Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Web3 is a stupid idea

timdaub.github.io

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 220 posts

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#51

Post by divs1210 »

semicolon_storm wrote: post #25
devmunchies wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> web3 is just the web where the backend is something on the blockchain even more broad, i think web3 is just where the database is decentralized. blockchain is one solution.

If it's just when the database is decentralized, why even call it web3? Why should web standards even care about implementation details of the database? We didn't move to "web3" when db sharding became a big thing, or when NoSQL caught on.

Because this is fundamentally different?

No third party owns your data. Imagine a social network built like this.

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#52

Post by thaumasiotes »

pphysch wrote: post #24
gfodor wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

HN comments that use the word "never" should raise eyebrows. You're not wrong if you assume technology is fixed. But it ain't.

Right, and we will eventually choose to forgo toilets and defecate in the streets again, because "never say never". Please address my argument instead of this unconstructive purity-testing nonsense.

> Right, and we will eventually choose to forgo toilets and defecate in the streets again, because "never say never".

It's happened in the past; why would you rule it out in the future?

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#53

Post by X6S1x6Okd1st »

It was only this year that I actually got excited about Ethereum specifically because of what "web3" enables.

Yes it's a dumb name, and this article certainly doesn't cover all of the issues, shit just look at the confirmation page for metamask, it literally just asks you if you want to spend X to submit a byte array. No link to the contract, the method you are calling, any avaliable adudits etc.

But if you as a reader have any passing interest I'd really encourage you to check out what's happening in the space, the thing that got me excited was the permissionlessness and composability.

Going to uniswap, locking up some funds in an AMM and then depositing that elsewhere to liquidity farm shows off the composability, then the fact that you can see it all tracked on a dashboard like zapper.fi or debank.com really drives the point home.

Word of warning, Ethereum it's self is now so clogged up with NFTs and people constantly arbitraging or performing liqudiations that it's far too expensive to play around with. There is plenty of cheaper EVM based chains though, like Fantom or Polygon

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#54

Post by amznthrwaway »

cam0 wrote: post #6

I think it's poorly named. It's not a new major version of the web. Forget the fact that the vast majority of the web's users don't care about decentralization vs. centralization even a single bit. People will continue to mindlessly use WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Coinbase because decentralization is not a concern for _most_ users. Most users of these apps just want to socialize with friends and family,…

“Mindlessly” connect with their friends, family, and people who share their interests.

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#55

Post by rvz »

Did the author just forget about the attempted corporate take over of .org? [0]. Blockchains like Ethereum are part of the solution which help prevent something like that from happening.

They're not at the stage to be usable yet but it seems that is where we are going. It just takes more de-platformings, bans, hostile takeovers, suspensions etc to accelerate the need for this.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22122458

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#56

Post by fiddlerwoaroof »

overgard wrote: post #49

So I've never heard of this term until now, but actually, I can think of a use case for this I kind of like. So, pretty much daily I get linked to an article on a paywalled site that wants me to subscribe or get a free trial. And I always click away, I'm not going through the hassle of email verification or putting in my credit card for a 2 minute read. But if this supported something like "pay 25 cents to read this…

Blendle also solves this problem, but it’s a bit higher friction.

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#57

Post by reidjs »

tmcw wrote: post #43
dnpp123 wrote: post #32

Sadly not sure the ecosystem is mature enough for any kind of standardization yet.

Ethereum is, what, 6 years old. Metamask has been in development for 5 years. Bitcoin is 12 years old. Bitcoin is older than React.js. Ethereum has been around for as long as TikTok. Uber was founded in the same year as Bitcoin and has essentially destroyed a worldwide industry. At some point these things aren't young or early, they're just stupid.

What point are you making here? Just because they haven't destroyed a worldwide industry in 5 or 6 years they are stupid?

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#58

Post by jollybean »

derefr wrote: post #42
devmunchies wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> web3 is just the web where the backend is something on the blockchain even more broad, i think web3 is just where the database is decentralized. blockchain is one solution.

Sure; I would describe the technical requirement for something to be "web3" as: • data storage and/or backend computation taking place in/on a decentralized / distributed-locus-of-control system, • where these systems are exposed directly to browsers via regular-web HTTP gateways, • and where there are well-defined general APIs (these being the "web3" APIs) such that these gateways are interchangeable in the access t…

And this is the 'technical requirement' that solves what problem, that people actually need solved?

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#59

Post by vmoore »

Web3 is hardly stupid (it's actually very clever). The name if off-putting more than anything. When I think of Web 3.0, I think of augmented reality, every physical thing having its own QR code which you can look up easily with a smartphone. And if the thing is too small, it could have a chip in it that communicates with NFC and you could learn more about your environment.

We're still sort of there, but the dream of QR & NFC codes for everything hasn't been fleshed out yet. Web 3.0 could also be simply an assortment of apps? I think we need more app stores, not the two monopolies we have currently (Play and Apple Store).

The dream of having everything happen in the browser could die if it wanted. No more trying to makes sites have an 'appy' feel which has been the main agenda for well over the last decade and a half now.

Re: Web3 is a stupid idea

#60

Post by beambot »

tmcw wrote: post #43
dnpp123 wrote: post #32

Sadly not sure the ecosystem is mature enough for any kind of standardization yet.

Ethereum is, what, 6 years old. Metamask has been in development for 5 years. Bitcoin is 12 years old. Bitcoin is older than React.js. Ethereum has been around for as long as TikTok. Uber was founded in the same year as Bitcoin and has essentially destroyed a worldwide industry. At some point these things aren't young or early, they're just stupid.

Technologies mature at different rates. ARPAnet was created in the 1960s. www was created in 1989. Yahoo & Netscape were started in 1994. Foundational infrastructure is rarely explosive in growth.

It's also unclear how you're measuring success. By market cap, Bitcoin beats out all three of your examples (React, TikTok, & Uber). But it's also a bit weird to compare Bitcoin to two of the fastest growing consumer companies in recent memory. It's apples & oranges.

Post reply on HN