Thanks for the link,
napho.
Interesting! Paranoia, even if it is a centralized chat/filesharing system, introduces several features and concepts that I myself consider important for the next generation p2p systems:
- verifiable peer identities with tamper-proof local aliases and encrypted communications
- possibility to create different shares for different user groups
- support for declaring both static shares (more or less permanently shared files) & dynamic shares (pointers to regularly changing shared content)
- a mechanism to evaluate peers ('karma' & trust points) and control sharing with these evaluations
This is a very potent set of features and the prospect of implementing similar functionality in a decentralized environment is particularly fascinating. Imagine a FastTrack/WinMX-like open network with an easy access for anybody to step in and start sharing. As you would gradually come to know and trust some people better, you could use the
same software to allow them a more exclusive access to your library and vice versa. No need to play with FTP servers or ICQ, just a simple change in their social status and they would see your 10.000 files instead of the 1.000 that you are sharing to everybody. Leeches and RIAA snoopers would be natural outcasts in this kind of advanced social environment where sharing and earned trust would be rewarded with access to ever more luxurious sources of digital pleasure.
- tg
