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| 2 | 2 … | title: How it is Aboard an Append Only Log |
| 3 | 3 … | layout: page.jade |
| 4 | 4 … | --- |
| 5 | 5 … | |
| 6 | | -I've been writing documentation for [Secure Scuttlebot](/dt-interview). |
| 6 … | +I've been writing [documentation](https://gitmx.com/%250lOvmNF7Ch34YvmfLcAbvuyuoto7hdy4%2FGW67VD3IYY%3D.sha256) for [sbot](/dt-interview). To see it in action on a micro-level (with my latest sbot status update), click [now](/now). |
| 7 | 7 … | |
| 8 | | -Here are three answers you might have about the project. |
| 8 … | +Here are three questions you might have about the project I've been involved with since July 2016. |
| 9 | 9 … | |
| 10 | 10 … | 1. What is sbot? |
| 11 | 11 … | 1. How does sbot work? |
| 12 | 12 … | 1. Why would you use sbot? |
| 13 | 13 … | |
| 14 | 14 … | --- |
| 15 | 15 … | |
| 16 | | -1. What is sbot? Sbot is secure scuttlebot, which is a distributed, append only log based on kappa database architecture. It's eventual (not immediate) in its consistency. A few things, including git-ssb-web (a distributed version of a site quite a few developers are familiar with, github), are built on it. It's immutable and append only, which makes it secure and interesting because once you've pushed something to the log, it's there. No take-backs, only regrets. |
| 16 … | +1. What is sbot? Sbot is built on secure scuttlebutt (which handles unforgeable message feeds) and Scuttlebot (which handles the global replication, file sync and encryption). It's eventual, rather than immediate, in its consistency. A few things, including git-ssb-web (a distributed version of a site quite a few developers are familiar with, github), are built on it. It's immutable, which means it can't be changed, and append only so once you've pushed something to the log (and it's replicated to other pubs), it's there for good. |
| 17 | 17 … | |
| 18 | | -2. How does sbot work? Wait! Before I answer that. Why would you say yes to an append-only log? What, really, can you take back? Once said, you cannot unsay it. Once done, you cannot undo it. Once thought, you cannot unthink it. And if you are cool with yourself that's not a problem. The problems crop up when you're not living in contentment with **yourself** and that's a whole 'nother topic for discussion. Now, back to the topic at hand. How does it work? As mentioned, it's a log. It's stored on your machine. It's a cryptographically secure log. You put something in, you get it out again in the future and as of November 2016, there's no possibility of deleting it. Now, of course, you could write to that log and never sync up with the network, in which case, nobody will ever know you wrote it. Replication happens once you've synced up with pubs (more on that later). |
| 18 … | +2. How does sbot work? Wait! Before I answer that. Why would you say yes to an append-only log? What, really, can you take back? Once said, you cannot unsay it. Once done, you cannot undo it. Once thought, you cannot unthink it. And if you are cool with yourself that's not a problem. The problems crop up when you're not living in contentment with **yourself** and that's a whole 'nother topic for discussion. Now, back to the topic at hand. How does it work? As mentioned, it's a log. It's stored on your machine. It's a cryptographically secure log. You put something in, you get it out again in the future. As of November 2016, there's no possibility of deleting it. Of course, you could write to that log and never sync up with the network (via a pub), in which case, nobody will ever know you wrote it. Replication happens once you've synced up with [pubs](/popuppub). The other thing you should know is it's unforgeable. So, don't lose your private key. If you do, someone else could pretend to be you on the network, and that is obviously not what you want to happen. There's no 'log in/log out' to this -- it's encryption, no logging in. Though it is itself **a log** there is no **logging in**. |
| 19 | 19 … | |
| 20 | | -3. Why would you use it? Places where internet connections are limited/too expensive -- those are some of the places where sbot makes the most sense. The person who started it, Dominic Tarr, lives on a boat in New Zealand. In New Zealand, access to the internet is expensive. But think about other use cases. If you want to participate in a shared database, one where you always have a copy of your own work on your own computer, rather than say a database that's controlled by a man or group of men in Silicon Valley. Those same men who can choose what you can and cannot post to the public web. Those days are over in the secure scuttlebutt world(s). So one other reason you might work this way is you want ownership over what you're producing, and you don't want anyone else to decide whether that word or sentence you used is going to get published or not. |
| 20 … | +3. Why would you use it? Places where internet connections are limited/too expensive -- those are some of the places where sbot makes the most sense. The person who started it, [Dominic Tarr](/dt-interview), lives on a boat in New Zealand (when he's not traveling). In New Zealand, access to the internet is expensive. Here's another reason one might use sbot: if you want to participate in a shared database, one where you always have a copy of your own work on your own computer, rather than say a database that's controlled by a group of mostly men in Silicon Valley who appear to love the color blue at the exclusion of all other colors. Those same men choose what you can and cannot post to the public web via their servers (right, they're not your servers so really, you're renting. And it's not even a rent-to-own situation. You'll never own those servers). Those days can be over in the sbot world(s). You might use sbot if you don't want anyone else to decide whether a word or sentence you used is going to get published or not. |
| 21 … | + |
| 22 … | +Read more on the way this works: |
| 23 … | + |
| 24 … | +1. [Scuttlebot](https://gitmx.com/%25M0TrM%2BoJT2i%2FphUJO%2FfZ2wkK2AN2FB1xK0tqR7SNj58%3D.sha256/blob/master/README.md) |
| 25 … | +1. [Secure Scuttlebutt](https://gitmx.com/%25iljFzUwTYposC7vs2V6AZgObPqwRVNAXjxYVVUoG4tU%3D.sha256/blob/master/README.md) |
| 26 … | +1. [Docs](https://gitmx.com/%250lOvmNF7Ch34YvmfLcAbvuyuoto7hdy4%2FGW67VD3IYY%3D.sha256) |
