[HN Gopher] FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared
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FireChat was a tool for revolution. Then it disappeared
Author : evah
Score : 87 points
Date : 2024-04-29 21:47 UTC (1 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.fromjason.xyz)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.fromjason.xyz)
| Klonoar wrote:
| Huh, I've had the mesh network concept rolling around in the back
| of my head for years specifically due to FireChat. I had no idea
| it was gone - guess I took it for granted.
|
| Wonder if anybody's got more info on what happened?
| ianpenney wrote:
| Meshtastic is alive https://meshtastic.org/
| livueta wrote:
| While I quite like Meshtastic and have literally dozens of
| t-beams, they serve fairly different usecases. Meshtastic is
| great for keeping in touch with your preorganized paragliding
| group or whatever, but the need for special hardware will
| always limit adoption in emergent scenarios vs. FireChat's
| "we're going to the protest; install this app".
| miguelazo wrote:
| Very suspicious ending, which calls into question the real origin
| story.
| bishbosh wrote:
| It is endlessly depressing to me that the 'revolutionary' tools
| that so often catch on aren't free and open source.
| 1oooqooq wrote:
| they are just failed business with above average marketing
| budgets. It would have sold to facebook just the same if it
| took over market as whatsapp did.
| bishbosh wrote:
| That seems very likely. My point wasn't to say that they were
| looking to make a revolutionary tool to fight a state, more
| that it makes me sad that the ones that catch on are rarely
| open source ones that have existed.
| 1oooqooq wrote:
| because open source have the worst marketing budget,
| always. by definition.
| ParanoidShroom wrote:
| I applied to open garden many years ago, solved their coding
| challenges but after back and forth it didn't go anywhere.
|
| It seem Stas has since then started clostra.com The fireside chat
| messenger just rebranded. https://www.newnode.com/download.
|
| I love a good conspiracy but shows little evidence.
| motakuk wrote:
| It's gone because it was barely usable.
| 1oooqooq wrote:
| the eulogy also forgets it was a mesh-tweeter public and all,
| not a mesh end to end private comunication solution people
| should have been using on those situations.
| Quarrel wrote:
| isn't that the exact opposite take from the article and
| anecdotes it contains?
|
| I never used it, but remember the hype. It didn't get there by
| not working.
| luuurker wrote:
| Would Briar be a good alternative?
|
| https://briarproject.org/
|
| edit: How it works: https://briarproject.org/how-it-works/
| unstatusthequo wrote:
| Android only? Ugh
| luuurker wrote:
| It's annoying, but open source projects tend to prefer more
| open platforms. I assume that many Briar users use a
| deGoogled custom ROM instead of the stock Android ROM and a
| privacy focused app store like F-Droid.
| jchw wrote:
| TIL Briar does "offline messaging". This is news to me, though
| I've never used it.
|
| That said, I am curious to hear more about the offline
| messaging. If it only is able to exchange when the two people
| who are trying to communicate with eachother are directly
| nearby it isn't so much a mesh network, right? A mesh network
| would be able to route across other nodes to get to its
| destination. Does Briar do that? The "How it works" page
| doesn't really seem to answer much, so I am assuming not.
| bishbosh wrote:
| It looks like this allows short range communication, but
| doesn't set up a meshnet. So wouldn't be great for anything
| more than a couple hundred feet.
|
| Beyond that though, at this point for protests (in the US at
| least), the suggested opsec is to leave your phone at home.
| causality0 wrote:
| It's getting so "and he left his phone at home" has been
| brought up as evidence in many trials.
| rakoo wrote:
| Not exactly. Briar uses bluetooth or wifi when peers are
| close, but also tor (over standard internet) when not, so
| it's possible to use it at wide scale.
|
| Briar actually does set up a meshnet for groups and forums,
| so long as people are contacts of each other. See the diagram
| here: https://briarproject.org/img/howitworks3(mobile).svg
| bishbosh wrote:
| I would think that a meshnet only over contacts would have
| too many holes to really be helpful in the hypothetical
| protest setting that's being described. Definitely a cool
| way to do it! Do you happen to know if it's XMPP or
| something, or it's own protocol?
| zamalek wrote:
| I think a combination of LoRa, bluetooth, and WiFi might be the
| alternative. I've seen videos of LoRA functioning below the
| noise floor (perfect for evading RF triangulation), and at
| 200km (perfect for reaching past physical borders). The major
| weakness is line of sight, but bluetooth and WiFi can help
| there.
| vouaobrasil wrote:
| If you really want a chat tool to start a revolution, meet in
| person with people you trust and don't bring any electronic
| devices with you. And only talk to people who you really trust.
| Forget phones.
| wave_1 wrote:
| haha the best reply on the Internet
| serf wrote:
| "just know who to trust".
|
| a super power I wish I had.
| Retr0id wrote:
| No amount of technology can solve this.
| pavel_lishin wrote:
| Everything is trade-offs. Meeting in person is great, until
| you're in the middle of a protest and everyone has to scatter
| because the police are firing tear gas at your skull. At that
| point, you rather do need to either have had a plan, or you
| need _some_ way to communicate that isn 't face-to-face.
| redandblack wrote:
| A antifa relative does not carry their phone with them when
| they meet, nor do they carry it in their person when attending
| a rally - they have a friend/lawyer name written in a paper
| with them, just in case some one has to be contacted.
|
| At rallies, masked, baseball hat and a couple of shirts to bulk
| up
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(page generated 2024-04-29 23:00 UTC)