Live data from Hacker News

The Web3 Fraud

usenix.org

21–30 of 377 posts

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#21

I don’t understand what problem web3 can solve that a trusted entity cannot. And let’s keep in mind your reply to this comment will be using a trusted entity. In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

> In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

For many use cases, BitTorrent is a superior file distribution mechanism compared to centralized alternatives.

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#22

I don’t understand what problem web3 can solve that a trusted entity cannot. And let’s keep in mind your reply to this comment will be using a trusted entity. In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

Hot take: The proponents of decentralized systems feel disenfranchised by those who own and govern centralized systems, therefore decentralized systems are their way around what they consider injustice. It is a grasp for control and power where they feel they have none. They don’t feel they have a seat at the table, so they argue for building their own table, which is, naturally, “superior” to the existing table (why…

[deleted]

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#23

I don’t understand what problem web3 can solve that a trusted entity cannot. And let’s keep in mind your reply to this comment will be using a trusted entity. In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

Establishing yourself as a trusted entity is a huge barrier to entry. Decentralized, trustless systems allow small teams with little to no money achieve things that only institutions and heavily funded companies could do in the past. Technologies like blockchain are a great accelerator for innovations in this area and will also spark a new category of use cases that weren't possible before.

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#24
post #11

I don’t understand what problem web3 can solve that a trusted entity cannot. And let’s keep in mind your reply to this comment will be using a trusted entity. In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

I will mint NFTs of your comment, $300 pop so anybody who wants to prove you wrong can do so by buying the NFT of your comment that will surely age well. :) /s

Wouldn't that NFT point to a comment on a central service though? Or would the NFT contain the actual comment itself?

Is there a difference between buying a "comment on HN" and the text of that comment?

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#25
post #13

Many criticisms of blockchain apps, comparing their use cases to conventional technologies (databases, conventional separation of services such as that described in the article, etc) all seem to miss a major point: Dapps running on the blockchain are immutable and highly resistant to being shutdown. Immutability is important because it's guaranteed that no matter how many times you interact with a contract address, y…

I get mostly the same features with self-hosted and local traditional apps for a fraction of the price and much lower general financial risk as well.

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#26

I don’t understand what problem web3 can solve that a trusted entity cannot. And let’s keep in mind your reply to this comment will be using a trusted entity. In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

> In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

Torrents?

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#27
The reason I'm hyped about crypto (which in this article seems to be incorrectly equated to "web3") is because of the new possibilities it brings. The reason I put my money into stupid shit in crypto is because I don't know if it will work or not, but I'm excited to know if it will. Some of it does, most doesn't. I learn, progress has been made.

Imagine a whole new continent is discovered, and all the people back home are criticizing those who go there because it's not particularly safe at the moment, and look how warm and cozy they could be back in civilization.

No one's asking you to go to web3, stay here if you like. Hell, I found out today there's still people using gopher. There's room for all of us.

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#28

I don’t understand what problem web3 can solve that a trusted entity cannot. And let’s keep in mind your reply to this comment will be using a trusted entity. In fact in the history of the internet I cannot find a single example of any technology working better in a decentralized fashion compared to centralized for the end user

Hot take: The proponents of decentralized systems feel disenfranchised by those who own and govern centralized systems, therefore decentralized systems are their way around what they consider injustice. It is a grasp for control and power where they feel they have none. They don’t feel they have a seat at the table, so they argue for building their own table, which is, naturally, “superior” to the existing table (why…

I think this is a toxic way to look at it. Casting it as "they", you're implicitly condoning partisanship/tribalism and putting people into bins. Discussions around this would be guaranteed to be vile and full of hatred. Not just from "your" side, but "they" will also see you in the same way.

As technologists, we ought to be better than this. Think about this like we do with on-prem vs cloud. It is decentralization vs. centralization, but far more muted and less political. We should approach this with a mature contemplation, not cheap tribalism.

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#29
post #10

This article misses the point, it sees web3 decentralization as purely technical and makes performance comparisons with existing systems. The power of web3 decentralization is about control, not more powerful computing. Yes your raspberry pi runs faster than the EVM, but can you give me any guarantee about what code it runs?

Why can't you verify the code you run locally?

Re: The Web3 Fraud

#30
This has got to be trolling. Almost every point is nonsense or at best uninformed vitriol. I literally don't know where to start with a comment so I'll just make a series of points related to claims in the article.

Nobody has ever claimed that you can run normal computer programs on the Ethereum blockchain. It isn't meant to run fucking Doom. Smart-contracts are more like financial protocols.

Blockchains are a form of database but they are not meant to store large amounts of data. That's more a job for IPFS.

Ethereum is migrating to a layered architecture and users are meant to stay on Layer 2's which provide substantially cheaper transactions.

I'm a fan of cryptocurrencies because I think there should be a spectrum of centralization decentralization. If someone wants to stay centralized then fine but I should be able to handle my own money without a bank. I also believe that cryptocurrencies reduce financial friction and overhead. Taking donations is as simple as posting your public address. Taking payments means just integrating a library in your application instead of signing up with a service.

I'm a fan of NFTs because I think people should have ownership of digital items. I think if I pay money for Hearthstone cards then I should be able to sell them on my own terms just like Pokemon cards in real life.

Post reply on HN