Drew DeVaultApr 4, 2017
This is giving me ideas for a federated video publishing platform built on RSS feeds...
Show threadRysiekúr (old account)Apr 4, 2017
@SirCmpwn turns out opennes and open standards foster innovation? Who woulda thunk it! #ShockedShcked ;)
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn Just had fairly long convo on the legacy platform about video stuff, see these and various replies (also gah why can't you link to a whole conversation on bird twitter?) https://twitter.com/asteris/status/849230807290060802
Show threadDrew DeVaultApr 4, 2017
@pettter @rysiek Mastodon put the first UI on GNUSocial that I like, I think a similar approach to MediaGoblin would be super good. Ads are a problem though
Show threadRysiekúr (old account)Apr 4, 2017
@SirCmpwn @pettter what ads?
Show threadDrew DeVaultApr 4, 2017
@rysiek @pettter the problem is that there aren't any, which means a lot of creatives wouldn't come to the platform. A YouTube replacement can't just cater to the techies. Video bandwidth at scale is hella expensive, too
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@sircmpwn @rysiek I think there are workarounds, if you acknowledge vagaries/problems with copyright in the digital age. Essentially, use Webtorrent or something similar to share streaming burden across all federated servers and viewing/helping users.

Ads... It's tricky. I'm not sure if there is a standard way of serving timestamped URLs for streaming along with the video? Could you base it on subtitles somehow? It needs to be based mostly on goodwill of all involved parties, anyway, which will obviously be harder than having a central authority (Google) declaring the truth of various things (ẗhis is an ad, this is a follower, this is a 'view')
Show threadRysiekúr (old account)

@pettter @SirCmpwn declaring truth (esp. about ownership and timestamps) in a decentralized world is a solved problem. You know what I'm going to say.

...Blockchain.

Apr 4, 2017 at 2:11pmWeb
Show threadDrew DeVaultApr 4, 2017
@rysiek @pettter that is _a_ solution. I'm not sure it's _the_ solution. It has problems.
Show threadRysiekúr (old account)Apr 4, 2017
@SirCmpwn @pettter Every solution has problems.
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn Blockchain can't decide truth on things not in the network, so either you shut out people without resources/prioritize rich people, or you open for spam/bots, or add gatekeepers.
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn Sure you can save timestamps for file hashes and ownership relations of BC-internal UIDs for them, but how do you handle conflicting information? First-come-first-served?
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn If an accurate count of subscribers is required, at little cost to the subscribers, what's to stop someone from creating a million UIDs?
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn (Not to mention the inherently accumulative nature of both PoW and PoS, "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance")
Show threadRysiekúr (old account)Apr 4, 2017
@pettter @SirCmpwn "PoW"/"PoS"?
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn Proof-of-Work and Proof-of-Stake, i.e. the mechanisms used to derive and secure the distributed consensus in a blockchain.

PoW is what's used in Bitcoin and Ethereum and many others, where more computer power means you decide what blocks get included in the chain (and you get a smallish reward in the chain currency).

PoS is used in some altcoins, and uses "staking" to decide on the "correct" chain. Essentially, instead of producing a proof of work, which you attach to your proposed block, and the longest chain (i.e. the one on which the most work is expended) is the canonical one, you instead submit a block with some amount of your balance attached to it, and the "correct" chain is the one with the biggest stake over the last X blocks. After X blocks have been mined, you can use your stake again in transactions or more staking, and you additionally get a smallish reward.
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn In both cases, having more resources to start with means both having a greater influence on what blocks are included in the chain, and an increased share of the reward payouts, hence why they are inherently accumulative.
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @sircmpwn (Also holy crap could you imagine trying to explain this with 140char toots?)
Show threadWalter van HolstApr 4, 2017
@pettter @SirCmpwn @rysiek A blockchain with an inherent zakat for newcomers?
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@whvholst @rysiek @sircmpwn How to tell newcomers from multiple bots run by the same person?
Show threadWalter van HolstApr 4, 2017
@pettter @SirCmpwn @rysiek Have established users vouch for them? Socio-cultural capital, just like in the real world.
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@whvholst @rysiek @sircmpwn How do you encode that in a blockchain? Specifically, how do you stop explosion of spam accounts once a critical number of bad actors get in, through invites or hacked/stolen keys?
Show threadpettter ✅Apr 4, 2017
@rysiek @whvholst @sircmpwn Perhaps more importantly, why is this better than having a federation of servers and banlisting misbehaving ones?