Re:“We already store data. In a database. It works well”
by sweeneyrod on Tuesday February 11, 2020 @06:02AM
(#22297566)
Wikipedia does have a database that is in its sole control though. The fact that people outside the organisation interact with that database (as is the case in most uses of databases) is irrelevant; the interaction is controlled and mediated by Wikipedia.
Re:“We already store data. In a database. It works well”
by Tomte on Tuesday February 11, 2020 @04:58AM
(#22297309)
No. "Multiple entities interact" may be a necessary condition for using a blockchain, but it's certainly far from a sufficient condition.
Re:“We already store data. In a database. It works well”
by twrx3 on Tuesday February 11, 2020 @05:07AM
(#22297345)
Yes, only when they cannot trust each other.
Re:“We already store data. In a database. It works well”
by ghoshbishakh on Tuesday February 11, 2020 @05:05AM
(#22297341)
Agreed. The sufficient condition is you cannot blindly trust all those entities.
Re:“We already store data. In a database. It works well”
by Tomte on Tuesday February 11, 2020 @05:13AM
(#22297356)
That's still far from sufficient.
Existing businesses have coped with that for hundreds of years.
You can have joint-ventures, where all participants send emissaries to, you can negotiate rights to view the books or other ways to create transparency. You can have contracts, backed by a legal system and state courts.
You can do many things. Blockchains are only one of those possibilities.
Most important question when somebody tries to sell you a blockchain: "What's the traditional way to do it?"
Correct answer: "People usually do X, but our blockchain proposal has advantages Y and Z."
Incorrect answer: "Nobody has ever solved that problem before!"
A general rule of thumb is: Don't use blockchain if a database maintained by a single organization (person / company / government ) is sufficient. If multiple people interact, or multiple organizations interact and together want to maintain some data where they all collaborate and take decisions on how the data is changed then only we need blockchain.
So when I think about it, wiki can definitely be helped by blockchains.