Opera to support sites using the .crypto top-level domain

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/03/31/dreams_of_a_decentralized_web/

by rguiscard • 6 years ago

103 51 6 years ago

theregister.co.uk

swiley• 6 years ago

The article doesn’t mention how the .crypto namespace is managed. That’s probably going to make or break this idea.

jungong• 6 years ago

Opera works with Unstoppable Domains for the .crypto domains. Maybe you can look it up at UD's website https://community.unstoppabledomains.com/t/unstoppable-x-ope... to see how to manage the .crypto?

ryebit2• 6 years ago

Not OP, but nothing on there seems to explain whether UD is just running a database-backed DNS server which they could change at their whim / govt order, or whether ownership and DNS records are actually stored on-chain ala Ethereum's ENS, or NameCoin.

diggan4• 6 years ago

Don't have time (nor the interest really) but found the reference docs, seems to explain how it works:

- https://github.com/unstoppabledomains/zns

- https://github.com/unstoppabledomains/zns/blob/master/REGIST...

- https://github.com/unstoppabledomains/zns/blob/master/RESOLV...

- https://github.com/unstoppabledomains/zns/blob/master/REGIST...

So in the end, I think there is a central registrar for each gTLD, so basically the same as we're doing now, just a different organization behind it and blockchain!1!11oneone

icebraining2• 6 years ago

The Registrar is an ethereum contract, not a company, though. I believe this means that once you have a domain tied to your wallet, nobody can take it down or transfer it without your private keys. The Admins can only sell new domains.

k__4• 6 years ago

Is it possible to add IPFS via extensions to Chrome and Firefox?

diggan4• 6 years ago

Not only possible but already done!

- https://github.com/ipfs-shipyard/ipfs-companion

- https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/ipfs-companion/nib...

- https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ipfs-companio...

And I think Brave already ships with IPFS-Companion installed.

techntoke• 6 years ago

IPNS is so slow though, that publishing with IPFS is a whole different story.

lildata• 6 years ago

I'm glad, Opera is offering native support for Wallets, ENS & IPFS. It is a proof that they can still lead the way. There is also some progress made by Brave what will really help in term of market share. Unfortunately native support on Firefox is not there yet... https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1354807

uasm• 6 years ago

Broader question - is there some-kind of support planned for a DNS-like MX address mechanism, for receiving emails via the .crypto domain?

CydeWeys7• 6 years ago

This is going to turn out to have been a huge mistake once the actual .crypto is added as a real TLD to root DNS come ICANN's round 2 expansion of new gTLDs.

Wilya• 6 years ago

Yeah. After the .dev disaster, you'd think people would have learned their lesson...

mercer2• 6 years ago

I have a .dev domain and completely missed this. What happened?

diggan4• 6 years ago

I think ICANN will continue with more disasters, you just wait :)

dmurray• 6 years ago

If it has enough adoption, hopefully ICANN would reserve it for Opera or Unstoppable Domains, in the same way they wouldn't sell me .coke or .google.

contravariant• 6 years ago

Why on earth didn't they try to use a TLD for it though? Why would you use a feature of the protocol you're trying to replace?

It would have made much more sense to define a new URI scheme.

CydeWeys7• 6 years ago

ICANN wouldn't sell you .google because we already own it. They wouldn't sell you .cocacola because that's an unambiguous brand name that would only go to the rightful TM holder. They would sell you .coke depending on your use case; that's a generic word that has plenty of non-brand meanings, particularly in mining and refining: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coke

But ICANN would have no qualms whatsoever about selling a TLD just because some other people claimed authority over it they didn't actually have and started misusing it.

drcode• 6 years ago

Are we supposed to care that ICANN's feelings are hurt? Hopefully this is a step to replacing ICANN with something better.

If you think ICANN is some sort of magical organization that should get to decide all TLDs, just vote with your feet and don't use Opera.

CydeWeys7• 6 years ago

ICANN's feelings are irrelevant here. The point is that they control the DNS root servers and no one else does, so anyone claiming to operate a TLD that isn't actually in the root servers is gonna have a bad time.

Think of what a disaster this is going to be if .crypto is launched for real in a few years. Opera is likely going to go with the real .crypto in the root DNS, thus dumping all these blockchain ones, but even if they don't, there's the problem that now .crypto domains will resolve differently in Opera than in all other browsers. That is a security/usability nightmare.

If you think ICANN is some sort of magical organization that should get to decide all TLDs

There's nothing magical about ICANN whatsoever, and the normative claim you're making here is irrelevant. They are the organization that decides TLDs, period, and pretending that they aren't when the other 99.999% of users and devices on the Internet do use root DNS and root DNS only is a recipe for disaster.

bdcravens2• 6 years ago

the system is riding on top of the existing DNS rather than operating as an alternative

I assume that if .crypto becomes a TLD, Opera will default to DNS lookup first.

actionowl• 6 years ago

Something crazy is going on inside Opera. My opera extension has been pending review since January 12th, Firefox, Chrome, and Edge have all accepted it.

bdcravens2• 6 years ago

They're the smallest, so I suspect they have limited resources for projects/departments they can't profit from.

rasz• 6 years ago

There is no Opera anymore, just some Chinese scam vehicle https://www.androidpolice.com/2020/01/21/opera-predatory-loa...

Yizahi• 6 years ago

I tried to understand what IPFS is - it looks like that distributed file storage project from pre-bitcoin era but with added blockchain on top. So my question is - can you delete a file from this system?

aarroyoc• 6 years ago

IPFS doesn't have a blockchain, it's more like BitTorrent. Can you delete a file? Well, by definition all files in the universe are already defined there, as IPFS is content-addresable (the file hash is used as URL),

This means that you can actually delete the file from your local IPFS client, but if someone manages to create the exact same file and put it on the network, people will access to the file using the same link.

diggan4• 6 years ago

Someone else already explained what IPFS is. So let me offer a different way of seeing the whole "can you delete a file from this system?" thing.

IPFS is a protocol, just like HTTP. So the question could be rephrased as "How do you delete a file from HTTP?" The answer is: you don't. Just as on the web and on the internet, you can link files from your machines. If someone downloads it, they can share it with others. If no one downloads it, and you stop sharing it, it's effectively deleted. Same goes for IPFS.

Proven• 6 years ago

If you care about privacy and security and use Opera, I don't think this will help improve it...

Opera to support sites using the .crypto top-level domain

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