"Decentralization" is not any specific technology, its a mindset.

submitted by Kuasocto from (self.DecentralizeAllThings)

I see many people advocating for some software solutions for "decentralization", but almost all of them require learning more about IT and that already filters out most people. I think decentralization should be advocated more as a reliability thing. Opposite of it is "centralization" which can also be called "single point of failure" or "putting all your eggs into one basket". When framed that way more people would be willing to look for alternatives. Take saidit and reddit for example. Both are centralized in their nature. But if you make your forums on both saidit and reddit then your forum becomes decentralized. Now BOTH saidit and reddit have to fail for your forum to be wiped off. Same case with video sharing and Youtube, Bitchute, Rumble and Odysee (I mean Odysee, not lbry). All 4 are subject to censorship, but from different parties. If you upload your videos to all 4 then FOUR independent places have to fail you before you lose everything. If more video creators considered the simple fact that as long as they're only on youtube they're vulnerable to a "single point of failure" situation I think youtube alternatives wouldn't be so desolate.

By all means, come up and spread software more resilient to centralized control, but also consider the normie and how HE can do something decentralize power and information control.

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[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Correct.

[–]SoCo 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (8 children)

A diversity of centralized options is the next best thing to centralization.

[–]Kuasocto[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (7 children)

You just don't get it. If they were actually diverse that would truly be good, but nowadays they're nominally different sites, but all with their HQs in Cali, all funded and controlled by the same people. If you actually had an Iranian version of reddit do you honestly think it would behave the same as Cali reddit? How "decentralized" do you want things to be? For every single person to run his own server?

[–]JasonCarswellDAT Mod 2 insightful - 3 fun2 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 3 fun -  (2 children)

The real point is to return the power to the people.

Companies can exist. We should support the non-parasitic companies returning power so they and we can BOTH exist. Cooperatively. Symbiotically.

[–]Kuasocto[S] 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (1 child)

yeah, the more I thought about the more I realized "decentralization" is just a substitute for "independence/self sufficiency". And this has to do with food, water, guns, information, wood, steel, everything.

My favourite book(a theory of power by jeff vail) also comes to mind as its kinda related to those ideas:

https://gojolaw.com/wordpress1/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Theory-of-Power.pdf

[–]JasonCarswellDAT Mod 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Decentralization is not just a substitute for self-sufficiency, it's also a means to build (non-SJW) diverse communities outside of consumer/control culture, a way to take back power from central "authorities", and a philosophy beyond just independence but a return to the natural order of things.

More than just FLOSS, like you said, everything - including politics, banks, power, etc.

Thanks for the book.

[–]SoCo 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (3 children)

I meant to say "...is the next best thing to decentralization."

How "decentralized" do you want things to be? For every single person to run his own server?

Yes, that's how P2P decentralization works. It's super easy and doesn't take any skills, just a good software platform. That's pretty much how Mastadon, Scuttlebutt, Hive and tons others work.

[–]Kuasocto[S] 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

I meant to say "...is the next best thing to decentralization."

well that changes everything, sorry for my previous comment then.

How "decentralized" do you want things to be? For every single person to run his own server?

Yes, that's how P2P decentralization works. It's super easy and doesn't take any skills, just a good software platform. That's pretty much how Mastadon, Scuttlebutt, Hive and tons others work.

How do they work? Do users just sign up and start posting crap like twitter or are there some extra steps? Because I think you might be overestimating the average normie's pc skills.

[–]SoCo 2 insightful - 2 fun2 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Most of them you just sign up and start posting crap. The details do vary, though.

A common (solvable) issue with decentralized P2P is that you only see and talk to people you've expressly connected to. Scuttlebutt falls into this category. Other's act more like a very tiny sever with very very few people, like Mastidon.

This is addressed with the concept of federation. Many tiny servers connect together, bridging into a big ecosystem, like Mastadon's federated section. Other times, P2P systems have a centralized/more-centralized area, where people can similarly meet and connect, like Scuttlebutt's pubs.

Hive/Steemit on the other hand, is a social media system on a blockchain. It costs a fraction of a penny to post/comment. When you upvote someone, they are paid crypto. To make this work out best, you want people to start with a account with a couple bucks in it. You usually buy your account and if you get serious you buy more crypto to boost your account with. Some people can make a good chunk of money posting, apparently not me though. Yet, there are programs to help onboard users for free, usually involving signing up with some affiliate partners. It's an interesting concept, but my biggest complaint is how it incentivizes viral and hype content. If a post is over a week old, the system makes it feel like garbage.

[–]JasonCarswellDAT Mod 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

Torrenting, IPFS, Session, etc. are P2P-distributed and don't even need a hub. It's all in the app.

Other P2P-decentralized networks connect together, so instead of a single site (Facebook, Reddit, SaidIt, etc.) you would have dozens or hundred or more instance-sites that all share data. ie. Mastodon, Lemmy, PeerTube, NextCloud, Movim, Yacy, Diaspora, etc. It would be much harder to take down a swarm than a single target.

[–]JasonCarswellDAT Mod 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (2 children)

Great post!

As a whiny non-coder, IMO most software should have a few fundamentals:

4 levels: plug and play, basic, advanced, expert

3 formats: PC, tablet, phone

2 modes: dark mode, light mode

1 fundamental: be distributed/decentralized

[–]Kuasocto[S] 2 insightful - 3 fun2 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 3 fun -  (1 child)

What difference there would be between tablet and phone mode? Both usually use android and touchscreen after all.

[–]JasonCarswellDAT Mod 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

What difference there would be between tablet and phone mode? Both usually use android and touchscreen after all.

Good point. I don't use tablets. I suppose it comes down to big window/tab/monitor and small window. A medium window might be pointless if you can just scale your fonts.