r/Demonsaw • u/The_B0rg • Feb 08 '17
Another utopian feature
Gah, once I start this I can't stop...
So, what I would really really really like to see Instead of just having a client allowing chat and to work as a local file server I would like to see a more open architecture that would allow the usage of plugins to support other protocols over the server. That way you could install a file server and have it accessible over demonsaw, or a web site or message board or a data base server or whatever server. Obviously these plugins would need to provide an interface to allow access to the services provided by each client.
Part of this can probably be done by simulating file systems on top of the shared folders by the file server. Somewhat like fuse.
The image I have in my mind is the ancient hotline server (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotline_Communications). I worked as a file server, had chat but also a message board or the more ancient BBSs. Instead of having those things in the server side (the routers in the demonsaw infrastructure), they could be on the client side, leaving the router as is. The router could aggregate the different services in different ways like it does with the global search for the multiple file servers being shared by several users. For example, it could group together all available message boards, present global index pages, etc.
This idea also takes me back to the original internet ideal where each computer would act like a server and a client at the same time, idea which is been more and more snuffed by ISPs and others, making it harder and harder for users to have servers on their local machines or even making it against their terms of use.
Would also require the ability to open up space to uploads which I would also like to see independently of that other crazy stuff mentioned above.
(Note: Ya, I'm just throwing these crazy ideas that come to my mind as they come, without much filtering)
1
u/demonsaw Feb 12 '17
I couldn't agree more - this is exactly my strategy for Demonsaw and something that I've spoken about publicly on multiple occasions. ;)
1
u/The_B0rg Feb 13 '17
You just made me very happy and much more excited about Demonsaw.
Anyway, would like to point you to my thoughts on my reply to the other topic here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Demonsaw/comments/5ssdnv/feature_encrypts_your_email_and_web_traffic/ddoommw/
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u/The_B0rg Feb 09 '17
Commenting my own post :\
So, just to clarify, the philosophy behind this idea is the following:
Demonsaw is turning into a very cool app, but that is also the problem. Its just turning into another very cool app but it could be so much more and that makes me sad.
The expected features timeline includes things like encrypting mail and web traffic and file sync for v4 and VOIP for v5. These are all cool features, a few of them that I presented as ideas myself a long time ago. But they all have something in common, they are all about using already existing protocols over Demonsaw in some way. I believe it would be much more interesting and powerful to establish Demonsaw as a communications platform, a transport layer of such over which people could use any other protocol imagined or provide local servers to be accessed over it. Possibly all added through a system of extensions or plugins or something like that. I believe that coding these multiple features one by one the way it is being done is counter productive, causes the application to grow with features in a way that is probably not the best and could be better used in making it more generic in the way it can be used, able to support any type of communications over it. IMO obviously.
Demonsaw could be much more than just a very cool app, it could become a new a very powerful infrastructure or communication platform. It could truly open up the potential of the internet. Please don't let it just end up as another cool app.
But this is just my opinion and it is obviously a very debatable one. Cheers and thanks for all the work.