The distributed web isn’t ready for Russian Runet cutoff from the Internet | Hacker News Reader

The distributed web isn’t ready for Russian Runet cutoff from the Internet

ctrl.blog

Personally, I'm very disappointed Matrix devs still haven't solved decentralized user accounts. Users have no resiliency for their homeserver being unaccessible. It means now to prepare for outernet severance those who chose Matrix in Russia need to organize mass reregistering and reconfiguring of clients (most don't use local servers), which is practically unfeasible and means total disruption of local communication network for them.

On the other hand, most popular messengers will stop working altogether.

I'm also interested in an assessment of Tox and GNU Jami from this angle.

We’ve consciously prioritised P2P over account portability. If the internet gets turned off, first step is for P2P to work. If each node is a separate user account that’s not a disaster (just “invite your iphone” into the conversation, for instance). meanwhile, p2p is looking promising and we are prioritising it currently.

Thanks a lot for your prompt answers. It would be nice to see some updated report on the state of the P2P Matrix. Last few TWiM don't mention it at all.

We’re going to publish a dedicated p2p status website shortly. Work has been progressing intensely, especially spurred on by the situation in Ukraine.

Tox and Jami depends on DHT bootstrapping nodes. That’s easily overcome by storing long-lived peers between sessions. https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/cache-p2p-connections.html Very few clients has implemented this, unfortunately. You still need bootstrapping nodes — or an already connected instance on the local network — to join the network after a fresh install or a long period of inactivity.

FYI:

> Published: 2019-02-13

> Updated: 2020-09-23

Also, on a tangent, this site asks me “Please disable your ad blocker”. I don't have an ad-blocker enabled — only Privacy Badger — so I would see your ads if they didn't involve tracking. Your move :)

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