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I understand what scuttlebutt does. What I don't understand is why. What kind of information benefits from decentralization? The only answer I can think of is c

I understand what scuttlebutt does. What I don't understand is why. What kind of information benefits from decentralization? The only answer I can think of is child porn.

lowdose 6y ago
You never benefited from a torrent? Never used popcorn time?
- arkanciscan 6y ago
  So, it's just for illegal stuff?
  - black_puppydog 6y ago
    my gosh... yes, just like torrents are only good for illegal stuff... my goodness...
  - ChristianBundy 6y ago
    Of course not. The point (for me) is that it's truly owned by it's users and it never goes down.
detaro 6y ago
Anything you don't want to be at the whims of a central service shutting down/changing their policies/...? Using a system centered around identity and immutable records for illegal things would be quite stupid.
- arkanciscan 6y ago
  I can already host my own blog and have it safe from the whims of a central service. I'd like to hear more about how this is tied to identify, but the immutability is my main concern with regard to illegal activity. Once your daughters nudes are leaked on scuttlebutt how do you get them taken down?
  - davefp 6y ago
    > I can already host my own blog and have it safe from the whims of a central service. Depends which central service. You aren't beholden to social media companies at that point, but you still have to: * play by the rules of your ISP (If you're hosting on your home connection) * trust that your hosting service won't arbitrarily turf you out * make sure that your domain is safe from unauthorized transfers, sudden price increases, etc. If the convenience and ease-of-use of current systems is worth those downsides (And for many, it is!) then fine. But it's not entirely accurate to say that you're safe from any central service. To your second point, legality shouldn't be the final word. There are lots of governments with laws that are either actively or inadvertently used to silence dissenting opinions, or used to root out various undesirables. "You can do crime easier using it" isn't a great argument IMO.
  - TimJRobinson 6y ago
    That's great that you live in a free country that allows you to host your own blog. If you lived in China and your blog was critical of the Chinese government you'd soon see how easy it is for your blog to be shut down. Decentralization is the antidote to totalitarian creep. Sure it's only a few countries that are authoritarian today, what happens if most of the world goes that way? Will your blog still be safe then? IRT leaked nudes - The feeds in scuttlebutt are immutable but blobs of data are not. If only you and your friends have a blob, and you request them to delete it and they do so, then no one else will be able to retrieve it or access it ever again because no one has a copy. This is the same as if the nudes were leaked any other way online. Others will still see that you posted a blob because it's hash is in your immutable feed, but they won't be able to retrieve it.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
Jtsummers 6y ago
Why use git when we could use SVN? Decentralization removes the need for synchronization with a central system (self-owned or otherwise). It allows for more methods of interaction and independence.
TimJRobinson 6y ago
You might like https://adecentralizedworld.com/2020/03/why-decentralization/ https://adecentralizedworld.com/2020/03/why-decentralization...

I understand what scuttlebutt does. What I don't understand is why. What kind of information benefits from decentralization? The only answer I can think of is child porn.

lowdose 6y ago

You never benefited from a torrent? Never used popcorn time?

arkanciscan 6y ago
So, it's just for illegal stuff?
- black_puppydog 6y ago
  my gosh... yes, just like torrents are only good for illegal stuff... my goodness...
- ChristianBundy 6y ago
  Of course not. The point (for me) is that it's truly owned by it's users and it never goes down.

detaro 6y ago

Anything you don't want to be at the whims of a central service shutting down/changing their policies/...? Using a system centered around identity and immutable records for illegal things would be quite stupid.

arkanciscan 6y ago
I can already host my own blog and have it safe from the whims of a central service. I'd like to hear more about how this is tied to identify, but the immutability is my main concern with regard to illegal activity. Once your daughters nudes are leaked on scuttlebutt how do you get them taken down?
- davefp 6y ago
  > I can already host my own blog and have it safe from the whims of a central service. Depends which central service. You aren't beholden to social media companies at that point, but you still have to: * play by the rules of your ISP (If you're hosting on your home connection) * trust that your hosting service won't arbitrarily turf you out * make sure that your domain is safe from unauthorized transfers, sudden price increases, etc. If the convenience and ease-of-use of current systems is worth those downsides (And for many, it is!) then fine. But it's not entirely accurate to say that you're safe from any central service. To your second point, legality shouldn't be the final word. There are lots of governments with laws that are either actively or inadvertently used to silence dissenting opinions, or used to root out various undesirables. "You can do crime easier using it" isn't a great argument IMO.
- TimJRobinson 6y ago
  That's great that you live in a free country that allows you to host your own blog. If you lived in China and your blog was critical of the Chinese government you'd soon see how easy it is for your blog to be shut down. Decentralization is the antidote to totalitarian creep. Sure it's only a few countries that are authoritarian today, what happens if most of the world goes that way? Will your blog still be safe then? IRT leaked nudes - The feeds in scuttlebutt are immutable but blobs of data are not. If only you and your friends have a blob, and you request them to delete it and they do so, then no one else will be able to retrieve it or access it ever again because no one has a copy. This is the same as if the nudes were leaked any other way online. Others will still see that you posted a blob because it's hash is in your immutable feed, but they won't be able to retrieve it.

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

Jtsummers 6y ago

Why use git when we could use SVN? Decentralization removes the need for synchronization with a central system (self-owned or otherwise). It allows for more methods of interaction and independence.

TimJRobinson 6y ago

You might like https://adecentralizedworld.com/2020/03/why-decentralization/ https://adecentralizedworld.com/2020/03/why-decentralization...