Would love a quick explanation of what this is, especially after clicking through to "Learn More"[0]. I don't want to watch a video, I don't want to read an essay, even the FAQ[1] (which wasn't exactly prominently linked to) doesn't seem to have a "What is LBRY?" anywhere.
After a few minutes on this site, I still have no idea what this is. "Watch, read and play in a decentralized digital library controlled by the community." sounds intriguing, but... what does that mean? What exactly is a decentralised digital library? How can I watch, read, and play in it? How does the community control it?
Its an IPFS clone by a private entity, with a blockchain for a DNS like namespace. And its monetized, and seemingly badly.
Large chunks of the core code just aren't completes. No GUI. Low amount of users although spamming to tech sites is trying to change that.
Tl;Dr. Stay away. Stick with IPFS. Its on its way of being an IETF standard in my opinion.
Edit: I guess the 2 people from lbry.io found this comment. 2 immediate downvotes without comment. Would much prefer a dialogue if the above is factually incorrect... There seems to be a lot of people floundering in here trying to make heads or tails of this stuff.
And that's doubly-so when the video is confusingly-produced.
It's fairly slow, and isn't very information-dense, and, though it sounds like it's scripted, its grammar doesn't actually make any sense. I transcribed a pierce below:
----
"The bottom line is that LBRY, like HTTP or Bitcoin, it's a platform or protocol that, once unleashed into the world, no one will fully own or control how artists, authors, video and virtual reality producers how they'll use LBRY to discover and transmit, buy and sell content, that'll be up to them and the demanders of content, so watching this spontaneous world evolve, it's going to be very interesting, and I'm delighted to be a part of it."
AFAICT it's a place where content is hosted by its creators and micropayments are used to subsidize the content creation (instead of advertising). There are many comparisons to youtube on this site, although content is not limited to video.
> How can I watch, read, and play in it?
I haven't figured this bit out yet. I suppose something like a web browser plugin should be on their roadmap if it's not already available. I'd imagine the plugin would yield the LRBY credits to creators in order to browse the content.
The FAQ describes how LBRY is distinct from Storj and IPFS et al, but not mentioned is steemit -- it has a similar concept IIRC.
I had a similar reaction. Playing a video is not practical or convenient for me right now.
I was hopeful when I saw they had a FAQ link, but it unfortunately lacks what I believe should be the first entry of any "X FAQ," namely "What is X?"
I recall lbry.io being posted here before and there were concerns around the naming system, where anyone could take control of a particular name just by giving more money to it at any point.
There's an FAQ up (https://lbry.io/faq/naming) which addresses this concern, and I think the system that they have designed is fantastic. It seems fair, although I'd give a slightly longer time period for a "counter-bid" personally. I'd taking a look at the FAQ before you move away or comment because they answer a lot of different questions
My problem with all of this is I don't care about having the "best name". I want to make a new name, and then work increasing it's value.
This system seems like anyone who wants to make a name but not monitise it will lose. How much of the value of (picking the first things that come into my head) the names FSF, GPL, GCC and clang come from the organisations and products? I bet those names would be worth much more to someone willing to use adverts and spam.
And even if we raised enough money to keep the names out of the hands of spammers, all that's happening is that lbry gets to charge a tax to anyone who has a name that has got even slightly popular.
Am I the only one who looked at the page for 2 seconds, clicked learned more and then went back here again?
It's sad how "good looking" demo pages have turned me into a robot, ignoring everything that doesn't satisfy my preferences and therefore result in me missing out of a huge amount of valuable information.
Most of these "good looking" pages suck at getting their point across. I really have no idea what they're trying to optimize for. Curiosity maybe? Retention? These pages are trying to be advertisements when they should provide actual information.
∙ What is it (in one sentence)?
∙ What can I do with it?
∙ Where can I learn more about what you just described using meaningless buzzwords?
Small tip: you can add a dark background to the header through CSS for those who don't have the image in cache. Right now, while loading it's white text over white background.
Similarly. We will maintain a similar list and official releases will respect this list.
This does not remove the blockchain entry, since this is impossible, but it would be irresponsible and illegal in most countries to continue to host content on this list.
