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> I'm very interested to see how far things can be decentralised. a lot in theory very little in practice

• bjelkeman-again 9y ago
  That isn't a a very popular opinion to hold on HN, as you may have noticed. I think that there is a strong faith in decentralisation and removing rules by many who frequent HN, that have yet to be proven to work well, if the goal is a higher living standard for as many people as possible as well as limiting damaging externalities.
  • joosters 9y ago
    I think there's many outright lies about decentralisation told in crypto circles. So many ethereum contracts turn out to have a central override that one party can control. 'Decentralised' systems often turn out to have a company in charge so that they can make money off of an app. Even blockchains are allegedly decentralised, and yet all it takes is a couple of mining pool owners to collaborate to gain overall control of the thing. Are there any real decentralised systems out there that couldn't be controlled or overruled by a few well-placed individuals working together?
    • CyberDildonics 9y ago
      You are mistaking a goal with claims that the goal has been 100% achieved. > Are there any real decentralised systems out there that couldn't be controlled or overruled by a few well-placed individuals working together? The internet is probably a good example.
      • joosters 9y ago
        The internet is a great example. I look forward to any cryptocurrency project getting anywhere close to such a thing. (And calling yourself 'web 3.0', like ethereum, does not count :) As for decentralisation 'goals', the difference is not clear. Decentralisation is the buzzword that the sector loves, but I haven't seen much in the way of progress towards it.