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The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

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Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#51

Post by natrius »

shiro wrote: post #46
natrius wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You got it. Push a new client that supports both chains to users with enough time before the switch for people to upgrade.

Technical curiosity---if I use such a client, and two block chains disagree (on, say, some history that affects the current operation), then won't I end up choosing and sticking one?

Yep! At that point, the problem isn't a blockchain-specific one, it's a more general problem of reconciling conflicting truths. A common, trivial solution is to rank sources of truth.

Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#53

Post by em3rgent0rdr »

Threat is poor word choice. If blockchains don't provide good distributed service, then they simply won't be used, in which case they aren't much a threat. Maybe author should have use the thesis that blockchains aren't the end-all-be-all of the distributed internet.

Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#54

Post by hulahoof »

curried_haskell wrote: post #45
jflatow wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And who is 'everyone'? Who decides who the next iteration of 'everyone' is?

The majority of participants in the Bitcoin network? Or the majority of its computing power? This is a major worrying part about Bitcoin. Would it be really that difficult for a nation-state level player to buy enough capacity on the network to take it over?

Only if they were not competing against other nation-states

Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#55

Post by nickpsecurity »

stcredzero wrote: post #50
Animats wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An EC2 instance is probably too much for one user. The model here is Wordpress, which is easy to install and widely used, even in its distributed form. Of course, what's happened is that more and more Wordpress sites run on centralized Wordpress. Compare: "wordpress.com" (hosted): "Create your new website for free. WordPress.com is the best place for your personal blog or business site. Create Website (button)" "word…

How about a Docker instance?

Compare setting up Docker and Wordpress to what Animats just said. Then you'll know why that's hilarious. You've managed to move the problem from one piece of software to another.

Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#56

Post by CyberDildonics »

TazeTSchnitzel wrote: post #31
CyberDildonics wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There seems to be a pretty big leap in logic from 'using a blockchain' to 'infeasible for anyone except google'. You do realize that an internationally roaming cell phone data plan can sync with the blockchain right?

At ludicrous cost, yes.

Is $70 ludicrous because that is what T-Mobile's US plan with international roaming costs. They did that 2 years ago, I don't know what is available now.

Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#58

Post by dilemma »

natrius wrote: post #8
goldbrick wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What part isn't true, specifically? We are dependent on blockchain miners, because without them our transactions don't get accepted. Moreover we have a couple established big players that control the market and no clear way for them to get disrupted, save abandoning Bitcoin entirely. Blockchains are much more than receipt paper. Receipt paper is a superfluous byproduct. The blockchain is the system of record.

This is untrue: "Because blockchain is consensual, after a certain point of centralization, the rules of the system depend on very few users." If a blockchain has rules that don't meet my needs, I can choose a different blockchain. If I adopt a blockchain that changes its rules to be undesirable, I can take the history I care about and move it to another blockchain. This argument depends on proof-of-stake. Some peopl…

If you're not happy with Facebook you can create your own social network.

Re: The blockchain is a threat to the distributed future of the Internet

#60

Post by dilemma »

em3rgent0rdr wrote: post #53

Threat is poor word choice. If blockchains don't provide good distributed service, then they simply won't be used, in which case they aren't much a threat. Maybe author should have use the thesis that blockchains aren't the end-all-be-all of the distributed internet.

No, what the post is saying is that power will be consolidated among a very small number of very large players. The system won't be distributed but relatively centralized.
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