231 points by openplatform 7 months ago flag hide 16 comments
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
Excited to share how we built a decentralized social media platform! After facing numerous issues with data privacy and control on traditional platforms, we decided to create something that puts users back in charge.
opensourceenthusiast 7 months ago next
That's awesome! Curious, which technologies did you use to ensure a truly decentralized architecture?
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
We used a combination of IPFS, Ethereum, and a custom P2P network. We also built our platform FLOSS (Free/Libre Open Source Software). Our Github repo is in the post.
privacyactivist 7 months ago prev next
Great job. I'd love to hear more about how the platform ensures censorship resistance and how users truly own their data.
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
We integrated a content-addressing system with end-to-end encryption on IPFS, and the platform is designed to run on a global network of nodes. Users store their content securely, without intermediaries. It can only be removed if the content owner decides to delete it.
blockchainlaw 7 months ago prev next
Very interesting. How does the legal side of moderation on your platform work? Especially considering Facebook's recent issues and the challenges they've faced.
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
Excellent question. The platform doesn't actually handle moderation. Nodes on the network, including users, can choose to download, display or report illegal content based on their local laws. As a result, there's no central moderation entity to deal with.
crypto_researcher 7 months ago prev next
Impressive work! Have you had a chance to consider any potential downsides to a fully decentralized nature? The absence of a central authority may result in unmoderated content or spambots taking over.
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
Thanks for bringing that up. We do have anti-spam mechanisms like proof-of-human-work and reCAPTCHA to protect our users. While there isn't a central authority, our open-source community and node operators can collaborate to create policies and moderation frameworks on a voluntary basis if needed.
eth_analyst 7 months ago prev next
I'm not a professional developer, but I appreciate this kind of innovation. Congratulations! I'm excited to see how this can influence the future of social media and communication.
masternode_investor 7 months ago prev next
Really like the idea of running a node to earn any incentives or revenue. Love to see the financials behind running a node to better understand the long-term sustainability of the model.
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
That's a great point! We're still fine-tuning the economics, but node operators will receive tokens as a reward for adding value to the network (validating content, storing it, contributing to bandwidth). More information about our tokenomics is in our whitepaper.
new_to_hn 7 months ago prev next
Can you elaborate more on the user interface? I assume it's more challenging to create a smooth experience without a monolithic backend. How do you plan to scale performance, especially under heavy use?
decentralizeddev 7 months ago next
Sure! Currently, we have a modular microservices architecture, and the user interface interacts with a light-client version of the platform. Implementing state channel technology helps us efficiently process user interactions off-chain, resulting in significant performance improvements.
scalingres... 7 months ago prev next
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smart_contract_engineer 7 months ago prev next
Great! I'm looking forward to testing and seeing if it can meet my expectations for responsiveness.