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An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

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Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#81

Post by afavour »

bko wrote: post #79
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

> which isn't replicating an existing financial instrument [available to the developed world] while trying to avoid the eyes of the [benevolent] state Not everyone has access to Venmo or free checking accounts. And not every behavior the state is trying to restrict is nefarious.

Sure, and if “web3” was sold as “banking for those who cannot use normal banking” and “worthy transactions you want to hide from the state” then I think a lot fewer people would have a negative perception of it. But it isn’t.

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#82

Post by practice9 »

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

Blockchain isn't even central in Web3, but it surely helps.

Web3 = decentralized identity, full data and connection graph ownership by user, reputation transfer, verification via zero knowledge proofs, support for VR/AR and 3D objects.

All of this stuff is either in prototype or draft phase, but it's ok. These things need to be built to stop horror stories on HN about "algorithm justice" and "data kingdoms”:

- Google accidentaly bans your 10+ year old Gmail account that is a huge part of your online identity, oops. You can't access your important data or reach support if you can't make this situation a huge deal on HN, Reddit or Twitter

- Facebook or Twitter locks your account because you added a new sentence to your About you section

- LinkedIn reads your messages and makes sure you can't automate responses to recruiters, locks your account if you reply in a generic way

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#83

Post by koboll »

WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

>It doesn't help that I personally have yet to see a use for a blockchain which isn't replicating an existing financial instrument while trying to avoid the eyes of the state.

I mean, there's a domain name system. There are various games. There was recently a high-profile crowdfunded attempt to buy an artifact at auction. Feel free to be skeptical of all of these, but what's the point of posting that you "haven't seen" anything legitimate if you're unwilling to exert a bare minimum level of effort to research other use cases?

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#84

Post by PretzelPirate »

One interesting misrepresentation is this: “ Several innovations in distributed consensus design make Solana’s performance possible.”

Solana’s consensus protocol isn’t responsible for its performance, it’s the fact that they mandate higher performing machine SKUs and at least 500Mbs (recommending 1Gbs) internet speeds. They also had to largely centralizing and have around 1000 validators. Ethereum’s fees and performance are due to a push for decentralization instead of cranking up the max gas per block to a level that wouldn’t be feasible for someone at home to run a node.

I’m not sure why I’d use a blockchain that’s very close to being a centralized service. That’s the worst of both worlds, you don’t have censorship resistance you get with Ethereum and you don’t get the consumer protections you get with fully centralized services.

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#85

Post by doopy1 »

koboll wrote: post #83
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

>It doesn't help that I personally have yet to see a use for a blockchain which isn't replicating an existing financial instrument while trying to avoid the eyes of the state. I mean, there's a domain name system. There are various games. There was recently a high-profile crowdfunded attempt to buy an artifact at auction. Feel free to be skeptical of all of these, but what's the point of posting that you "haven't see…

BuT tHis is AlL PosSiBLe wIth eXisTInG TechNoloGY!!

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#86

Post by chrisfrantz »

practice9 wrote: post #82
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

Blockchain isn't even central in Web3, but it surely helps. Web3 = decentralized identity, full data and connection graph ownership by user, reputation transfer, verification via zero knowledge proofs, support for VR/AR and 3D objects. All of this stuff is either in prototype or draft phase, but it's ok. These things need to be built to stop horror stories on HN about "algorithm justice" and "data kingdoms”: - Google…

Sure, but that’s replaced with user’s being in control of their identity (permanently).

Lose your keys, you’re out of luck and locked out of who knows how many applications permanently.

It might be fine for us, but just think of the less technically inclined folks in your life. Are they going to remember a 32 word phrase or use a password manager for a key?

And what happens if they’re hacked? If google detects your account is hacked, you may be able to salvage it.

If someone nabs your wallet, they get access to however many apps you have set up along with whatever funds you have in there.

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#87

Post by DreamWalker1 »

v_london wrote: post #16

Thanks for the great article! I wished the section on DeFi addressed the biggest elephant in the room, overcollateralization. A DeFi borrower always needs to lock in more assets as collateral than what they are borrowing, thus defeating the whole purpose for taking a loan aside from financial speculation. And there's no real way to solve it: all mechanisms I've heard of either try to replicate some form of background…

I think DeFi basically justifies the high market cap of ethereum. You have a decentralized exchange working 24h, with basically no downtime.

Compare it to normal exchanges:

- need to register

- need kyc

- hard to tranfer LARGE sums cheaply

- your bank can block your assets as well as your gouverment

- fees are sometimes very high as well. Example tried to convert one currency to an other 1% fees in europe. I think you would pay less in a DeFi setup.

- Now imagine you could buy stocks and so on on defi. That would be a killer application.

I could go on but the point is. DeFi solves a problem.

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#88

Post by afavour »

koboll wrote: post #83
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

>It doesn't help that I personally have yet to see a use for a blockchain which isn't replicating an existing financial instrument while trying to avoid the eyes of the state. I mean, there's a domain name system. There are various games. There was recently a high-profile crowdfunded attempt to buy an artifact at auction. Feel free to be skeptical of all of these, but what's the point of posting that you "haven't see…

The crowdfunding to bust the constitution is surely a replication of an existing financial instrument? Crowdfunding is not new.

That particular episode also laid bare the problems no web3 proponent seems to want to address: a whole load of people are going to lose all the money they gave to the fund because transaction fees will swallow their investment whole if they ever try for a refund.

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#89

Post by echelon »

DantesKite wrote: post #77
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

Riding off a wave of addicts and their enthusiasm for gambling. Meanwhile, Cash App, Apple Pay, and Stripe have done more for fintech in the past month than all other cryptocurrency technologies combined in the last decade.

Bingo.

They can't even get their numbering scheme right. This would be "web4"

Disregarding the semantic web throws out the history of the tech that sought to build p2p knowledge graphs before the social giants pushed it aside. They care little for these concepts given their blatant disregard.

Re: An engineer's observations on Web3 and its possibilities

#90

Post by strogonoff »

practice9 wrote: post #82
WastingMyTime89 wrote: post #73

Not going to lie, I thought and still think that the whole Web 2.0 thing was clever marketing and window dressing on top of fairly pedestrian but useful technologies. It was actually less of seismic shock than mobile first which despite being a bigger shift didn't actually get a number. As far as I'm concerned, Web3 is beyond this. It's what happen when you let Ponzi schemers write the marketing material. I can't for…

Blockchain isn't even central in Web3, but it surely helps. Web3 = decentralized identity, full data and connection graph ownership by user, reputation transfer, verification via zero knowledge proofs, support for VR/AR and 3D objects. All of this stuff is either in prototype or draft phase, but it's ok. These things need to be built to stop horror stories on HN about "algorithm justice" and "data kingdoms”: - Google…

Lack of human support in the old Web 2.0 is bad, but going full zero-trust in response seems more like throwing a fit instead of improving things (e.g., banning the exploitative ‘free’ ad-supported business models).

A world in which you lose some magic alphanumeric combination (or a thief pinches your hardware key, etc.) and you are literally locked out of your identity (together with access to your eternal blockchain-backed social rating or whatever is the logical next move) seems simultaneously horrifying and ridiculous.

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