It claims no censorship but what if someone starts using it to distribute content that I'd say almost everyone would deem offensive. Can content be removed?
Is there privacy built into the protocol? Can everyone see what I've downloaded & published?
I believe most here recognize that something like this is needed (disrupting payment for content from "the little guys"), and I personally hope something like this will happen soon. Best of luck to the LBRY team making this happen; their "growth hacker" seems to be getting a lot of stuff on the HN front page this week! (That and/or LBRY is genuinely about to hit the big time...)
Good question. I'd like to know whether pseudonymous interactions are possible, and what protections are in place to prevent snooping on buyers and sellers and de-anonymization or de-pseudonymization of user accounts.
> Subsequent attempts to engage sincerely were also met with derision, so I'm not sure anything could have ever been done that wouldn't have been met similarly.
Some people are like that, where if you respond to their snark, your response will be used against you to tarnish your reputation in the eyes of bystanders.
It is important to never let them get the moral high ground.
If someone says something like...
* "Your team is all white."
* "Your team is all male."
* "Your team is all American."
* "Your team is all able-bodied."
A better way to respond would be something like, "That's true. We're always looking for new talent and embrace diversity, just haven't had much luck yet. <hiring page URL here> if anyone's interested."
It addresses the problem, and contains an open invitation for people of diverse backgrounds to apply.
(All of this is assuming you're willing to work with people who aren't white, aren't male, aren't American, and/or aren't able-bodied, of course.)
This type of social control is so bizarre to me. Like, here's a literal script for you to read from if you'd like us to stop attacking you in the future.
[+] [-] pgl|9 years ago|reply
After a few minutes on this site, I still have no idea what this is. "Watch, read and play in a decentralized digital library controlled by the community." sounds intriguing, but... what does that mean? What exactly is a decentralised digital library? How can I watch, read, and play in it? How does the community control it?
[0] https://lbry.io/learn
[1] https://lbry.io/faq
[+] [-] kefka|9 years ago|reply
Its an IPFS clone by a private entity, with a blockchain for a DNS like namespace. And its monetized, and seemingly badly.
Large chunks of the core code just aren't completes. No GUI. Low amount of users although spamming to tech sites is trying to change that.
Tl;Dr. Stay away. Stick with IPFS. Its on its way of being an IETF standard in my opinion.
Edit: I guess the 2 people from lbry.io found this comment. 2 immediate downvotes without comment. Would much prefer a dialogue if the above is factually incorrect... There seems to be a lot of people floundering in here trying to make heads or tails of this stuff.
[+] [-] SamBam|9 years ago|reply
And that's doubly-so when the video is confusingly-produced.
It's fairly slow, and isn't very information-dense, and, though it sounds like it's scripted, its grammar doesn't actually make any sense. I transcribed a pierce below:
----
"The bottom line is that LBRY, like HTTP or Bitcoin, it's a platform or protocol that, once unleashed into the world, no one will fully own or control how artists, authors, video and virtual reality producers how they'll use LBRY to discover and transmit, buy and sell content, that'll be up to them and the demanders of content, so watching this spontaneous world evolve, it's going to be very interesting, and I'm delighted to be a part of it."
[+] [-] wyldfire|9 years ago|reply
> How can I watch, read, and play in it?
I haven't figured this bit out yet. I suppose something like a web browser plugin should be on their roadmap if it's not already available. I'd imagine the plugin would yield the LRBY credits to creators in order to browse the content.
The FAQ describes how LBRY is distinct from Storj and IPFS et al, but not mentioned is steemit -- it has a similar concept IIRC.
[+] [-] ThinkingGuy|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] camoby|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kauffj|9 years ago|reply
https://lbry.io/quickstart is good practical introduction.
https://lbry.io/what is a more theoretical introduction.
We've got a WIP new homepage (more of a wireframe) at https://lbry.io/home2 if you want to share any feedback!
[+] [-] jccalhoun|9 years ago|reply
They pitch it as upside for the creators but except for maybe a good feeling no reason why a consumer would want to use it.
