Links to translations of the chapters in this series are as follows:

1. Dweb: What is Dweb? (in English)
   
   
2. Dweb: Secure Scuttlebutt Based Social Message Flow
   
   
3. Dweb: Using WebTorrent to build a recoverable Web
   
   
4. Dweb: A Decentralized Web Based on Beaker
5. Dweb: A Decentralized Web File System Based on IPFS
   
   
6. To release……

What is Dweb?

The web is the most successful programming platform in history, resulting in the largest open and accessible collection of human knowledge ever created. So yeah, it’s pretty great. But there are a set of common problems that the web is not able to address.

The Web is arguably the most successful programming platform in history, generating the largest open and convenient repository in human history. That’s good. That’s good. But it still has a set of general problems.

On the (…

• Had a website or app you love get updated to a new version, and you wished to go back to the old version?
• Tried to share a file between your phone and laptop or tv or other device while not connected to the internet? And without using a cloud service?
• Gone to a website or service that you depend on, only to find it’s been shut down? Whether it got bought and enveloped by some internet giant, or has gone out of business, or whatever, it was critical for you and now it’s gone.

For example, have you faced any of the following situations?

• One of your favorite websites or apps has upgraded to a new version, and you want to go back to the old version.
• Want to share files between your phone and other devices like your laptop or TV without an Internet connection. Or even if they’re connected, they don’t have cloud services installed. (Cloud synchronization or file sharing)
• Go to a website or service just to verify that it is no longer in service. Whether it was bought by some Internet giant and closed down, or went bankrupt, or whatever, it was very important to you, and now it’s gone.

Additionally, the web is facing critical internet health issues, seemingly intractable due to the centralization of power in the hands of a few large companies who have economic interests in not solving these problems:

• Hate speech, harassment and other attacks on social networks
• Repeated attacks on Net Neutrality by governments and corporations
• Mass human communications compromised and manipulated for profit or political gain
• Censorship and whole internet shutdowns by governments

On the other hand, the Web is also facing a serious health problem of the Internet, and it seems difficult to solve because power is concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations, who are unwilling to solve these problems for financial reasons:

• Derogatory comments, harassment, and other attacks on social networks
• Repeated attacks on net neutrality by governments and corporations
• Manipulation of public opinion and disinformation for profit or political purposes
• (c) Censorship and total disconnection of Internet access shall be implemented by Local governments

These are some of the problems and use-cases addressed by a new wave of projects, products and platforms building on or with web technologies but with a twist: They’re using decentralized or distributed network architectures instead of the centralized networks we use now, in order to let the users control their online experience without intermediaries, Whether government or corporate. This new structural approach gives rise to the idea of a ‘decentralized web’, The long term Patterns to ‘dWeb’.

A new wave of Web-based projects, products, and platforms has addressed some of these issues and usage scenarios — albeit weakly: They are using a decentralized and distributed network architecture, rather than the centralised networks we use today, to give users ownership of their online experience without the involvement of a middleman, whether government or business. Along with this new structure came the concept of a “decentrailized Web,” commonly referred to as “DWeb.”

You can read a number of perspectives on centralization, and why it’s an important issue for us to tackle, Mozilla’s Internet Health Report, Released earlier this year.

In Mozilla’s Internet Health Report released earlier this year, you can learn a lot about centrality and why it’s so important for us to address it.

What is this “D” in Dweb?

The “D” in “dweb” usually stands for either decentralized or distributed. What is The difference between distributed vs decentralized architectures? Here ‘s a visual does:

The “D” in dWeb usually refers to decentralized or distributed. What is the difference between these two architectures? Here’s a visual illustration:

(Image credit: Openclipart.org, your best source for technical clip art with animals)

(Openclipart.org — the best technical animal clipart source)

In centralized systems, one entity has control over the participation of all other entities. In decentralized systems, power over participation is divided between more than one entity. In distributed systems, no one entity has control over the participation of any other entity.

In a Centralized system, one entity has control over all other participants. In a decentralized system, participant rights are distributed to more than one entity; In distributed systems, no entity has control over any other actor.

Examples of centralization on the web today are the domain name system (DNS), servers run by a single company, and social networks designed for controlled communication.

Examples of centralization in today’s Web include the Domain Name System (DNS), services run by one company, and social networks where communications can be controlled.

A few examples of decentralized or distributed projects that became household names are Napster, BitTorrent and Bitcoin.

There are fewer examples of decentralization and distribution, with Napster, BitTorrent and Bitcoin as examples.

Some of these new dweb projects are decentralizing identity and social networking. Some are building distributed services in or on top of the existing centralized web, and others are distributed application protocols or platforms that run the web stack (HTML, JavaScript and CSS) on something other than HTTP. Also, there are blockchain-based platforms that run anything as long as it can be compiled into WebAssembly.

Some of these DWeb projects aim to decentralize identity and social networks, others aim to build distributed services on top of/within existing central networks, and others are distributed application protocols and platforms that can run Web stacks (HTML, JavaScript, CSS) without HTTP. Beyond that, there are blockchain-based platforms that can run just about anything — as long as it can be compiled into WebAssembly.

Here We Go

Mozilla’s mission is to put users in control of their experiences online. While some of these projects and technologies turn the familiar on its head (no servers! no DNS! no HTTP(S)!) , it’s important for us to explore their potential for empowerment.

Mozilla’s mission is to give users control over their online experience. While some projects and technologies are still in the head (serverless! No DNS! There is no HTTP/HTTPs!) But it’s important for us to recognize their potential in terms of power distribution.

This is the first post in a series. We’ll introduce projects that cover social communication, online identity, file sharing, new economic models, as well as high-level application platforms. All of this work is either decentralized or distributed, minimizing or entirely removing centralized control.

This article is the first in a series. Next we’ll look at projects involving social communication, online identity, file sharing, new economic models, and advanced application platforms. All of these efforts (projects) are decentralized or distributed, designed to minimize or get rid of central control altogether.

You’ll meet the people behind these projects, and learn about their values and goals, the technical architectures used, and see basic code examples of using the project or platform.

You will also meet the people behind these projects, learn about their values and ideals, the technology architecture used, and browse through some basic code examples that use these projects and platforms.

So leave your assumptions at the door, and get ready to learn what a web more fully in users’ control could look like.

So leave your assumptions behind before you get down to business, and then be prepared to see what a Web might look like in which users themselves have more complete control.

• Social Feeds with Secure Scuttlebutt

• Building a Resilient Web With WebTorrent

About Dietrich Ayala

Dietrich Ayala is a developer advocate at Mozilla, the non-profit makers of the Firefox web browser, where he’s been working for internet freedom and shipping open source software to hundreds of millions of people for over a decade.

Dietrich Ayala is a developer advocate at Mozilla, the non-profit developer behind the Firefox browser, where he has been working for a decade to free the Web and bring open source software to hundreds of millions of people.

His website: metafluff.com/

Follow him on Twitter @dietrich