4 ms·

The pitch deck is shiny and all, but you still haven't explained what blockchain has to do with any of it?

mimixco 5y ago
Thank you. Since it's not a primary function of the app, we don't dwell on it online. The biggest stuff is in the language doc. In a simple scenario, every edit you make to a document is recorded individually and hashed with the hash of the previous edit. This forms the chain. The chain itself can be stored anywhere. It's useless if you don't have the document. But if you do have the document or any fragment, you can instantly tell what version you have and if it has any differences from the original -- without seeing the original.
- CarelessExpert 5y ago
  > TIn a simple scenario, every edit you make to a document is recorded individually and hashed with the hash of the previous edit. This forms the chain. You've just described a degenerate Merkle tree. > The chain itself can be stored anywhere. Then it's not a blockchain. A blockchain involves combining a Merkle tree with a distributed, trustless consensus algorithm. Otherwise Git would be described as a blockchain and I don't think anyone refers to it that way. At least, not with a straight face.
  - mimixco 5y ago
    I appreciate that definition. In this scenario, however, we're going for the Wikipedia or original meaning of blockchain: "A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked together using cryptography." The only use we have for this technology is the growing list of records linked by cryptographic hashes. We are not interested in consensus algorithms and they don't form part of our system. The blockchain aspect of our product isn't any pixie dust. It isn't even necessary. Think of it like power windows. We don't sell the car because it has power windows. Many users of our software (the powerful, pixie dust part being our MSL language) won't give a whit about blockchain and we don't sell or emphasize it on our website. So I see where you're coming from, but in this case, we're coming from a little bit different place.
    - CarelessExpert 5y ago
      I can't help but feel you're cherrypicking from the Wikipedia definition to fit your own need. If you read past the summary to the actual meat of the article you'll find that: > A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and oftentimes public, digital ledger consisting of records called blocks that is used to record transactions across many computers so that any involved block cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. You've just admitted your solution is neither decentralized nor distributed. By no common definition does it meet the description of a "blockchain" and I genuinely wonder why you persist in using the term, as it's at best misleading. It sure appears to be in service of pure marketing. Which, hey, marketing is necessary! I get that. But, in the context of this conversation, citing your project as proof that blockchains have practical applications when it doesn't appear to use a blockchain in any meaningful sense strikes me as pretty disingenuous.
      - mimixco 5y ago
        I assure you as a professional putting my business reputation on the line that nothing in any of our materials or claims is disingenuous. We're just not that kind of company. Caveat emptor, for sure. Like I said, the proof is always in the product itself much more than in anything I say. The Wikipedia article goes on to (incorrectly) attribute the blockchain to Nakamoto when the idea was well known in comp sci before Bitcoin showed up. Our use is, indeed, both decentralized and distributed. I mentioned earlier that the record of hashes is often kept offsite and can be used by a non-trusted third party (who doesn't have access to the documents) to perform the kind of document verification I'm talking about.

Thank you. Since it's not a primary function of the app, we don't dwell on it online. The biggest stuff is in the language doc. In a simple scenario, every edit you make to a document is recorded individually and hashed with the hash of the previous edit. This forms the chain. The chain itself can be stored anywhere. It's useless if you don't have the document. But if you do have the document or any fragment, you can instantly tell what version you have and if it has any differences from the original -- without seeing the original.

CarelessExpert 5y ago
> TIn a simple scenario, every edit you make to a document is recorded individually and hashed with the hash of the previous edit. This forms the chain. You've just described a degenerate Merkle tree. > The chain itself can be stored anywhere. Then it's not a blockchain. A blockchain involves combining a Merkle tree with a distributed, trustless consensus algorithm. Otherwise Git would be described as a blockchain and I don't think anyone refers to it that way. At least, not with a straight face.
- mimixco 5y ago
  I appreciate that definition. In this scenario, however, we're going for the Wikipedia or original meaning of blockchain: "A blockchain is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked together using cryptography." The only use we have for this technology is the growing list of records linked by cryptographic hashes. We are not interested in consensus algorithms and they don't form part of our system. The blockchain aspect of our product isn't any pixie dust. It isn't even necessary. Think of it like power windows. We don't sell the car because it has power windows. Many users of our software (the powerful, pixie dust part being our MSL language) won't give a whit about blockchain and we don't sell or emphasize it on our website. So I see where you're coming from, but in this case, we're coming from a little bit different place.
  - CarelessExpert 5y ago
    I can't help but feel you're cherrypicking from the Wikipedia definition to fit your own need. If you read past the summary to the actual meat of the article you'll find that: > A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and oftentimes public, digital ledger consisting of records called blocks that is used to record transactions across many computers so that any involved block cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. You've just admitted your solution is neither decentralized nor distributed. By no common definition does it meet the description of a "blockchain" and I genuinely wonder why you persist in using the term, as it's at best misleading. It sure appears to be in service of pure marketing. Which, hey, marketing is necessary! I get that. But, in the context of this conversation, citing your project as proof that blockchains have practical applications when it doesn't appear to use a blockchain in any meaningful sense strikes me as pretty disingenuous.
    - mimixco 5y ago
      I assure you as a professional putting my business reputation on the line that nothing in any of our materials or claims is disingenuous. We're just not that kind of company. Caveat emptor, for sure. Like I said, the proof is always in the product itself much more than in anything I say. The Wikipedia article goes on to (incorrectly) attribute the blockchain to Nakamoto when the idea was well known in comp sci before Bitcoin showed up. Our use is, indeed, both decentralized and distributed. I mentioned earlier that the record of hashes is often kept offsite and can be used by a non-trusted third party (who doesn't have access to the documents) to perform the kind of document verification I'm talking about.