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Is Web3 anything?

chris-granger.com

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Re: Is Web3 anything?

#321

Post by Karunamon »

qaq wrote: post #300
lui8906 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As a crypto skeptic, which I think is not fairly categorized as "hater," I think you're painting this in far too black and white terms.[1] "The current financial system is not great" and "cryptocurrency is not great" are not mutually exclusive propositions, right? They are not mutually exclusive. However often retorts to Web3 or DeFi are along the line of "I can receive my salary for free" or "I can send a bank tra…

You are pretending things like Revolut, Venmo, Zelle etc. do not exist. They are centralized but solve most things an avg. person dislikes about their bank services.

So, one bank and 2 transfer services with patchy compatibility? I disagree.

My bitcoin wallet isn't looking to trap me in a cycle of debt[1] if I run low on money; most banks are. My bitcoin wallet is auditable down to first mathematical principles, and will never steal my identity[2], create accounts in my name without my knowledge[3], etc. Nobody can cancel my access to my wallet because I said something politically incorrect[4] or because I tripped some opaque anti-fraud system.[5]

Banks are, as institutions normal people are expected to deal with at least, inherently exploitative and lack accountability.

[1]: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/20/overdraft-fees-hit-another-r...

[2]: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/bank-tellers-increasingly-in...

[3]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wells_Fargo_account_fraud_scan...

[4]: https://nypost.com/2019/05/25/jpmorgan-chase-accused-of-purg...

[5]: https://www.reddit.com/r/paypal/comments/niwiu1/paypal_took_...

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#322

Post by michaelt »

peoplefromibiza wrote: post #295
fnoof wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The example in the article had a way to enforce contract breaking - the person had to put up collateral until the work was done. There’s problems with that particular mechanism, but in general if contracts can automatically decrease someone’s money, reputation, access etc, they can do enforcement.

> the person had to put up collateral until the work was done So only the people with money can participate?

My new startup will loan you the non-fungible e-medallion you need to operate as a blockchain cab driver, in exchange for just 30% of your fares.

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#323

Post by taytus »

dikei wrote: post #276
padolsey wrote: post #167

People keep saying 'trustless', without realizing the upsetting and very real truth that no mechanism is trustless. Even if you can, if well informed, verify the cryptographic integrity of any communication or data, you are also relying on and trusting the device, UI, and OS that you're using (+myriad stacks, libs, protocols). You are relying on every single medium between you and whatever it is that's verifiable. Le…

I guess when people say `trustless`, it means that they don't have to trust every single elements of the chain between you and your target: if any steps of the chain acting untruthfully, it would be detected by other steps thanks to the protocol they're using. Of course, with enough failures in the link, anything can be compromised.

And it will. Imagine a world where, let’s say 20% of all online payments are via blockchains.

With enough meet in the bone, bad actors will show up.

How can anyone claim that it will not be vulnerabilities is beyond me.

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#324

Post by corobo »

CurrentB wrote: post #43

Nice read. What I don't get about all the crypto haters, who will probably make up the majority of replies here, are they really just happy with the status quo? Do they really think the current financial system is great and their online bank account is perfect and nothing radical is worth trying? That usernames and passwords given to each of a million different companies are so great, why would people want to manage…

> Do they really think the current financial system is great and their online bank account is perfect and nothing radical is worth trying?

Try, absolutely! New tech is fun tech!

