And why our focus HAS to be on developing the right apps just as soon as we have the tools and foundations to move ahead.
I tip @happybeing and his Git-related work and the wide range of opportunities with DBS, alongside the truly secure messaging app possibilities we have.
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A messaging app is low hanging fruit for sure and really on the nose right now. A social network would be next in line with something like youtube I think.
I would just like to see good tools for dealing with filtering/moderation/fighting misinformation. David used to talk about a global federated news so people are seeing both sides of the story from anywhere in the world and I think that makes sense.
GitHub alternative is big too. Glad we have good people working away at some of these things that we know about.
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I’m wrapping up a detailed review of a little over a dozen Safe Network competitors. One insight thus far is that as far as present valuation goes, level of usage or number of current users matters far less than number of active developers/associated projects. As of 3 months ago there were 267 projects listed on Polkadot. In this chicken and egg game of developers vs users, developers definitely come first. It will be key for Safe to boost the number of active third party devs building on the Network. This will, in turn, solve for this:
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Hard agree on all of this.
Perhaps we should flip these posts over to the marketing thread?
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Further to the above (Mods - please move to another topic if I am derailing - again), the way I see it is something like this…
Git stuff from @happybeing gets us exposure to many developers who previously had not heard of or had only a vague idea of what SAFE is all about. Aside from giving them a better tool to use day-to-day, some will start exploring in areas that none of us have looked at.
JAMS from @nigel will get us a foothold in music, media distribution with possible/probable leverage from DBS-related financial tools -hopefully with some very clear straightforward interfaces inspired by @JimCollinson
Our messaging tools will help spread the message about the above features and on top I have trust in @Seneca to deliver on his projects.
All in all the sum will be much greater than the parts.
And I have only tangentially talked about security …
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This is what all current platforms use for censorship. We don’t need big brother deciding what is misinformation. A definite no. Free speech is messy but unconfined.
Have to disagree with this almost entirely - sorry.
Without content/filtering, getting useful information out of SAFE could be likened not to trying to get a drink from a firehose but trying to get a drink from the main sewer of a large city.
EDIT note that this filtering will be opt-in, you are free to try to drink from theCloaca Maxima if you want, but it might not be a good idea.
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Yeah. It just seems that we don’t need another version of Twitter or Facebook with moderators deciding what is real and what must be censored. I thought this was the whole point of safe.
Edit: it would also self regulate. You would follow people who put out relevant information. You don’t need a guy in bay area flagging something to keep you safe.
Well on Safe you could private message anyone with no one to stop you likely just by finding/using their SafeID. When it comes to a platform, that’s up to who builds it whether they include such tools but these filtering tools can be made to filter out who or what you don’t want to see to cater your experience. I personally think that can lead down a dark road so maybe we agree to disagree there. Moderation is probably more what you take issue with and that is also entirely up to the app developer or platform and though it can be abused I do still find it a useful tool in most cases.
Will there be free speech on Safe? Absolutely.
Will everyone want to see it? Not likely
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No one is proposing that BTW.
As an individual, I should be able to decide what I see, what is useful to me, and sort and filter it appropriately. No one decides this for me. Although I might choose to use community or socially derived lists to help me long in this. Ands they can always be turned on and off to suit
What is not being described is a centralised filter or moderation system.
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Just to reassure you, there are many people here that hold the exact same belief as you and there is no doubt in my mind that a platform or app will exist for that. I do suggest though that the majority of people may not like it and so even though it may be unstoppable and useful to the communities that align with it, it may still seem fringe compared to what the everyday majority prefer.
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Cool. Thanks for the clarification. “Misinformation” has turned into 1984 speak for enabling censorship. Just wanted to make sure.
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Will no-one think of the children?
Like it or not, some individuals will post nasty stuff (define nasty…) whether porn - even weirder (define weird) stuff outside the limits of what is available at a couple of clicks today, hate speech and the the conspiracy crazies will run riot.
Filtering in the form of parental controls will be essential for those with kids and probably for the sanity of the rest of us.
A well constructed filtering mechanism could well be one of the first major subscription earners on SAFE.
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I can sympathize with that but I am concerned about how human psychology is easily funneled into certain trains of thought by how the information they are fed is narrow/pointed or maybe just suggestive/divisive etc and how a lack of diverse opinions can shape someone into someone far less empathetic or hateful to the point of acting out in violence. There is no simple solution to this. Moderation just throws a blanket over it and displaces it I think, so.
I believe in freedom of speech fully but I wonder how many other people worry about this problem? There seems to be a fine line to tread and it’s such a foggy issue (I can’t even find the right word to describe it) that it simply isn’t apparent or obvious to how people get there.
One thing is undeniable. Propaganda exists. Most people don’t trust governments because they were fed propaganda from them because they were the only ones that could disseminate it. Well with the internet, capitalism, and social networks came the democratization of propaganda. I’m not saying the internet is bad or that capitalism is fully to blame or that social networks should be banned but rather that tools to fight propaganda would be to everyone’s benefit.
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If this app could leverage the power of AI to produce an objective and independent news source based on adherence to truth (arrived at through scientific means) we would truly be on the verge of realizing Safe Network’s potential for positive change in the world.
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Wow and 100% yes. Especially if it was open source and audited, a graph of how it came to that conclusion was available with a perpetual timeline/record of sources and articles.
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Galileo used to spread “misinformation.” As does anyone with a truly paradigm changing idea. Worth noting before app designers rush out to filter news.
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As one who has delivered lectures on the chap, I agree totally.
It also has to be stated that in many cases Galileo was his own pig-headed worst enemy 
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I agree, this could become a big earner for some intelligent curated lists people could subscribe to. And obviously these lists can have the person add to/subtract from them quick and easy. EG a particular user is posting crap, so the user can add that ID to the list, etc.
The OpenDns (Name?) project comes to mind as an example of an attempt, but had the problem of the DNS system, yet was very useful to (some) people.
Of course there is no suggestion that any filtering is forced on any adult user of Safe and for the youngsters it is a parent/school/etc that applies it. Maybe Business owners for their internal PCs.
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I grew up on unfiniltered internet. Did I saw crazy weird things some of them I wish to unsee? Yes. Do I feel it made my chilhood worse in any kind? No. It is part of the learning process same as learning not to touch hot stove.
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