4 ms·

What is the point of an NFT if you can just copy the artwork and use for free!?!? A painting you know its the original piece and can never be replicated in the

What is the point of an NFT if you can just copy the artwork and use for free!?!? A painting you know its the original piece and can never be replicated in the same manner....but this is 1s and 0s....exact copies are perfectly identical..

spiderice 5y ago
Wait until you learn that an NFT doesn't even contain the 1s and 0s. It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time.
- bko 5y ago
  > It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time. I don't think that's true. It contains an address that some centralized database says points to an image on someone's server. I don't think the URL or reference to the image sits anywhere on the blockchain, maybe some characteristics like the name. But I think its just a pointer to nothing. Is there any blockchain project that is effective at storing actual data, like a distributed file system?
  - MacsHeadroom 5y ago
    Yes, Filecoin is the big one. The URI stored on the Ethereum Blockchain for an NFT is almost always an IPFS URI. IPFS is the cache layer on top of Filecoin. https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/ https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/
    - ipaddr 5y ago
      Which is a link to the image outside of the blockchain. "The data exists in the network as long as one user is storing it and can provide it to others when they request it"
      - ShamelessC 5y ago
        What happens if that person dies?
        perl4ever 5y ago
        "Who would want to do that? It sounds unpleasant." https://xkcd.com/908/ https://xkcd.com/908/
  - lazzlazzlazz 5y ago
    Many NFT projects store all the image data on Arweave[1], which stores it permanently on a blockchain built for this purpose. Unfortunately, you won't hear about the tech on Hacker News — just cynical takes. [1]: https://www.arweave.org/ https://www.arweave.org/
    - perl4ever 5y ago
      But that image data...is fungible, isn't it?
    - tata71 5y ago
      This is technically cool — as are other projects in the space I won't link here — but still misses the point of NFTs being way broader than art. They're just crypto-assets. Full stop.
- doopy1 5y ago
  Some NFTs are completely on-chain.
jameslk 5y ago
I didn't understand either until a friend of mine who makes these explained this to me: NFTs are being used more for social status signaling and as passes to exclusive clubs/parties. For example some celebrities are buying them to signal their eliteness. So their value is not in the art itself, but to convey to others your rank in the pecking order. Think of it like a digital Gucci bag. Besides that, mostly just speculation and money laundering.
Anon1096 5y ago
Owning a Bored Ape gets you access to the club. It's not just about owning a picture, though people with a hard on for hating them love to describe it as such.
- uwagar 5y ago
  what are the benefits of membership of this club?
  - geoduck14 5y ago
    >what are the benefits of membership of this club? Let me list several. You are in it. Others are not. Tea at noon. Parking up front. There! We have 4 GREAT reasons! /s
    - uwagar 5y ago
      oh i thought of 5.0. circle jerk to the bored ape at the next club meeting :)
- joezydeco 5y ago
  https://www.theverge.com/22824387/bored-ape-yacht-club-nft-party-new-york https://www.theverge.com/22824387/bored-ape-yacht-club-nft-p...
- perl4ever 5y ago
  In a world of six figure Bored Apes, is ok to like Thomas Kinkade paintings now? https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Thomas-Kinkade-A-Case-Study-In-Kitsch-2955480.php https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Thomas-Kinkade-...

spiderice 5y ago

Wait until you learn that an NFT doesn't even contain the 1s and 0s. It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time.

bko 5y ago
> It contains a URL to the 1s and 0s that are stored on someones server, and can be taken down at any time. I don't think that's true. It contains an address that some centralized database says points to an image on someone's server. I don't think the URL or reference to the image sits anywhere on the blockchain, maybe some characteristics like the name. But I think its just a pointer to nothing. Is there any blockchain project that is effective at storing actual data, like a distributed file system?
- MacsHeadroom 5y ago
  Yes, Filecoin is the big one. The URI stored on the Ethereum Blockchain for an NFT is almost always an IPFS URI. IPFS is the cache layer on top of Filecoin. https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/ https://docs.filecoin.io/about-filecoin/ipfs-and-filecoin/
  - ipaddr 5y ago
    Which is a link to the image outside of the blockchain. "The data exists in the network as long as one user is storing it and can provide it to others when they request it"
    - ShamelessC 5y ago
      What happens if that person dies?
      - perl4ever 5y ago
        "Who would want to do that? It sounds unpleasant." https://xkcd.com/908/ https://xkcd.com/908/
- lazzlazzlazz 5y ago
  Many NFT projects store all the image data on Arweave[1], which stores it permanently on a blockchain built for this purpose. Unfortunately, you won't hear about the tech on Hacker News — just cynical takes. [1]: https://www.arweave.org/ https://www.arweave.org/
  - perl4ever 5y ago
    But that image data...is fungible, isn't it?
  - tata71 5y ago
    This is technically cool — as are other projects in the space I won't link here — but still misses the point of NFTs being way broader than art. They're just crypto-assets. Full stop.
doopy1 5y ago
Some NFTs are completely on-chain.

jameslk 5y ago

I didn't understand either until a friend of mine who makes these explained this to me: NFTs are being used more for social status signaling and as passes to exclusive clubs/parties. For example some celebrities are buying them to signal their eliteness. So their value is not in the art itself, but to convey to others your rank in the pecking order. Think of it like a digital Gucci bag. Besides that, mostly just speculation and money laundering.

Anon1096 5y ago

Owning a Bored Ape gets you access to the club. It's not just about owning a picture, though people with a hard on for hating them love to describe it as such.

uwagar 5y ago
what are the benefits of membership of this club?
- geoduck14 5y ago
  >what are the benefits of membership of this club? Let me list several. You are in it. Others are not. Tea at noon. Parking up front. There! We have 4 GREAT reasons! /s
  - uwagar 5y ago
    oh i thought of 5.0. circle jerk to the bored ape at the next club meeting :)
joezydeco 5y ago
https://www.theverge.com/22824387/bored-ape-yacht-club-nft-party-new-york https://www.theverge.com/22824387/bored-ape-yacht-club-nft-p...
perl4ever 5y ago
In a world of six figure Bored Apes, is ok to like Thomas Kinkade paintings now? https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Thomas-Kinkade-A-Case-Study-In-Kitsch-2955480.php https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Thomas-Kinkade-...