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bluesky - Re: Hi, and some comments

bluesky AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Global-Scale Distributed Storage Systems

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  • From: Wei Dai <weidai AT eskimo.com>
  • To: Global-Scale Distributed Storage Systems <bluesky AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Re: Hi, and some comments
  • Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2001 19:31:27 -0800


On Tue, Feb 27, 2001 at 07:46:27PM -0600, Brandon wrote:
> So the question of what if a network which does everything that Freenet
> does and more come around is a moot question due to design tradeoffs.

But we should find out which tradeoffs are necessary and which ones are
not. My concern is that a "good-enough" system will get a monopoly and it
will be impossible to overhaul its architecture. Just because different
projects have different goals it doesn't mean they'll all survive or be
used. I think it's quite likely that the network effect will be so strong
that the first system to become popular will have a monopoly on this
entire space. And if for example it does not offer censorship resistance
or reliability, it may become impossible to create a viable second system
that does.

> This is only one situation that exists in the world. Freenet also seeks to
> serve another situation that exists in the world in which people have
> scarce computing resources. It is particularly important to provide access
> for people with transient access that can't run permanent nodes. The
> ability to dialup, access/upload information, and then disconnect and run
> away is important when you're trying to facilitate illicit communication
> among oppressed groups.

This scenario is completely compatible with what I wrote earlier. In a
market-based system, the people who have storage and bandwidth will rent
it to those who don't. The prices will certainly be low enough that the
costs for anything you can upload through a dialup link will be
negligible. And also there will probably be plenty of servers willing to
donate storage to worthy causes.

Keep in mind that the purpose of having payment is to control abuses and
defend against attacks, and to allow people who contribute resources to
recover their costs. It may be difficult or impossible to do these things
without it.




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