesome. https://github.com/beakerbrowser/beaker https://github.com/beakerbrowser/beaker
- cowardlydragon 10y ago
  very very cool. although forking a website so easily also makes spoofing very easy...
- pfraze 10y ago
  @cowardlydragon you got downvoted to death but that's a fair assumption so I want to reply to you here > forking a website so easily also makes spoofing very easy... A fork copies the files of a site, so yeah, it certainly would be easily to spoof somebody's site. It basically is a spoof button. But doing so creates a new cryptographic identity for the site, and that will be the basis of how we authenticate
staltz 10y ago
Cross device identity is still an issue, but not a problem in the foundation. It's a matter of making client apps (like Patchwork) recognize a message of type "link this and that account together" and then your friend's app would automatically follow both accounts and render them as if they are the same thing. It'll be done eventually in Patchwork.
- wesleytodd 10y ago
  Yeah that is what they were talking about when I was following the project. Once that is done in patchwork, I might try using it again.
  - staltz 10y ago
    It will be a must once mobile is launched, which I'm working on.
    - mysticmumble 10y ago
      Is it also possible to use multiple devices without leaking from which device each message was posted?
      - staltz 10y ago
        Well, yes and no. The log will show a different id (public key) which authored the message. But the device itself (iPhone or Google Nexus or whatever) doesn't need to be mentioned.
        mysticmumble 10y ago
        That could leak information a user doesn't want to be leaked, like at which hours he is at work (using the work computer) etc. Which id belongs to which device could probably be inferred when the service is used actively. I understand that transparency might not be a design goal or techinically possible, I'm just raising the concern. Can't I just share my private key across multiple devices?
        rattray 10y ago
        Those sound like pretty unavoidable, and often acceptable, drawbacks.
        staltz 10y ago
pfraze 10y ago
My role was to provide an applications perspective. I worked on UIs and data models. Dominic's the maker of the tech. I ended up removing the gif maker in one iteration because it was so frequently buggy. That was probably the worst call I made.
mundo 10y ago
Can you (or someone) clarify the difference between Patchwork and SSB? Does SSB handle the networking and discovery and encryption and whatnot, and Patchwork just acts as front-end for displaying diaries, connecting to pubs, posting and so forth?
- AljoschaMeyer 10y ago
  Patchwork is a user interface for displaying messages from the distributed database to the user, and to allow the user to add new messages. The underlying protocol supports arbitrary message types, patchwork exposes a UI for interacting with a subset of them. Anyone could write and use other UIs while still contributing to the same database. Patchbay[1] for example is a more developer-centric frontend. Under the hood, patchwork connects to a scuttlebot[2] server. Scuttlebot in turn is based on secure-scuttlebutt (ssb). [1] https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay [2] http://scuttlebot.io/ http://scuttlebot.io/
- password_reset 10y ago
  correct, patchwork is the UI, ssb is the database.
- pfraze 10y ago
  The downvotes on replies are baffling over here. Here's what AljoschaMeyer said, and it's all accurate: Patchwork is a user interface for displaying messages from the distributed database to the user, and to allow the user to add new messages. The underlying protocol supports arbitrary message types, patchwork exposes a UI for interacting with a subset of them. Anyone could write and use other UIs while still contributing to the same database. Patchbay[1] for example is a more developer-centric frontend. Under the hood, patchwork connects to a scuttlebot[2] server. Scuttlebot in turn is based on secure-scuttlebutt (ssb). [1] https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay [2] http://scuttlebot.io/ http://scuttlebot.io/
  - mundo 10y ago
    Thank you, I enabled [dead] and I too am baffled at why useful responses are getting killed. edit- they got unkilled.

wesleytodd 10y ago

Also, because Paul has awesome projects, and deserves some attention when a project of his makes it to the top of HN but doesn't even mention him, he is working on a browser for the distributed web called Beaker (I am using it to write this now), and it is awesome. https://github.com/beakerbrowser/beaker https://github.com/beakerbrowser/beaker

cowardlydragon 10y ago
very very cool. although forking a website so easily also makes spoofing very easy...
pfraze 10y ago
@cowardlydragon you got downvoted to death but that's a fair assumption so I want to reply to you here > forking a website so easily also makes spoofing very easy... A fork copies the files of a site, so yeah, it certainly would be easily to spoof somebody's site. It basically is a spoof button. But doing so creates a new cryptographic identity for the site, and that will be the basis of how we authenticate

staltz 10y ago

Cross device identity is still an issue, but not a problem in the foundation. It's a matter of making client apps (like Patchwork) recognize a message of type "link this and that account together" and then your friend's app would automatically follow both accounts and render them as if they are the same thing. It'll be done eventually in Patchwork.

wesleytodd 10y ago
Yeah that is what they were talking about when I was following the project. Once that is done in patchwork, I might try using it again.
- staltz 10y ago
  It will be a must once mobile is launched, which I'm working on.
  - mysticmumble 10y ago
    Is it also possible to use multiple devices without leaking from which device each message was posted?
    - staltz 10y ago
      Well, yes and no. The log will show a different id (public key) which authored the message. But the device itself (iPhone or Google Nexus or whatever) doesn't need to be mentioned.
      - mysticmumble 10y ago
        That could leak information a user doesn't want to be leaked, like at which hours he is at work (using the work computer) etc. Which id belongs to which device could probably be inferred when the service is used actively. I understand that transparency might not be a design goal or techinically possible, I'm just raising the concern. Can't I just share my private key across multiple devices?
        rattray 10y ago
        Those sound like pretty unavoidable, and often acceptable, drawbacks.
        staltz 10y ago

pfraze 10y ago

My role was to provide an applications perspective. I worked on UIs and data models. Dominic's the maker of the tech. I ended up removing the gif maker in one iteration because it was so frequently buggy. That was probably the worst call I made.

mundo 10y ago

Can you (or someone) clarify the difference between Patchwork and SSB? Does SSB handle the networking and discovery and encryption and whatnot, and Patchwork just acts as front-end for displaying diaries, connecting to pubs, posting and so forth?

AljoschaMeyer 10y ago
Patchwork is a user interface for displaying messages from the distributed database to the user, and to allow the user to add new messages. The underlying protocol supports arbitrary message types, patchwork exposes a UI for interacting with a subset of them. Anyone could write and use other UIs while still contributing to the same database. Patchbay[1] for example is a more developer-centric frontend. Under the hood, patchwork connects to a scuttlebot[2] server. Scuttlebot in turn is based on secure-scuttlebutt (ssb). [1] https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay [2] http://scuttlebot.io/ http://scuttlebot.io/
password_reset 10y ago
correct, patchwork is the UI, ssb is the database.
pfraze 10y ago
The downvotes on replies are baffling over here. Here's what AljoschaMeyer said, and it's all accurate: Patchwork is a user interface for displaying messages from the distributed database to the user, and to allow the user to add new messages. The underlying protocol supports arbitrary message types, patchwork exposes a UI for interacting with a subset of them. Anyone could write and use other UIs while still contributing to the same database. Patchbay[1] for example is a more developer-centric frontend. Under the hood, patchwork connects to a scuttlebot[2] server. Scuttlebot in turn is based on secure-scuttlebutt (ssb). [1] https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay https://github.com/ssbc/patchbay [2] http://scuttlebot.io/ http://scuttlebot.io/
- mundo 10y ago
  Thank you, I enabled [dead] and I too am baffled at why useful responses are getting killed. edit- they got unkilled.