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The beauty of decentralization means that ENS is not at the mercy of GoDaddy or eth.link. You can use an alternative open-source proxy like eth.limo[1], or use

The beauty of decentralization means that ENS is not at the mercy of GoDaddy or eth.link. You can use an alternative open-source proxy like eth.limo[1], or use Infura, Alchemy, or query the ENS endpoint through a local blockchain node. Frustratingly, the critics and mainstream reporting[2] has misrepresented this as some failure of decentralization, ENS, or Web3. Or, they just don't know how the system works. [1] https://eth.limo/ https://eth.limo/ [2] https://web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=ethlink-service-about-to-go-offline-because-domain-owner-is-in-prison https://web3isgoinggreat.com/?id=ethlink-service-about-to-go...

dcow 4y ago
Just like you can use my nameserver instead of cloudflare or google. The question is, do you trust me? I think the problem people are calling out is that the system’s web2 bridge heavily depends on a centralized trust point. It’s not damning but you have to admit it’s somewhat comical.
- bonestamp2 4y ago
  It might be funny to outsiders, but it's a well discussed topic in the web 3 community so it's no surprise to them -- it is something that they are constantly warning about and trying to find ways around. The funny part to me is that they used godaddy as their domain registry... like were they not around for all the godaddy bullshit over the past two decades?
  - dcow 4y ago
    Yes I understand people are not oblivious. It is funny how easily people trust but how little they verify.
  - Hamuko 4y ago
    >The funny part to me is that they used godaddy as their domain registry... like were they not around for all the godaddy bullshit over the past two decades? This problem was caused by the domain owner being in prison for helping North Korea evade sanctions. Perhaps some of these people do not have the greatest of judgement?
  - miohtama 4y ago
    As far as I know, eth.link had never any official status (I could be wrong). Users have been adviced to use alternative web fronts for some time now. What eth.link did or did not do was Virgil's side project.
- zeroclip 4y ago
  > system’s web2 bridge heavily depends on a centralized trust point Yes, this is how it works. If you use DNS to access blockchain data you are routing through a centralized point that might fail like in the OP. But the blockchain and ENS is unaffected, still as decentralized as ever, and anybody can query it’s data or build new providers on top of it. That’s how eth.limo, Infura, and others are able to provide infrastructure even when eth.link is down.
tremarley 4y ago
eth.limo isn't entirely reliable sadly, considering they decided to block tornado cash visitors.
- zeroclip 4y ago
  This is inevitable for any entity providing blockchain services, especially if they are US based, they will be forced to comply with the government's draconian sanctions. Users who want to circumvent US sanctions will be forced to run their own local blockchain node.
p4bl0 4y ago
Calling web3isgoinggreat "mainstream reporting" is… dubious. Also, being able to depend (for actual usage by real people, which is the case here otherwise this domain expiration wouldn't be a story worth mentioning: it wouldn't be a story at all) on another external third-party whom you have no control over is not what I would call "the beauty of decentralization"; and being able to switch provider does not prevent all the broken (and soon maybe worse than broken!) links that already exists everywhere.
- zeroclip 4y ago
  “Mainstream” by crypto and Twitter-mob standards. Actual mainstream reporters are not talking about ENS or eth.link. > depend on another external third-party whom you have no control over This is how current DNS works. In ENS, you can run your own node, or choose your blockchain node provider. Any platform building their infrastructure by permalinking to and depending on eth.link or another web2 service is setting themselves up for failure, and antithetical to the goals of web3. Thankfully most web3 users and services are not dependent on eth.link and recognize it is a centralized service.
  - p4bl0 4y ago
    > This is how current DNS works I know that, nobody pretend it's otherwise. > Thankfully most web3 users and services are not dependent on eth.link and recognize it is a centralized service. If that were the case we wouldn't have a story here.
    - zeroclip 4y ago
      There is no story here, except “an unreliable website that some people use as a proxy to the blockchain is finally down, so ENS suggests using another service.” Critics and Twitter mobs are trying to spin this into some kind of failure of ENS or Web3.
      - p4bl0 4y ago
        There is no story, yet here we are on one forum discussing this story in a 130 comments long thread while on the same forum the same story reported somewhere else is being discussed on that same forum with 50+ comments already, and this is far from being the only forum discussing the story that doesn't exist.

