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The fastest way to fan out messages efficiently between a group is through one node that is always online. I think no decentralized architecture can be more eff

The fastest way to fan out messages efficiently between a group is through one node that is always online. I think no decentralized architecture can be more efficient compared to a centralized system. Again, a social network only needs to know whom to send your message to and need not know about the contents of the message, If USPS opened our letters, would we argue for a decentralized architecture where we individuals ourselves drove around delivering letters in our spare time? How were so many of us tricked into handing over so much control?

keville 12y ago
> The fastest way to fan out messages efficiently between a group is through one node that is always online. I am curious to know what you're basing this statement on --"Fast" and "efficient" are not necessarily related. (For instance, there seems to have been an explosion of decentralized message-queueing mechanisms available for coordinating distributed software systems. A centralized system can suffer from efficiency issues as easily as a decentralized one.)
- johnnewell 12y ago
  Routing messages between peers in a decentralized system need to take into account that both senders and receivers could be online and offline at multiple times. This means the storage location of the messages you are supposed to receive could change often, making retrieving messages a two step process, looking up the current online location and then retrieving messages. The place to lookup messages is fixed in a centralized system, hence you'll receive messages faster. This can definitely be sped up by increasing the number of times the messages are replicated in the decentralized system and a constant shuffling of the message between nodes to ensure it is always available for the receiver when they come online, hence inefficient.
  - keville 12y ago
    Thank you for your detailed and informative response!
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
kazinator 12y ago
In this case, the entity analogous to the USPS controls the paper, pen and stuffing of envelopes.

keville 12y ago

> The fastest way to fan out messages efficiently between a group is through one node that is always online. I am curious to know what you're basing this statement on --"Fast" and "efficient" are not necessarily related. (For instance, there seems to have been an explosion of decentralized message-queueing mechanisms available for coordinating distributed software systems. A centralized system can suffer from efficiency issues as easily as a decentralized one.)

johnnewell 12y ago
Routing messages between peers in a decentralized system need to take into account that both senders and receivers could be online and offline at multiple times. This means the storage location of the messages you are supposed to receive could change often, making retrieving messages a two step process, looking up the current online location and then retrieving messages. The place to lookup messages is fixed in a centralized system, hence you'll receive messages faster. This can definitely be sped up by increasing the number of times the messages are replicated in the decentralized system and a constant shuffling of the message between nodes to ensure it is always available for the receiver when they come online, hence inefficient.
- keville 12y ago
  Thank you for your detailed and informative response!
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]

kazinator 12y ago

In this case, the entity analogous to the USPS controls the paper, pen and stuffing of envelopes.