Firechat and nearby communication

#1

Post by firehosed » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 7:36 PM UTC

Firechat and nearby communication
breizh-entropy.org

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#2

Post by firehosed » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 7:38 PM UTC

Browse to FireChat's domain here[0] for a complete view of the "Everyone" chat in your client IP's region.

[0] https://opengarden.com:4176/

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#3

Post by kylelibra » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 9:23 PM UTC

I downloaded this a few months back hoping that in NYC there would be enough user density to make it useful, but it seems I was too early. Interesting use case that protesting would be using it.

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#4

Post by cowsandmilk » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 9:53 PM UTC

Despite what the author continually says, the interface does not say "Real Name" in the author's screenshots. As far as I have heard, no one has been prevented from having an account due to a "Real Name" policy. This is in stark contrast to Facebook, the major player in the "Real Name" game.

I don't like Firechat requiring a signup, but the facts of what is required should not be confused. Pseudonymous use appears to be accepted.

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#5

Post by ethans92 » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 10:08 PM UTC

kylelibra wrote: post #3

I downloaded this a few months back hoping that in NYC there would be enough user density to make it useful, but it seems I was too early. Interesting use case that protesting would be using it.

Would definitely be interesting to see it being used for entertainment purposes. But it appears its a "last resort" kind of app, especially with Hong Kong's situation.

If people are growing more and more concerned with privacy that could be the nudge. Or if they offered something standard SMS cannot (speed, feature, etc.)

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#6

Post by niutech » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 11:06 PM UTC

As an open source alternative, have a look at the Project Serval http://www.servalproject.org/

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#7

Post by hyyypr » Sun, Oct 05, 2014, 11:54 PM UTC

niutech wrote: post #6

As an open source alternative, have a look at the Project Serval http://www.servalproject.org/

This seems long dead, also didn't find a link to the source code.

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#8

Post by wfunction » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 12:09 AM UTC

Something I don't understand: can someone explain why FireChat needs an account when it doesn't require internet access?

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#9

Post by golemotron » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 12:30 AM UTC

I'd like to see someone make an app which only works in the nearby mode and requires no registration.

Re: Firechat and nearby communication

#10

Post by rektide » Mon, Oct 06, 2014, 1:01 AM UTC

wfunction wrote: post #8

Something I don't understand: can someone explain why FireChat needs an account when it doesn't require internet access?

I believe an accounts basically stores your public key on their servers, so other people can verify with FireChat who it is that sent the message.

In an offline context, you'd be able to get a lot of messages and tell that it's the same person talking, but you'll have no way to see whether that really is the person or not. FireChat's public key servers allow those with access to see- according to FireChat- who is talking.