Re:AOL pulls Nullsoft file-sharing software WASTE (2003)
by treyd on Sunday July 23, 2023 @04:41AM
(#36833601)
Modern BitTorrent can function entirely via DHT and peer exchange. Trackers are supplementary and an optimization. Most torrents you find specify several trackers, and it's fine if some are down. I have a hard time imagining improvements on the current architecture, even under a better copyright regime, which is why BitTorrent has largely stood the test of time.
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Re:AOL pulls Nullsoft file-sharing software WASTE (2003)
by toyg on Sunday July 23, 2023 @07:51AM
(#36834505)
But it still needs some sort of index to search for stuff, and torrents cannot change. It's a jungle of ever-changing forums and search engines. This makes it harder to pin down by authorities, but significantly reduces casual usability.
Re:AOL pulls Nullsoft file-sharing software WASTE (2003)
by treyd on Sunday July 23, 2023 @02:34PM
(#36838249)
There are some tools to index the DHT, although it's limited. But that's more of a result of the regulatory environment and that it's hard to have decentralized search that works well.
There is a spec for updatable torrents, I believe it embeds a pubkey and the creator can announce an update by broadcasting a signed message. But it's not widely used.