Jens Finkhäuser ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ @jens@social.finkhaeuser.de

As a follow-up to my last post, and in order to provide context for my upcoming FOSDEM talk and the #interpeer work of @alcinnz , I have written a new post: https://reset.substack.com/p/distributed-authorization-in-task

This outlines some issues with how distributed authorization isn't *really* enough to make a good distributed system.

I'll write follow-up posts if/when I can, because I'm sure y'all care more about solutions than problems.

Well, after begging for a (short) extension, I managed to record and upload my FOSDEM talk for this year on the #interpeer project - or rather one R&D topic within it. I called it "On the Far Side of REST", and you can find the event details here: https://fosdem.org/2022/schedule/event/rfc_rest_future/ - Saturday the 5th at 13:00h.

Also, shout out to @alcinnz and @hazelnot who are indispensable in helping with stuff. Thank you already!

With the #interpeer project, I've been flipping back and forth a little between advocating for a *human* centric and a *people* centric internet for a while. I receive funding for it from @NGIZero

Now I see newer NGI websites/subprojects using the human centric phrase.

Coincidence? It's certainly far from impossible!

But if it's not, it's also not that I'm unhappy, far from it. But it would be nice to know if they got it from my talks 😂

Ok, this last aspect may be a little fluffy and undefined for the moment. I just want to share my excitement here, really.

The point is, 2022/23 is looking sustainable for #interpeer for the first time since the start, and should also pick up some speed. How can I not be excited about this?

Here's some big news (for me) that feels like an official announcement should be coming, but since nothing is signed yet, I figure the big announcement will wait just a while: I just told my lawyer to go ahead with the formation of a non-profit in support of the #Interpeer project.

This is very exciting for me for a number of reasons that, individually, may be very small steps. But together, they just click for me in a satisfying way.

The first thing is licensing...

For #EncryptionDay on Oct. 21st, the Global Encryption Coalition has put together some explainer videos on encryption. As the #Interpeer Project is part of the coalition, I've uploaded them for you for easier sharing.

They're high-level things that many fedi users will already understand - but your friends and family might not. I hope these are useful in explaining the issue!

#MakeTheSwitch and boosts definitely appreciated!

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkrwqXYmgv9MXih-suQCIis7S4Y4dZkN0

That last sentence didn't make much sense on its own. The point is, computers of many shapes and forms are everywhere, and the addition of the rpi hasn't really changed that. But it has led to more people tinkering with small compute devices.

So I guess the main aim of my #interpeer project isn't really to provide any new experience. Of course I have to create something that gives you a hint of what it could be. But a packaged product that lets you do things "the interpeer way"... no.

Started reading this the other day: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6583273-the-future-of-the-internet-and-how-to-stop-it

You'd think that with what I'm doing with #interpeer I would have read it when it was published? I didn't. I knew about it, but didn't really find the time for it. Then I forgot about it. Now I picked it up again.

At least so far, some 10% in: holy shit, nothing has improved. I mean, we all knew that...

What strikes me and coincides with my own conclusions is that browsers are a bad idea. No, he's not saying that...

Today's achievements include massaging the CSS of the #interpeer website to little effect, doing the same with some of the content, and writing parts of a first draft for a further funding application, which I'm probably going to have to rewrite completely.

Intellectually I know it's progress, but it feels like mucking about.

At least I found out that the parents of some of my eldest's kindergarten friends are nice and into metal. I can work with that.

I need to learn to forgive myself, especially when it's largely outside my control.

A couple of weeks ago, I went on a two week vacation. That's the first in over a year; the two years before that were also lacking a bit in off time.

At the end of the week after, my son brought home a stomach flu and we had a shitty weekend.

The next week I had my second vaccine.

This week, my son has a cough and is home.

Why is it that all I can think of is how little progress I've made on #interpeer ?

Ok. So today I was having a chat about my #interpeer project and suddenly felt that floor fall away from under my feet. It wasn't, though, that was just my feeling. A bit overwhelmed, slightly scared, and very happy.

It's just tentative at this point though, so I'm going to vaguepost this and leave you guys hanging until, well, I guess September?

If this works out, though... man that'd be nice!

Just had a nice conversation with #gnunet developer t3sserakt about possible synergies with #interpeer - since we're going to be @NGIZero buddies, by the looks of it.

We pursue fairly similar high level goals by fairly diverging ways. GNUnet has a greater focus on being a framework for coordinating all kinds of different tech, so most likely we could plug some of interpeer's layers into GNUnet. I just need to make progress.

In the meantime, we want to understand each other's...

But since the paper will be published in some way or another, it's (going to be) public knowledge, so I'll apply the same principles in the #interpeer protocol stack.

Sure, those nodes may not end up flying... that's not the point, though. The same protocol approach also solves the real problem we e.g. have with video streams at the moment. Leave your home WiFi while chatting with your friends and step into LTE land, and it's up to the chat software to deal with that. Which some don't.

... sort of project writes something about it, at least occasionally, and people often times follow people because of these updates!

TL;DR, I need someone to do "PR" for me and leave me to randomly comment on people's threads or post metal videos or something.

Half-kidding.

But yeah, I do still work on the #interpeer project. It just comes and goes in waves a little. Right now, my focus is a little elsewhere, but I expect to get back to things shortly.