Demo: Fully P2P and open source Reddit alternative

Post by magpi3 » Tue, Jun 06, 2023, 10:45 AM UTC

dom96 wrote: post #62

Every time I see social media recreated in a decentralised fashion I realise why the successful ones are centralised. The loading times of this are dreadful and I don't see how you'll be able to solve that problem when you're relying on P2P. In any case, it sounds like we'll be getting many new Reddit clones so I may as well plug what I've built recently: a Reddit alternative API that is free. Check it out if you're…

Post by krageon » Tue, Jun 06, 2023, 11:47 AM UTC

pwdisswordfishc wrote: post #155

shakna wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't really find Mastodon that slow. I do think it's got a lot, lot of sharp edges that need smoothing out before it's really viable. But speed isn't a problem, and it's decentralised.

Nitter page: full page layout with all text loads in about half a second, images load in the next three https://nitter.it/rauschma Mastodon page: requires unblocking JavaScript, takes one second just to load the basic layout (without post contents), then takes four to ELEVEN seconds to fully load https://fosstodon.org/@rauschma I expected better.

Post by bheadmaster » Tue, Jun 06, 2023, 12:02 PM UTC

nine_k wrote: post #202

bheadmaster wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Mastodon is not P2P/decentralized Mastodon is decentralized, because there is no central server. However, it is not distributed .

It is both decentralized and distributed. It's not P2P though, it's a hub-and-spokes architecture with several interconnected (federated) hubs. Hubs can have decent uptime and thick internet connections. Hubs are relatively few so they replicate state quickly between themselves, and then more locally between spokes when they come online. Most natural structures are more tree-form, like that.

Post by wuiheerfoj » Tue, Jun 06, 2023, 12:22 PM UTC

bheadmaster wrote: post #205

nine_k wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is both decentralized and distributed. It's not P2P though, it's a hub-and-spokes architecture with several interconnected (federated) hubs. Hubs can have decent uptime and thick internet connections. Hubs are relatively few so they replicate state quickly between themselves, and then more locally between spokes when they come online. Most natural structures are more tree-form, like that.

That just depends on how you define "distributed". If it means "running on multiple machines", then even centralized protocols are distributed, since a part of the computation is running on your computer. In context of protocols like Mastodon, if the end-user devices aren't primary holders of data, then I don't call it distributed. It's just decentralized. I guess that way, "distributed" necessarily implies peer-to-p…

Post by dom96 » Tue, Jun 06, 2023, 12:54 PM UTC

drbscl wrote: post #204

dom96 wrote: post #195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not at the minute. I might open source it in the future, especially if I get a cease and desist. Though hopefully even if it comes to that someone like the EFF will help me fight it.

Not a lawyer, but it's probably a bad idea to open-source something _after_ getting a C&D for it