The relay architecture is too limited so it encourages centralization through sticky defaults in user clients. UX noticeably improves when users have to query and publish to a smaller overall set of trackers. There's no structure to the protocol to encourage naturally spreading the load around.
This also means that it gets increasingly more expensive to run a relay as time goes on, making those parties have more sway over the network and giving the ability to selectively remove content.
So that's why I argue it's not fully decentralized, like BitTorrent. BitTorrent does have trackers, but they're only an accelerator over DHT/PEX. Peers can't manipulate content since you independently verify it. There would have to be some kind of in-protocol message exchange directly between participants, bypassing relays, when they were able to reach each other.
treyd|12 days ago
This also means that it gets increasingly more expensive to run a relay as time goes on, making those parties have more sway over the network and giving the ability to selectively remove content.
So that's why I argue it's not fully decentralized, like BitTorrent. BitTorrent does have trackers, but they're only an accelerator over DHT/PEX. Peers can't manipulate content since you independently verify it. There would have to be some kind of in-protocol message exchange directly between participants, bypassing relays, when they were able to reach each other.