I need your input

[AYB]

Here's a question for you guys concerning the development of my p2p app.

Should it

(a) be a hybrid client able to connect to eDonkey, Fasttrak, Gnutella, Opennap, Direct Connect and any other proprietory network (through the use of plugins network support is simply a case of someone writing a DLL or such like to translate the network protocol into some kind of generic protocol and back again)

(b) a client based on our own network with features like anonymity, partial file sharing, encryption, boolean searches and speed being key

(c) a combination of the two, with our network search results possibly highlighted in a different color to indicate they come from a source with "added" features

Here's a few arguments for and against each option to get the ball rolling:

A hybrid client instantly attracts people who already use the relevant networks. It offers more search results (many more depending on how many networks you connect to simultaneously). It can add features to a network which doesnt have them in the official client. However it can't make use of features which are exclusive to a single network (or multiple networks, but not ALL networks). Depending on how many networks we code support for, its a lot of work.

Coding our own network allows us free reign in the features we want to include. The major disadvantage is how to get the client used. What prevents it from being just one in a multitude of other p2p clients?

Not really sure what can be said about a combination of the two, but its double the work I guess.