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Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

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Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#301

Post by thebean11 »

otherfiftycents wrote: post #264
thebean11 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't see how "ask Google / the government to tell me the identities of its customers" could be seen as a positive of the current system for 99% of cases. Especially given that Google likely won't even have the information, especially for an account created to commit serious crimes warranting NSA snooping or legal intervention. Just like creating a private key, you don't need a SSN or a passport to create a Go…

> I feel like you are intentionally ignoring the dangers of SSO tied to a company that can unilaterally delete your account, and has little incentive to unlock it or even let you plead your case. I feel like you are intentionally ignoring the dangers of crossing a road where there is a higher probability of dying than a FAANGM deleting your account.

Not sure I understand the argument, everything with a lower probability than dying is not worth fixing? If you are in higher risk groups (journalist, critical of Google, using virtual phone numbers etc) is the probability still low?

Account deletion is not the only risk, it's also privacy (Google knows what you sign into and when) and a myriad other advantages (native payments being the obvious one).

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#302

Post by kingcharles »

thebean11 wrote: post #92
endisneigh wrote: post #84

So what happens when you get phished with Web3? If the value of all crypto goes down 10% YoY why would you use it? The author makes a bunch of silly assumptions: > We need some way of saying “who we are” on the internet in a consistent manner. That way we can communicate with others in a verified way and associate with digital data that we own. We also often need that data to be interoperable between different web pr…

Identities on Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are not portable. They can permanently ban you and you lose access to every single service you used them to authenticate to. Private keys are portable between wallets.

I lost access to my Google account because I was away too long, and therefore all the accounts it was tied to.

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#303

Post by tim333 »

I'm curious. The main thing he's pitching seems to be logging in with Metamask or similar with I guess the 'username' equivalent being a public key and you verify it with a private key. This tech has been around a while, since 2017 at least. I still have Metamask and keys in my browser from speculating on tokens back in the day.

Do any mainstream sites let you log in that way? Any plans for Metamask login on HN?

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#304

Post by blitzar »

jdlshore wrote: post #11

Several years ago, Mozilla/Firefox created "Persona," which was an open-source federated identity system that provided all the benefits described here. The idea was that it would eventually be built into browsers. I used it on a commercial site myself for many years. It failed to gain traction, and Mozilla eventually pulled the plug. Persona had many advantages over the Web3 vision described in this article. It was p…

Despite these advantages, MySpace failed. I don't see how facebook, with so many disadvantages compared to MySpace, could possibly succeed.

fwiw I agreee, but first to market is often first to fail.

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#305

Post by betwixthewires »

threeseed wrote: post #239
lmm wrote: post #225

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OAuth helps but it still forces you to rely on a single central provider as your "root". So it's not a complete solution.

> still forces you to rely on a single central provider as your "root" So what ? I am still struggling to understand what immediate and painful need users have with trusting Apple, Facebook, Google etc with their identity. If people had some issue with this then users would simply not use OAuth and default to creating an account for each service they use.

> If people had some issue with this then users would simply not use OAuth and default to creating an account for each service they use.

Do you really believe this? Plenty of people use services they don't particularly like because it's better than the alternative or they have an immediate need. I know lots of people who didn't want to use zoom but needed to, have a Facebook account to keep up with family even though they'd rather not, etc.

Plenty of people would love an option that works as easy as oauth but doesn't lock them to a FAANG provider. Just because they use it when there's not another option doesn't mean they wouldn't use another option if it existed.

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#306

Post by yingliu4203 »

I believe the key issue of debate is that people ignored the context: "Many people, including myself, believe that the individual should be able to own their own identity."

The cryptocurrency and decentralization are possible because some people believe and live on those ideas. For those who don't care, bitcoin is $0 or worse: a Ponzi scheme. For those who believe in it, the goal is to own one's id, data and money, and collaborate without a big company or a central government.

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#307

Post by thebean11 »

otherfiftycents wrote: post #264
thebean11 wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just don't see how "ask Google / the government to tell me the identities of its customers" could be seen as a positive of the current system for 99% of cases. Especially given that Google likely won't even have the information, especially for an account created to commit serious crimes warranting NSA snooping or legal intervention. Just like creating a private key, you don't need a SSN or a passport to create a Go…

> I feel like you are intentionally ignoring the dangers of SSO tied to a company that can unilaterally delete your account, and has little incentive to unlock it or even let you plead your case. I feel like you are intentionally ignoring the dangers of crossing a road where there is a higher probability of dying than a FAANGM deleting your account.

From elsewhere in this thread:

> I lost access to my Google account because I was away too long, and therefore all the accounts it was tied to.

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#308

Post by lamontcg »

ladyattis wrote: post #298
mattlondon wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Yeah I think it is mostly businesses that think this is a huge problem to solve to have identities matched across everything seamlessly. Your comment just gave me a thought - just imagine the online advertisers using this for tracking purposes! At the risk of spreading FUD, it would not surprise me to learn that perhaps this web3 thing is being fuelled/funded by the existing crop of online advertising networks or t…

It's much like the Shadowrun SIN system. Anyone who was SIN-less basically didn't exist in the Shadowrun world. It meant you couldn't get housing, reliable work, food, or medicine. Basically, you were a nobody and everyone made sure you knew it. Similarly, mailing addresses have had similar effects in society and now not having a permanent digital presence will become another barrier to block people who found themsel…

Credit scores.

Re: Real Problems That Web3 Solves, Part 1

#310

Post by danielmarkbruce »

kiernanmcgowan wrote: post #50

All of these decentralization arguments make me think of early git: >Every Git clone is a full-fledged repository with complete history and full revision tracking capabilities, not dependent on network access or a central server... http://web.archive.org/web/20080821113906/http://git-scm.com... Sure git can be used without the need to have have a central server, but everything became so much simpler with github and o…

not just Git. Email. Money (used to be issued by individual banks). Internet infrastructure. The web. Everything goes centralized.... because... it's easier. And humans seem to show over and over again, easier wins.
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