[ih] reinventing the wheel, was Internet History Lives on the Internet?

[Miles Fidelman]

Wow, folks who really don't keep up on the literature.

bittorent is a PROTOCOL - it's not an archive, it's not a file system, 
it's a PROTOCOL - it does not store or index things, it's used to move them

Miles Fidelman

On 2/25/19 7:57 PM, John R. Levine wrote:
>> 1- How long after uploading do you typically have to wait before a
>> seasoned BT user somewhere else in the world can search and find that
>> brochure file and download it?   When can I say "It's on BitTorrent, go
>> get it there"?
>
> Pretty soon, I'd think minutes, so long as your BT program is running 
> so it can serve it.
>
>> 2- For all the BT-illiterate people like me, how long will it typically
>> be before the common search engine spiders crawl through the new BT
>> content and find that brochure file, so that a Google/Bing/etc search
>> will produce it in their search results for downloading?  When can I say
>> "Just Google it."
>
> Never.  Search engines don't index BT.  If you want something to be in 
> search engines, you have to put it on the web because that's what they 
> search.
>
>> 3- How long do I have to keep my computer with the BT client running
>> before I can turn it off, and be confident that the brochure has gotten
>> into enough other machines that it will remain accessible?  Is there a
>> way for me to tell it's safe to do so?  Is it Hours?  Days? Months?  
>> Years?
>
> Forever.  It's up to each user whether and when to run a BT program.
>
>> 4- How long does material survive within BT if nobody downloads it?
>
> Until it's deleted from all the hosts that have downloaded it, but if 
> none are running BT program, it won't be accessible.
>
>> That's what I mean by a Persistent Store... an Internet-based system
>> that stores data continuously, regardless of how frequently or widely it
>> gets used, and how many times the physical computers and storage devices
>> and people come and go, as long as there are always enough computers and
>> storage in the system at any time.
>
> That would be a web server with a budget.
>
> ?? People who are interested in History can donate their excess computer
>> time and memory to "Help Save History" by downloading some software
>> (like SETI).
>
> That only works until they lose interest.
>
> R's,
> John
>
> PS: I never said it was a great idea, just that it's what bittorrent 
> already does.
>
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-- 
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice.
In practice, there is.  .... Yogi Berra

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