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Web3 Is Bullshit

stephendiehl.com

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Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#81

Post by salawat »

md2020 wrote: post #65
toomuchtodo wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is this what the struggles of the transition from scarcity to post scarcity looks like? Building systems that simulate scarcity to generate the illusion of value and to front run that value?

I don’t understand how a post-scarcity society would even be desirable. For things like art and music, their creators need to be able to command a price on their creations. The digitization of these things removes their scarcity and essentially makes them function as a public good, making it impossible to set a price on them that will support the artist. If there’s no way for digital artists to support themselves, th…

>making it impossible to set a price on them that will support the artist.

What part of post-scarcity don't you understand? Money doesn't matter. Post-scarcity.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#82

Post by KarlKemp »

maccolgan wrote: post #80
throwoutway wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I like how even the most educated and experienced people in the world can't bother to read the bitcoin whitepaper with no reservations. I get your sarcasm, but the bitcoin paper has little to do with the EVM and smart contracts except as a foundational idea. Either way, I’m inclined to agree with the beautiful sarcasm the OP posted. Trustless doesn’t make it more valuable than the trusted systems that we already ha…

>but the bitcoin paper has little to do with the EVM and smart contracts except as a foundational idea I am not claiming the bitcoin whitepaper has anything to do with EVM, but it explains why a trustless, digital currency is needed and how it can be implemented. It predates real cryptocurrencies, so it can read easier without references to cryptocurrencies that exist today. The author has demonstrated incredible ign…

He does understand. It’s for the people that manage to grow into adulthood without realizing that Ayn Rand was a terrible hack. “Trustless” sounds like a good idea to these most boring of cynics who consider anything but ruthless short-sighted egotism to be weakness or naïveté, all institutions to be corrupt (with the same magnitude of “totally”), and the only debate to be had is if it’s the Wall Street Jews, Hilary Clinton, or all women that are ruining their lives.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#83

Post by KarlKemp »

diveanon wrote: post #64
c-cube wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Away from centralization and straight into energy inefficient pyramidal schemes.

Thank you for that insightful and not at all cliche response.

It’s a cliché because it’s true. Just pointing out that it has been true for a long time doesn’t change its truth.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#84

Post by KarlKemp »

yannoninator wrote: post #23
jazzyjackson wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t understand the use of “conflict of interest” here, the author is expressing an opinion, plainly explaining which “side” they are on, no other context required. It’s not as if the author is trying to pass legislation or close a business deal without disclosing how they’ll benefit. Like my sibling says, that the author puts their money where their mouth is by placing bets against crypto only makes their opinion…

Wouldn't a media interview or someone debating Diehl be even more credible? The public can make their minds up when presented with both sides of the argument rather than one side on Twitter.

People are free to post opposing arguments wherever they want, including this thread. So far, they have come up with a few ad hominems, three invocations of “socialism” none of which come close to the concept, and complaints that their side isn’t being given a chance to respond.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#85

Post by KarlKemp »

mattdesl wrote: post #62
leifg wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just want the common man to see crypto for what it really is with a balanced debate or interview, not just a blog post that only 'nerds' reads as Diehl states. I've been following this space for a while and honestly I don't see how a counterpart would actually look like. We had blockchains/crypto for almost 13 years and the only thing that came out of it is a speculative semi-unregulated asset market. Still Forbe…

Considering BTC's network uptime has been about 99.9% for over a decade, I'd say the "here to stay" articles may have been relatively accurate? (I don't care much for BTC, though I do feel a narrow scope of its usage will probably persist in some fashion for many more years.) > Show me one blockchain application that has nothing to do with virtual assets that not only turns a profit but is provably more efficient tha…

That, like everything else in the space, breaks at the point where anything of non-virtual value needs to be returned to the buyers/investors/etc. That just happens to be impossible unless you allow for trusted people observing and certifying a part of reality. So they basically came up with a set of “crypto assets” to trade using the “crypto currencies”. Of course those are more or less the same concepts with different labels. Still, it feels so much more real to buy a virtual something with your virtual money than just exchanging it for other virtual money.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#86

Post by UncleMeat »

scottiebarnes wrote: post #40
Barrin92 wrote: post #12

"The Ethereum virtual machine has the equivalent computational power of an Atari 2600 from the 1970s except it runs on casino chips that cost $500 a pop and every few minutes we have to reload it like a slot machine to buy a few more cycles. That anyone could consider this to be the computational backbone to the new global internet is beyond laughable. We’ve gone from the world of abundance in cloud computing where t…

To me this is rhetoric that conveniently ignores the sole advantages of blockchain and distributed computing. Blockchains don't exist to be fast, efficient, or scalable. They exist to be decentralized, permissionless, and censorship resistant. > People are trying to move from a world in which compute resources are efficient and almost limitless to a world of scarcity because they want to build an economic system wher…

> Netflix and Youtube aren't moving their hosting to the blockchain.

