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People see the problem, but they have yet to see the solution. The solution to walled gardens is smart contracts platforms like Ethereum. People will eventually

People see the problem, but they have yet to see the solution. The solution to walled gardens is smart contracts platforms like Ethereum. People will eventually see this, but it'll take some time. Centralized organizations are NOT the future of the internet.

jstanley 8y ago
The solution is certainly decentralisation, but while there is a place for Ethereum, I don't think it lends itself well to every single problem.
- magnamerc 8y ago
  I agree, which is why I said platforms like Ethereum. Financial contracts are an important aspect of content creation and distribution.
stanleydrew 8y ago
I really shouldn't engage with this, but if you are suggesting that we will eventually have a "decentralized" version of Facebook that's built on something like Ethereum's smart contracts then I think you are placing too much weight on the probability that people care about decentralization.
- magnamerc 8y ago
  I'm placing a high probability that the UI/UX for these systems will improve drastically over the next decade, and that a decentralized FB will be more efficient and transparent than the current platform.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
First time I've seen HN-friendly keyword stuffing as an attempted defense against downvotes. Though I suspect you'll still be downvoted for complaining about downvotes (which is against the guidelines here).
- magnamerc 8y ago
  I removed it. Didn't know it was against the guidelines.
m-i-l 8y ago
Decentralised blockchain-based solutions either can't scale or aren't secure[0]. There may be some other more viable ways of (re-)decentralising the web though, e.g. Solid[1]. The problem I see with these is that they all seem to be a bit of a hassle for users, who aren't typically worried about the problems they try to address - so either the user experience has to be made as simple as opening a web site or installing an app, or vast amounts of users need to become worried about these problems (with the former being the path of least resistance). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilemma#In_blockchain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilemma#In_blockchain [1] https://solid.mit.edu/ https://solid.mit.edu/
- magnamerc 8y ago
  I'm a big fan of solid and I think it's an important piece in a decentralized architecture, however it's still just an informational layer. You need a blockchain for the financial layer. And I'm aware of the shortcomings of a blockchain w.r.t. scalability, but there are several trade-offs that can be made on-chain or off-chain that will result in higher throughputs.

jstanley 8y ago

The solution is certainly decentralisation, but while there is a place for Ethereum, I don't think it lends itself well to every single problem.

magnamerc 8y ago
I agree, which is why I said platforms like Ethereum. Financial contracts are an important aspect of content creation and distribution.

stanleydrew 8y ago

I really shouldn't engage with this, but if you are suggesting that we will eventually have a "decentralized" version of Facebook that's built on something like Ethereum's smart contracts then I think you are placing too much weight on the probability that people care about decentralization.

magnamerc 8y ago
I'm placing a high probability that the UI/UX for these systems will improve drastically over the next decade, and that a decentralized FB will be more efficient and transparent than the current platform.

SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago

First time I've seen HN-friendly keyword stuffing as an attempted defense against downvotes. Though I suspect you'll still be downvoted for complaining about downvotes (which is against the guidelines here).

magnamerc 8y ago
I removed it. Didn't know it was against the guidelines.

m-i-l 8y ago

Decentralised blockchain-based solutions either can't scale or aren't secure[0]. There may be some other more viable ways of (re-)decentralising the web though, e.g. Solid[1]. The problem I see with these is that they all seem to be a bit of a hassle for users, who aren't typically worried about the problems they try to address - so either the user experience has to be made as simple as opening a web site or installing an app, or vast amounts of users need to become worried about these problems (with the former being the path of least resistance). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilemma#In_blockchain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilemma#In_blockchain [1] https://solid.mit.edu/ https://solid.mit.edu/

magnamerc 8y ago
I'm a big fan of solid and I think it's an important piece in a decentralized architecture, however it's still just an informational layer. You need a blockchain for the financial layer. And I'm aware of the shortcomings of a blockchain w.r.t. scalability, but there are several trade-offs that can be made on-chain or off-chain that will result in higher throughputs.