[Arm-netbook] Free software possibly abusing network effect

[Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton]

On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 8:48 PM, Jean Flamelle <eaterjolly at gmail.com> wrote:
> https://github.com/urbit/urbit/issues/911
>
> Curtis Yarvin (a.k.a. "Mencius Moldbug") leads a project called urbit
> to 1. create a virtual machine using lambda calculus instead of
> bytecode and 2. create a reputation network based on purchasing stake
> on namespace and stakeholders ruling the network how they see fit.

 i've studied things like advogato, and keynote (IETF RFC 2704), the
problems i'm seeing you describe there, if i can summarise in my own
words and you can correct me:

 (1) they're setting themselves up as a sole exclusive gateway.
*they* are in control... thus it's no different from the USA
controlling DNS by controlling the root-level DNS servers.

 (2) ticket touts (aka "cyber squatting").  the problem with DNS is:
once someone's registered a domain that's it, they can charge you
whatever they like.  in this case it's EVEN WORSE than the DNS
registration system as there's no authority you can appeal to to
reclaim a name... thus your ENTIRE BUSINESS can be phished by a cyber
squatter.

 does that sound like a reasonable summary?  (1) cartel (2) ticket tout.


> I outline my chief problem with this in the issue which was closed
> literally within minutes.

 that should tell you everything you need to know.

> I would like more people to weigh in here.
> What do any of you feel about my predictions and my morals in this
> situation?

 it looks similar to blockstack, where, bless 'em, that team clearly
have their hearts in the right place... designing something that is
entirely libre, they've even set themselves up as a Benefit
Corporation...

 .... aand they're recommending that in order to discuss how to free
yourself from data privacy invasions and design apps that allow users
control of their data... you should REGISTER ON SLACK!!!!

gaah :)

more fundamentally than that, their entire protocol yet again sets
themselves up as "my gateway or the highway".  they've not realised
that they've set themselves up as a cartel.  sure, the source code is
available!!  but that's absolutely no good WHATSOEVER if, when you set
up your OWN network, you are FORCED out: YOUR users cannot interact
with THEIR users.

 so they *talk* of it being decentralised peer-to-peer but have
fundamentally failed to understand the concept.

oy, oy, what can you do, ehn? :)

l.