The problem is it's not about the tech is it? Lets be honest. It's just people trying to milk it for cash right now. Once they've all got theirs it'll evolve into something useful or just sorta be there now like Bitcoin

Web3 tech, from my perspective, is people promoting profile pictures of bored apes, pirates, robots and (new to me) snowflakes with varying accessories on Twitter. It's like a ridiculously expensive version of Pokemon except you can't even fight them against each other. It's a bit of a joke currently, I hope someone finds a decent use case

In any case whether I'm right or wrong, NFTs and web3s are something I'm too poor to understand right now. It's like watching an orgy of millionaires taking money from each other and patting themselves on the back if you're on the outside haha. It's so weird to come across an "open" tech you can't afford to learn

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#325

Post by Nemi »

jolux wrote: post #9

All of the examples of having to trust the government in this article neglect the fact that trusting the government is not just trusting the government, and it’s not just the government storing a deed or giving you a Social Security Number that makes it real. It’s the whole complex web of laws and regulations that created these policies that make them real, and the people (your fellow citizens) who have collectively…

Web3.0 is just one big real world example of Chesterson’s Fence in action.

https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Chesterton%27s_Fence

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#326

Post by gandutraveler »

End users don't care about government trust or privacy as much as we would want them too. Had it been the case Signal would have already replaced Whatsapp. Unless Blockchain based product solves a real problem it would be hard to see larger adoption.

What makes it worse is most of the web3 products are always centered around coins, why do I need a coin to use a decentralized social network? It makes users feel like it's a financial scheme and early adopters have incentives to sell it.

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#327

Post by ModernMech »

ur-whale wrote: post #283
cormacrelf wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree, but as we speak Russia has amassed 150k+ troops on the Ukrainian border and Putin is waiting to see whether the West can apply enough sanctions to make the whole effort a net loss before he gives the green light on an invasion.

> before he gives the green light on an invasion And the reason why the USistan should entangle itself in that mess is ... what exactly?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budapest_Memorandum_on_Secur...

  The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances refers to three identical political agreements signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary on 5 December 1994 to provide security assurances by its signatories relating to the accession of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

  As a result, between 1994 and 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine gave up their nuclear weapons. Until then, Ukraine had the world's third-largest nuclear weapons stockpile
If the US convinced Ukraine to give up their nuclear weapons with the promise they would help fend off an invasion, and then proceeds to not help fend off an invasion, what do you think happens the next time the US asks a country to give up their nukes?

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#328

Post by hansonkd13 »

throwaway405769 wrote: post #307
qaq wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is crypto equivalent of think of the children.

The crypto equivalent of "think of the children" are the people who scream money laundering and ransomware. Sort of similar to people who used to oppose end-to-end encryption and TOR.

I think ToR is the worst example you can use. Good in theory? Yes. In practice it is pedophile and drug honeypot with exit nodes run my the government with limited legitimate actual people using it.

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#329

Post by kall »

timdaub wrote: post #206
CurrentB wrote: post #43

Nice read. What I don't get about all the crypto haters, who will probably make up the majority of replies here, are they really just happy with the status quo? Do they really think the current financial system is great and their online bank account is perfect and nothing radical is worth trying? That usernames and passwords given to each of a million different companies are so great, why would people want to manage…

My theory is that the people who shitpost about blockchain on HN every day do it for the same reasons as crypto people post positive things: We all want more money at the end of the day. Take this with a grain of salt, but I think all of this is about incentives. And so that stephendiehl.com fellow must have the same kind of stake in some technology as a crypto maximalist, but maybe directed elsewhere. There are enou…

It‘s a nice theory, but… what would that be? I can‘t really think of much. Sure a lot of us make money as web2 developers but we could switch to web3 without much issue. It wouldn‘t have a serious financial impact.

The people who are heavily invested in these technologies, like VCs, Banks, Social Networks, they all seem to love crypto.

Re: Is Web3 anything?

#330

Post by throwaway405769 »

seoaeu wrote: post #314
throwaway405769 wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More than 2 billions of people live in authoritarian regimes where the government rules exist only to oppress the population and make it more easily controlled. Bitcoin gives them the option to maintain their property rights, avoid financial surveillance and money controls. Saying that crypto is only used for ponzi schemes is simply false and disingenuous.

You didn’t actually point to any evidence that a meaningful number of those 2 billion people actually benefit from crypto.

What is a meaningful number of people for your highness?
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