[+] [-] radong|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] QasimK|9 years ago|reply
There's an FAQ up (https://lbry.io/faq/naming) which addresses this concern, and I think the system that they have designed is fantastic. It seems fair, although I'd give a slightly longer time period for a "counter-bid" personally. I'd taking a look at the FAQ before you move away or comment because they answer a lot of different questions
[+] [-] CJefferson|9 years ago|reply
This system seems like anyone who wants to make a name but not monitise it will lose. How much of the value of (picking the first things that come into my head) the names FSF, GPL, GCC and clang come from the organisations and products? I bet those names would be worth much more to someone willing to use adverts and spam.
And even if we raised enough money to keep the names out of the hands of spammers, all that's happening is that lbry gets to charge a tax to anyone who has a name that has got even slightly popular.
[+] [-] j_s|9 years ago|reply
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12418081
mrkgnao: These two goals -- being subject to the DMCA (and similar laws), and promising a predetermined, immutable set of rules -- are incompatible.
developer2: It's AOL keywords with a bidding system - for any site or service.
The also generated some comments here, though most were focused on the Berkely issue rather than LBRY:
20,000 UC Berkeley Lectures Made Illegal, So We Irrevocably Mirrored Them
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13887428
[+] [-] reimertz|9 years ago|reply
It's sad how "good looking" demo pages have turned me into a robot, ignoring everything that doesn't satisfy my preferences and therefore result in me missing out of a huge amount of valuable information.
[+] [-] ndh2|9 years ago|reply
∙ What is it (in one sentence)?
∙ What can I do with it?
∙ Where can I learn more about what you just described using meaningless buzzwords?
Edit: This page has more information, but no tl;dr either: https://lbry.io/what
[+] [-] doctornemo|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] franciscop|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kauffj|9 years ago|reply
https://github.com/lbryio/lbry.io/commit/ab6a3fe538f5c55e1f3...
If you're in our Slack, DM me a wallet address at @kauffj for a tip!
[+] [-] geoah|9 years ago|reply
How do you deal with takedown and dcma requests? I know ipfs for example has a blacklist for dcma requests.
I'm trying to understand what keeps someone from copying a video and sharing it for less or uploading a movie or TV series.
[+] [-] kauffj|9 years ago|reply
This does not remove the blockchain entry, since this is impossible, but it would be irresponsible and illegal in most countries to continue to host content on this list.
Here's a legal memo the wonderful people at Cardozo drafted for us: https://www.dropbox.com/s/70uezh44ct0244c/LBRY-SecondaryLiab...
We've also spent an unfortunate amount of money on legal fees.
[+] [-] sneak|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] sklivvz1971|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] animex|9 years ago|reply
Is there privacy built into the protocol? Can everyone see what I've downloaded & published?
What if someone uploads pirated works?
[+] [-] wyldfire|9 years ago|reply
[1] https://steemit.com/lbry/@hipster/stop-buying-lbry-credits
[+] [-] j_s|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ozo|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kauffj|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] wnm|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rabidrat|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kauffj|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Eek|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] corbinpage|9 years ago|reply
Looks like you guys created your own blockchain for the service. Any reason why Ethereum wasn't used? Any limitations?
[+] [-] joshstrange|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arcaster|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] RRRA|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] antocv|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] cyborgx7|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] vasili111|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] webmaven|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jiggytom|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CiPHPerCoder|9 years ago|reply
Some people are like that, where if you respond to their snark, your response will be used against you to tarnish your reputation in the eyes of bystanders.
It is important to never let them get the moral high ground.
If someone says something like...
* "Your team is all white."
* "Your team is all male."
* "Your team is all American."
* "Your team is all able-bodied."
A better way to respond would be something like, "That's true. We're always looking for new talent and embrace diversity, just haven't had much luck yet. <hiring page URL here> if anyone's interested."
It addresses the problem, and contains an open invitation for people of diverse backgrounds to apply.
(All of this is assuming you're willing to work with people who aren't white, aren't male, aren't American, and/or aren't able-bodied, of course.)
[+] [-] dang|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nananonymous|9 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ripdog|9 years ago|reply