[Tahoe-dev] decentralization, economics, attack resistance

[Jim McCoy]

[Re-sending to the list after first just sending my note to Zooko...]

Zooko,

What your answer fails to address is the most profound question in
Wes' message: how does this system offer advantages (especially
economic advantages) over a centralized storage system.

Step back for a few minutes and try to define why any p2p storage
system offers an advantage over a centrally managed system.
Decentralized solutions are only worth considering if there is a
compelling reason why a centralized solution will not work, and in
this case I can't see any reason why central servers do not beat
complex distributed architectures in every possible axis of
comparison.  Each of your potential use cases are clearly handled
better by a centralized solution, so the question that remains hanging
around looking for a justification is "why p2p?"

Speaking as someone who only recently overcame the effects of drinking
too deeply from the p2p kool-aid I would suggest that you might want
to start by trying to answer this question and see if the answers
provide you with any insight into how to adapt/refine your roadmap...

-Jim