[Cryptography] Interesting discussion of Web 3.0 ...

[Theodore Ts'o]

On Wed, Jan 12, 2022 at 07:48:30PM -0600, Brad Klee wrote:
> Agree that the article is worth reading, but also emphasize that it
> takes a side (mendaciously?).
> 
> Online bullying about "high school email addresses" (thanks!)
> could be an effective tactic leading to desire for own "MX records".
> Concede that most people don't want clandestine, to deal with
> spammers, or worse, a hostile take over pro bitcoin mining.
> 
> The weakness (or deceit?) of the article is that it doesn't mention
> computers as atoms... also called "next units of computing". Will
> availability of small, cheap, heat-sinked blades drive innovation?

I disagree that this is a weakness, and it's certainly not "deceitful"
or "mendacious".  It doesn't deal with computers as atoms because one
of the core arguments of the essay is that users don't want to run
"servers".  It's really irrelevant whether you're talking about a
$10,000 Intel XEON server, or a $200 Intel NUC server; both are
still... servers.  Which means you have to be responsible for security
updates, dealing with hardware failures, worrying about what happens
if they get destroyed in a fire, or stolen by a burgler, etc.

> In principle, a rig of connected computer atoms (read: community server)
> could mine any target agreed upon by democratic procedure.

But who is going to *run* these servers?  It's always going to be
cheaper to run a large centralized computing farm.  It's similar to
why hydroelectric generators are used to get energy from major rivers
like the Colorado, and why we don't have backyard home dams trying to
generate electricity from a stream in your back yard.  If it miner can
mine some kind of crypto currency or NFT much more cheaply from large
data center, does it matter what you might be able to do using a bunch
of cheap devices that need just as much sysadmin attention as a single
centralized server, except that it has 1/1000 the power?

> Need more docs, education, and dare I even say this...
> The return of locally owned ISPs?

If that's a requirement, for your glorious crypto vision, I'd suggest
that you consider how to make that a reality first, from an
economically competitive standpoint.

Cheers,

					- Ted