Decentralized naming systems like @HNS and @namecoin seem focused on competing with DNS. They're also hopelessly complicated. Is there equivalent for user names instead of DNS?
9
2
11
I think the challenge is you need to drop the idea of creating a global namespace. Otherwise you end up with DNS or blockchain solutions, both of which are centralized. You need something that doesn't rely on the entire system being aware of all other names.
1
I know this is maybe something we'll never agree on, but I don't see the problem with a global namespace? Isn't it a feature? It makes the web work! It makes the phone system work! It makes email work!
2
The reality is that the only real question of a global namespace is a regulatory one - who gets ultimate control of it? And in that, DNS is actually not a bad approach and has spent ~30 years ironing out regulatory bugs and has found a pretty stable spot.
2
1
Agreed! And all the blockchain versions of a global namespace have nowhere near this level of experience in maintaining the system in the long term, and are very likely much more fragile than DNS
2
2
Yup. I've said similar things in the past, but now more than ever, I wonder if the way to think about this stuff is to take a different tack, and instead ask: "Given all the potential negatives of email-style identities, what would email address portability look like?"
1
i.e., is that something that *must* happen with consent from email providers/domain controllers? Or is it something that could be baked into ssb/deltachat/similar? What would ownership verification look like in that case?
2
I mean email forwarding is a kind of portability.
1
For sure; it just requires specific functionality on the provider's side. With webfinger, we always imagined that you could enable "portability" by setting a redirect or a pointer, again provider-dependent.
2
1
Replying to @blaine @rabble @HNS @Namecoin
in a way, email already is portable. My email address is on my domain, parecki.com, but it’s actually a Gmail account under the hood. If i want to move that to another provider, I can, and I don’t need to tell anyone a new email address. This… aaronparecki.com/2020/09/24/…

in a way, email already is portable. My email address is on my ...

in a way, email already is portable. My email address is on my domain, parecki.com, but it’s actually a Gmail account under the hood. If i want to move that to another provider, I can, and I don’t...

aaronparecki.com

Sep 25, 2020 · 1:47 AM UTC

2
2
Replying to @aaronpk @blaine @HNS @Namecoin
So if you’re able to control a domain name and set Mx records you’ve got portability. It actually works pretty well but it’s not used for individuals so much as organizations. What’s the equivalent or way to extend it to individual users.
2
2
For some reason DNS providers haven't iterated on the UX around configuring records much. If as much time and money were spent on making DNS easier to use without understanding all the terminology as was spent on all the blockchain tech, we'd be in a much better place right now.
1
2
more replies
Replying to @aaronpk @rabble @HNS @Namecoin
Totally - it's one of the things I love about email addresses. I think the standard complaint is that most addresses are managed by e.g., gmail. Probably the easiest way to fix this is an EU regulation mandating ownership of "@gmail.com" addresses.