Re: Decentralized reliable instant messaging?

On Wed, Aug 31, 2016 at 6:21 PM, Brian <ad44@cityscape.co.uk> wrote:

On Wed 31 Aug 2016 at 13:14:08 +0000, Amir H. Firouzian wrote:

> There is a trade off between decentralization & reliability. Traditional
> E-Mail that people are talking about is NOT TRULY decentral.
> For instance think about how E-Mail work:
> 1- Mail Client Query MX record from DNS

IM systems don't do this too? What do they use? Telepathy?

> 2- Connect to SMTP Server and Exchange E-Mail.

Ok. That's unarguable.

> 3- SMTP figure out the sender IP and look domain of E-Mail

My server doesn't do that. I suppose I could instruct it to.

> 3- SMTP server query SRV Record of that domain and check is that IP valid.

My server doesn't do that. I suppose I could instruct it to.

> 4- (Nowadays) SMTP query DKIM (Which is TXT record) and validate also.

My server doesn't necessarily do that; it depends; I suppose I could
instruct it never to do it.

​*​

​My Point isn't how YOUR server work! This is how E-Mail providers does. ​

> So think how BITMESSAGE
> <https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bitmessage&oldid=734000991>:
> 1- The massage ONLY can access in TWO DAYS!
> 2- All Nodes have ALL E-Mail in Cryptic Form.

The link says

Bitmessage is a decentralized, encrypted, peer-to-peer, trustless
communications protocol that can be used by one person to send
encrypted messages to another person, or to multiple subscribers.

How does this sound?

Email is a decentralized, encrypted, peer-to-peer, trustless
communications protocol that can be used by one person to send
encrypted messages to another person, or to multiple subscribers.

​*​

​But there is completely ​

​different. First it isn't P2P; It's Server to Server. Second it base on TRUST; You trust on E-Mail providers; 

When you send message in traditional E-Mail your E-Mail provider know what you send. The term that technical people said is "End-To-End Encryption" or OTR (Off The Record). 

Proton Email

already solve this problem.

First Problem which named decentralization is more complex. Your E-Mail is already going to some Server which is define by your E-Mail Address's domain; We don't call it "Decentral". In BITMESSAGE your address is kind of string that look like BITCOIN addresses. e.g:

1dice8EMZmqKvrGE4Qc9bUFf9PX3xaYD

​p

​ALL the message within two days are accessible for ALL People in BITMESSAGE Net; But it's Cryptic and ONLY the TRUE Receiver which have the Private Key of That Address can decrypt message. It's like someone send ALL People something and you are the only person in world know how to open it (Of Course if N Not Equal NP & HERE)! It's called "Asymmetric Encryption".

> About you last sentence:
> It's better that your message Not arrive instead of being disclose! and
> This is the philosophy behind True P2P IM systems.

It's a lousy philosophy. The purpose of communication systems is to
communicate reliably. I think you must have some special circumstances
in mind.

​*

My point isn't "We don't care about reliability" instead There are plenty of research doing to make it more reliability; But it isn't our FIRST Priority.

In addition being skeptical is very strong reason to use it.