dcow 4y ago

Just like you can use my nameserver instead of cloudflare or google. The question is, do you trust me? I think the problem people are calling out is that the system’s web2 bridge heavily depends on a centralized trust point. It’s not damning but you have to admit it’s somewhat comical.

bonestamp2 4y ago
It might be funny to outsiders, but it's a well discussed topic in the web 3 community so it's no surprise to them -- it is something that they are constantly warning about and trying to find ways around. The funny part to me is that they used godaddy as their domain registry... like were they not around for all the godaddy bullshit over the past two decades?
- dcow 4y ago
  Yes I understand people are not oblivious. It is funny how easily people trust but how little they verify.
- Hamuko 4y ago
  >The funny part to me is that they used godaddy as their domain registry... like were they not around for all the godaddy bullshit over the past two decades? This problem was caused by the domain owner being in prison for helping North Korea evade sanctions. Perhaps some of these people do not have the greatest of judgement?
- miohtama 4y ago
  As far as I know, eth.link had never any official status (I could be wrong). Users have been adviced to use alternative web fronts for some time now. What eth.link did or did not do was Virgil's side project.
zeroclip 4y ago
> system’s web2 bridge heavily depends on a centralized trust point Yes, this is how it works. If you use DNS to access blockchain data you are routing through a centralized point that might fail like in the OP. But the blockchain and ENS is unaffected, still as decentralized as ever, and anybody can query it’s data or build new providers on top of it. That’s how eth.limo, Infura, and others are able to provide infrastructure even when eth.link is down.

tremarley 4y ago

eth.limo isn't entirely reliable sadly, considering they decided to block tornado cash visitors.

zeroclip 4y ago
This is inevitable for any entity providing blockchain services, especially if they are US based, they will be forced to comply with the government's draconian sanctions. Users who want to circumvent US sanctions will be forced to run their own local blockchain node.

p4bl0 4y ago

Calling web3isgoinggreat "mainstream reporting" is… dubious. Also, being able to depend (for actual usage by real people, which is the case here otherwise this domain expiration wouldn't be a story worth mentioning: it wouldn't be a story at all) on another external third-party whom you have no control over is not what I would call "the beauty of decentralization"; and being able to switch provider does not prevent all the broken (and soon maybe worse than broken!) links that already exists everywhere.

zeroclip 4y ago
“Mainstream” by crypto and Twitter-mob standards. Actual mainstream reporters are not talking about ENS or eth.link. > depend on another external third-party whom you have no control over This is how current DNS works. In ENS, you can run your own node, or choose your blockchain node provider. Any platform building their infrastructure by permalinking to and depending on eth.link or another web2 service is setting themselves up for failure, and antithetical to the goals of web3. Thankfully most web3 users and services are not dependent on eth.link and recognize it is a centralized service.
- p4bl0 4y ago
  > This is how current DNS works I know that, nobody pretend it's otherwise. > Thankfully most web3 users and services are not dependent on eth.link and recognize it is a centralized service. If that were the case we wouldn't have a story here.
  - zeroclip 4y ago
    There is no story here, except “an unreliable website that some people use as a proxy to the blockchain is finally down, so ENS suggests using another service.” Critics and Twitter mobs are trying to spin this into some kind of failure of ENS or Web3.
    - p4bl0 4y ago
      There is no story, yet here we are on one forum discussing this story in a 130 comments long thread while on the same forum the same story reported somewhere else is being discussed on that same forum with 50+ comments already, and this is far from being the only forum discussing the story that doesn't exist.