5 ms·

For the current incarnation of this site: I uploaded something and am able to download it. Cool. My question is: Who is paying for it?

X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
https://support.siasky.net/key-concepts/faqs#how-long-does-data-remain-on-skynet https://support.siasky.net/key-concepts/faqs#how-long-does-d... Uploading files to Skynet is free, but without a user account, most portals will store your files for a minimum of 3 months. Storage expenses are paid by Skynet Portals, which use a cryptocurrency called Siacoin on the Sia network. Portal operating costs are paid by operators, but we encourage users to support portal operators, developers, and content creators by signing up for a user account. Like many crypto currencies the current operation is heavily funded by subsidy from minted coins.
- jeroenhd 5y ago
  Aaaaand it's a crypto scheme. It always has to be crypto schemes.
  - mekster 5y ago
    And your point is?
  - lachstar-x 5y ago
    Damn those crypto schemes that give away free usable file storage and bandwidth! Making it easier to share files on the internet, grr!
    - viraptor 5y ago
      The same thing would be cheaper to operate without the crypto backend. And it wouldn't raise the awareness/price for Sia.
      - X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
        Why do you believe it'd be cheaper. Currently the price for storing on sia looks really good.
        viraptor 5y ago
        In the long run, it's always going to be higher than what companies dealing with storage services. First, because of effects of scale, second, because of the overhead of dealing with the crypto layer / extra network costs.
        argvargc 5y ago
        Possible but doubtful. Check market price history - the overheads of dealing with crypto are historically tiny compared to the profits of being forced to hold any.
        X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
        At time of writing storing a TB for a month is ~10 usd. That looks to be cheaper than s3
        carlhjerpe 5y ago
        Wasabi is 5$ per TB and month.
        viraptor 5y ago
        S3 does a 1000 things on top of data storage. It will always be a more expensive option to compare to. Try wasabi as mentioned or backblaze B2.
      - Taek 5y ago
        I don't think you can run a service like Skynet without a crypto backend. It does a _lot_ more than something like IPFS. It can keep files online without needing the original uploader or any user to actively seed them (uses a storage marketplace instead), among other significant features.
  - argvargc 5y ago
    "Skin in the game" is a working solution to combatting abuse/spam in decentralised systems. Due to regulation, it's not possible to build such solutions without crypto.
- ericflo 5y ago
  As someone who used to run a Skynet portal and no longer does because it was costing me too much money: no, it's not funded by subsidy from minted coins. Right now portals pay for the hosting of the files as a charitable service to the community. In the future, portals will charge users directly for extra features (with U.S. dollars!) Some portals may be operating less out of charity, and more out of a desire to build mindshare about their portal in hopes of translating that mindshare into future revenue via subscriptions.
  - X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
    Ah I was being too broad, I assume that the skynet portal runs off of mint subsidy, but other portals not so much. Thanks for taking the time and eating the costs to provide a portal even temporarily. Are you still interested in the project? Any thoughts on other storage coins?
    - ericflo 5y ago
      Even the main skynet portal doesn't run off a mint subsidy - it's funded by VC money instead :) No problem on running a portal! It was fun to be part of it for a while. I may run one again in the future once it's a bit more sustainable. I'm still interested in the project - I think we still haven't scratched the surface of what something like Skynet is capable of. That said, I'm a little less optimistic than others. I think it's going to be a long road to relevance.
  - Taek 5y ago
    > In the future, portals will charge users directly for extra features They already do! https://account.siasky.net/ https://account.siasky.net/ - paid plans starting at $5/mo giving you access to higher speeds and long term pinning.

X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago

https://support.siasky.net/key-concepts/faqs#how-long-does-data-remain-on-skynet https://support.siasky.net/key-concepts/faqs#how-long-does-d... Uploading files to Skynet is free, but without a user account, most portals will store your files for a minimum of 3 months. Storage expenses are paid by Skynet Portals, which use a cryptocurrency called Siacoin on the Sia network. Portal operating costs are paid by operators, but we encourage users to support portal operators, developers, and content creators by signing up for a user account. Like many crypto currencies the current operation is heavily funded by subsidy from minted coins.

jeroenhd 5y ago
Aaaaand it's a crypto scheme. It always has to be crypto schemes.
- mekster 5y ago
  And your point is?
- lachstar-x 5y ago
  Damn those crypto schemes that give away free usable file storage and bandwidth! Making it easier to share files on the internet, grr!
  - viraptor 5y ago
    The same thing would be cheaper to operate without the crypto backend. And it wouldn't raise the awareness/price for Sia.
    - X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
      Why do you believe it'd be cheaper. Currently the price for storing on sia looks really good.
      - viraptor 5y ago
        In the long run, it's always going to be higher than what companies dealing with storage services. First, because of effects of scale, second, because of the overhead of dealing with the crypto layer / extra network costs.
        argvargc 5y ago
        Possible but doubtful. Check market price history - the overheads of dealing with crypto are historically tiny compared to the profits of being forced to hold any.
        X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
        At time of writing storing a TB for a month is ~10 usd. That looks to be cheaper than s3
        carlhjerpe 5y ago
        Wasabi is 5$ per TB and month.
        viraptor 5y ago
        S3 does a 1000 things on top of data storage. It will always be a more expensive option to compare to. Try wasabi as mentioned or backblaze B2.
    - Taek 5y ago
      I don't think you can run a service like Skynet without a crypto backend. It does a _lot_ more than something like IPFS. It can keep files online without needing the original uploader or any user to actively seed them (uses a storage marketplace instead), among other significant features.
- argvargc 5y ago
  "Skin in the game" is a working solution to combatting abuse/spam in decentralised systems. Due to regulation, it's not possible to build such solutions without crypto.
ericflo 5y ago
As someone who used to run a Skynet portal and no longer does because it was costing me too much money: no, it's not funded by subsidy from minted coins. Right now portals pay for the hosting of the files as a charitable service to the community. In the future, portals will charge users directly for extra features (with U.S. dollars!) Some portals may be operating less out of charity, and more out of a desire to build mindshare about their portal in hopes of translating that mindshare into future revenue via subscriptions.
- X6S1x6Okd1st 5y ago
  Ah I was being too broad, I assume that the skynet portal runs off of mint subsidy, but other portals not so much. Thanks for taking the time and eating the costs to provide a portal even temporarily. Are you still interested in the project? Any thoughts on other storage coins?
  - ericflo 5y ago
    Even the main skynet portal doesn't run off a mint subsidy - it's funded by VC money instead :) No problem on running a portal! It was fun to be part of it for a while. I may run one again in the future once it's a bit more sustainable. I'm still interested in the project - I think we still haven't scratched the surface of what something like Skynet is capable of. That said, I'm a little less optimistic than others. I think it's going to be a long road to relevance.
- Taek 5y ago
  > In the future, portals will charge users directly for extra features They already do! https://account.siasky.net/ https://account.siasky.net/ - paid plans starting at $5/mo giving you access to higher speeds and long term pinning.