3 ms·

Not really that distributed given that everything is controlled by 'hubs/isps' which are within arms reach for any government within their borders. The interne

Not really that distributed given that everything is controlled by 'hubs/isps' which are within arms reach for any government within their borders. The internet was built for fail-over to maintain communicatoin during a nuclear event. The internet is less concerned about being a p2p network, which it clearly is not. A totally ad-hoc p2p network would be interesting, and more resiliant in some ways and lossy in others. It probably makes sense to entertain such a model. They aren't mutually exclusive. Totally agree with you though. It's a big problem with the _increased amount of centralization_ in traffic flow / routing. That and BGP is wack.

rodolphoarruda 4y ago
To me, the idea of shutting down Internet via ISPs or international backbones is similar to blowing up your own house with TNT when a robber breaks into it. You stop the robbery, but your family pays the price as well. Shutting down the Internet will disrupt not only people's communications but also systems' communications at various levels, including the systems of interest of the oppressive, of his/her family or political allies. It would be so much easier and safer to the group in power to just "maneuver" bigtech instead. I remember when Facebook's general manager in the country I live was arrested[1], then blackmailed, to provide authorities means for them to access WhatsApp messages without confiscating the actual phones. Fast forward today, they are confiscating phones whenever they feel like reading private messages from anyone[2]. I liked how other folks reacted to my original comment posting their technical view. I didn't know DNS was such a weak link and a clear point of failure to the Internet. I wonder if protocols like BitTorrent could survive DNS restrictions, allowing people to communicate via shared text files thrown within a folder. My guess is that since it has survived the copyright crisis back then, it could be used for other crisis as well. Frankly, I'm just suspecting. [1] https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/brasil/executivo-do-facebook-no-brasil-foi-preso-por-nao-quebrar-sigilo-do-whatsapp/ https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/brasil/executivo-do... [2] https://jc.ne10.uol.com.br/colunas/jamildo/2022/08/15065135-empresarios-apoiadores-de-bolsonaro-levam-notificacao-da-justica-por-causa-de-grupo-no-whatsapp-entenda.html https://jc.ne10.uol.com.br/colunas/jamildo/2022/08/15065135-...

rodolphoarruda 4y ago

To me, the idea of shutting down Internet via ISPs or international backbones is similar to blowing up your own house with TNT when a robber breaks into it. You stop the robbery, but your family pays the price as well. Shutting down the Internet will disrupt not only people's communications but also systems' communications at various levels, including the systems of interest of the oppressive, of his/her family or political allies. It would be so much easier and safer to the group in power to just "maneuver" bigtech instead. I remember when Facebook's general manager in the country I live was arrested[1], then blackmailed, to provide authorities means for them to access WhatsApp messages without confiscating the actual phones. Fast forward today, they are confiscating phones whenever they feel like reading private messages from anyone[2]. I liked how other folks reacted to my original comment posting their technical view. I didn't know DNS was such a weak link and a clear point of failure to the Internet. I wonder if protocols like BitTorrent could survive DNS restrictions, allowing people to communicate via shared text files thrown within a folder. My guess is that since it has survived the copyright crisis back then, it could be used for other crisis as well. Frankly, I'm just suspecting. [1] https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/brasil/executivo-do-facebook-no-brasil-foi-preso-por-nao-quebrar-sigilo-do-whatsapp/ https://jornaldebrasilia.com.br/noticias/brasil/executivo-do... [2] https://jc.ne10.uol.com.br/colunas/jamildo/2022/08/15065135-empresarios-apoiadores-de-bolsonaro-levam-notificacao-da-justica-por-causa-de-grupo-no-whatsapp-entenda.html https://jc.ne10.uol.com.br/colunas/jamildo/2022/08/15065135-...