Fedi.TipsApr 6, 2024

I'm an unpaid volunteer running five accounts and five websites to help people use Mastodon and the wider Fediverse. These all cause monthly bills which I pay.

If you want to help support these sites & accounts, you can buy me a coffee at:

➡️ https://ko-fi.com/fedithing

(No registration, choose any amount, all currencies work)

...or alternatively become a patron at:

➡️ https://liberapay.com/FediThing

All support greatly appreciated!

❤️ @FediTips, @FediFollows, @FediVideo, @FediGarden & @homegrown

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Show threadTyler Carroll
@FediTips @FediFollows @FediVideo @FediGarden @homegrown
Ko-fi seems pretty neat but is it federated by chance? I've only just discovered it through other creators and was surprised to see you then using it
Apr 8, 2024 at 5:53pmWeb
Show threadFedi.VideoApr 8, 2024

@thaicares

I'm not aware of any federated payment systems? Not sure how that would work?

Have been using ko-fi for a couple of years now, it's worked pretty well.

Show threadMatija NalisApr 14, 2024

@FediVideo

Well #bitcoin and its ilk are "federated payment systems", yes?

@thaicares

Show threadFedi.VideoApr 14, 2024

@mnalis @thaicares

Bitcoin etc use blockchains, which are pretty awful and almost all used by get-rich-quick scams.

The Fediverse doesn't use blockchain at all. Everything on the Fediverse uses a sustainable traditional federated network similar to email or the web or the telephone.

Show threadMatija NalisApr 14, 2024

@FediVideo

I agree that bitcoin is not traditional federation, but a more modern variant if it, as it is completely decentralized.

I think though (from your "blockchain is awful" comment) that you're incorrectly conflating blockchain with other issues relating to cryptocurrencies. Blockchain is ingenious data integrity tech, used among other things by most source version control systems like Git (which most of Fediverse systems use for tracking their source code too).

@thaicares

Show threadMatija NalisApr 14, 2024

@FediVideo

But I agree there are problems with Bitcoin: One is its partial anonymity which makes it interesting for criminals (the feature it shares with e.g. Amazon giftcards or Western Union, and even plain old cash). Second is people being vulnerable to "make money fast" claims (the feature it shares with e.g. stock market, gambling and Herbalife). Third is Bitcoin unreasonable power usage (avoidable by using other blockchain cryprocurrencies like Ethereum that use PoS, not PoW)
@thaicares

Show threadaoanlaApr 16, 2024
@mnalis @FediVideo @thaicares I hear this a lot, but it's stretch - git uses a Merkle tree to store its commit history, and Blockchains are also built on Merkle trees... but saying this makes git a Blockchain technology is like saying all things that use a priority queue are the same as each other.
Show threadMatija NalisApr 17, 2024
@aoanla @FediVideo @thaicares See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockchain : "A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes". Seems to check, no? And I agree, there are tons of completely different uses for blockchain (see the wiki!), so I'm certainly not saying "there are all the same". In fact, I was trying to point out that "X is blockchain, and all blockchains are awful" myth is wrong in the first place.
Blockchain - Wikipedia

Show threadaoanlaApr 17, 2024
@mnalis @FediVideo @thaicares see, I don't buy this because git pre-dates the use of the term 'blockchain', and again, just uses a Merkle tree,which also pre-dates 'blockchain' by decades! The wiki misses the fact that 'blockchain' doesn't *just* mean the chain of hashes, but also has a context in which it is deployed, and a community which uses it.
Show threadMatija NalisApr 18, 2024
@aoanla @FediVideo @thaicares Well, it is a Wikipedia, so you're welcome to improve it. But my point was not forcing one true semantics view... Would you agree that one can use blockchain for bitcoin, or for secure supply chain tracking, or for smart contracts, or tons of different things? My point thus was that "all blockchain is awful" is shortsighted (and incorrect) over-generalization. There exist valid reasons to dislike Bitcoin, but "it's using 'em awful blockchains" ain't one of them.
Show threadaoanlaApr 19, 2024
@mnalis @FediVideo @thaicares eh, Wikipedia has fairly aggressive mods on some topics, which I would assume includes Blockchain, so don't be so sure that I could!
I would absolutely agree that you can use the full stack of tech & operating assumptions called Blockchain for things other than cryptocurrency. I would also say that other approaches tend to be better than it except in v limited circumstances.