I see people claim, basically constantly, that the blockchain will be the source of all such content in the future and that this will free people from youtube's tyranny or whatever.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#87

Post by UncleMeat »

shiohime wrote: post #45
leifg wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question: what has private key authentication to do with blockchain? I've been using this for my ssh connections for almost 15 years now. And the second question: what happens if you use your private key? Every website that uses password has a mechanism to reset your password. Take that feature away you'll lock out millions of users.

Yeah PKI has been around of course for a long time and is a core facet to how the web functions today. The private key authentication I'm referring to is because wallet extensions allow for users to connect their wallet to applications, as a method of authentication. You don't even have to have funds in your wallet to perform this authentication, you just need a wallet. If you lose your private key, you're probably o…

> You don't even have to have funds in your wallet to perform this authentication, you just need a wallet.

OK. This was literally 100% possible and functioned in 100% the same way a decade ago. A wallet address is just a public key for which you control the private key. Literally nothing about this requires blockchains. When you sign up for a service you say "here is my public key" and then you sign a message providing that you have the private key for that public key to authenticate in the future. Where is the blockchain?

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#88

Post by shiohime »

UncleMeat wrote: post #87
shiohime wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah PKI has been around of course for a long time and is a core facet to how the web functions today. The private key authentication I'm referring to is because wallet extensions allow for users to connect their wallet to applications, as a method of authentication. You don't even have to have funds in your wallet to perform this authentication, you just need a wallet. If you lose your private key, you're probably o…

> You don't even have to have funds in your wallet to perform this authentication, you just need a wallet. OK. This was literally 100% possible and functioned in 100% the same way a decade ago. A wallet address is just a public key for which you control the private key. Literally nothing about this requires blockchains. When you sign up for a service you say "here is my public key" and then you sign a message providi…

It's just really easy to use and easier authentication than any scheme I've worked with before. If you want to try it out yourself, it's easy and only takes a few minutes to try out, I recommend it if you're really curious. Just download metamask and connect your wallet to opensea or some other nft marketplace. Once you connect that's registering for the site and you can play around with the functionality on the site afterwards.

The blockchain is involved for you to be able to make transactions and execute smart contracts, which take your wallet public key and signed message as inputs. So yeah you could use a traditional web app and the only thing you are using is this wallet for authentication purposes if you want, but most apps using this approach are going to natively interact with the blockchain, whether it's a financial app, gaming app, whatever. They're going to be inseparably part of the experience.

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#89

Post by unmole »

Barrin92 wrote: post #12

"The Ethereum virtual machine has the equivalent computational power of an Atari 2600 from the 1970s except it runs on casino chips that cost $500 a pop and every few minutes we have to reload it like a slot machine to buy a few more cycles. That anyone could consider this to be the computational backbone to the new global internet is beyond laughable. We’ve gone from the world of abundance in cloud computing where t…

> The Ethereum virtual machine has the equivalent computational power of an Atari 2600

Is there a source for the computational power of the ethereum VM?

Re: Web3 Is Bullshit

#90

Post by phamilton »

blablabla123 wrote: post #41
throwaheyy wrote: post #5

Good, someone finally put it into words. It’s only crypto-bros who are trying to push “web3” as even a “thing”. Kind of like Zuckerberg and the metaverse. Their delusions of grandeur are so great as to warrant an increment in the web’s metaphorical major version number, but nobody else gives a shit.

It's like when years ago it was speculated that web 3.0 might be a semantic web or some IoT web. I guess both technologies have some strong niches now but what drives everything is still web 2.0 and native apps that wrap any extra features. But I'm sure the crypto-everything hype will still be there for some time.

I liked the IoT web as web 3.0

  Web 1.0 - The internet of information
  Web 2.0 - The internet of people
  Web 3.0 - The internet of things
That was a clear progression that was easy to understand.
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