
Firechat and nearby communication - firehosed
http://breizh-entropy.org/~nameless/random/posts/firechat_and_nearby_communication/
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cowsandmilk
Despite what the author continually says, the interface does not say "Real
Name" in the author's screenshots. As far as I have heard, no one has been
prevented from having an account due to a "Real Name" policy. This is in stark
contrast to Facebook, the major player in the "Real Name" game.

I don't like Firechat requiring a signup, but the facts of what is required
should not be confused. Pseudonymous use appears to be accepted.

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niutech
As an open source alternative, have a look at the Project Serval
[http://www.servalproject.org/](http://www.servalproject.org/)

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hyyypr
This seems long dead, also didn't find a link to the source code.

~~~
sleet
Source code:
[https://github.com/servalproject](https://github.com/servalproject)

Activity: (1)
[https://github.com/servalproject/batphone/commits/developmen...](https://github.com/servalproject/batphone/commits/development)
(2)
[http://developer.servalproject.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=cont...](http://developer.servalproject.org/dokuwiki/doku.php?id=content:activity:main_page)

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firehosed
Browse to FireChat's domain here[0] for a complete view of the "Everyone" chat
in your client IP's region.

[0] [https://opengarden.com:4176/](https://opengarden.com:4176/)

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nemasu
I took a look at FireChat, but bluetooth is a bit too 'nearby' for me. Very
cool that it's off the grid, but only useful if you're basically right next to
them anyways.

I wanted something like: talk to everyone nearby in a football/hockey/tri-d
chess stadium, but bluetooth falls a bit short. What would be _really_ cool is
if you could set up a relay system through other devices.

I've made (i.e. works, but not _polished_ yet) something similar:
[http://www.shoutium.com](http://www.shoutium.com) which has ranges of 1-100KM
around your current location. It does require internet, so it probably isn't
aimed at the firechat crowd anyways. Very few users unfortunately, guess I'll
work on advertising after the iOS version is done -_-

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riffic
Slight ([http://slight.la](http://slight.la)) is one way of leaving messages
in a location; those running the app receive a notification when new messages
are left nearby.

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lcedp
Does anyone know an alternative for Android?

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wfunction
Something I don't understand: can someone explain why FireChat needs an
account when it doesn't require internet access?

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rektide
I believe an accounts basically stores your public key on their servers, so
other people can verify with FireChat who it is that sent the message.

In an offline context, you'd be able to get a lot of messages and tell that
it's the same person talking, but you'll have no way to see whether that
really is the person or not. FireChat's public key servers allow those with
access to see- according to FireChat- who is talking.

~~~
wfunction
How are you supposed to verify with FireChat who sent the message when you
don't have an internet connection though? Are you supposed to route your
(presumably encrypted) request through other (presumably connected) phones?
What's the point of requiring an account when the their entire selling point
is that you can use the app in places with no internet access at all, like the
wilderness?

~~~
waps
This is easy to implement using cryptography. E.g. when firechat assigns a
username, they sign your certificate for said username using their key.

Then, when sending messages, they have to be signed with your key (or outright
encrypted), and the receiver verifies the key is correctly signed using
firechat's key.

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natar
I saw this a few days ago in F-Droid's „Recently Added“ category, a bluetooth
chat app called Gilgamesh:

[https://github.com/n8fr8/gilgamesh](https://github.com/n8fr8/gilgamesh)
([https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=info.guardianpro...](https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdid=info.guardianproject.gilga))

Don't know if it's anonymous or encrypted (is that is even possible?) but
other then Firechat (and most other apps linked here until now) it's Open
Source.

Would love to know what someone with a more technical expertise than me thinks
about this.

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rlpb
There is an XMPP standard for link-local messaging. It's supported in Empathy
through the telepathy-salut library. In other words, it's installed by default
on Ubuntu (though you need to turn it on) and presumably other distributions.

It'd be nice to see mobile apps supporting this standard, too.

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kylelibra
I downloaded this a few months back hoping that in NYC there would be enough
user density to make it useful, but it seems I was too early. Interesting use
case that protesting would be using it.

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ethans92
Would definitely be interesting to see it being used for entertainment
purposes. But it appears its a "last resort" kind of app, especially with Hong
Kong's situation.

If people are growing more and more concerned with privacy that could be the
nudge. Or if they offered something standard SMS cannot (speed, feature, etc.)

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firehosed
Is Firechat dead?

"The server at opengarden.com is taking too long to respond."

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tonylemesmer
seems to be. I tried to connect using openssl and I imagine lots of other
people are too :)

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mxgr
Is there something similar that is based on Wifi connections instead of
bluetooth? Wouldn't that offer a greater range?

Edit: Nevermind, the article explains that firechat does in fact use Wifi in
addition to Bluetooth to transmit messages:

    
    
      From the first IP, I understand that Firechat is also looking to create bond
      between WiFi device. It periodically sends UDP packet to the multicast
      address 239.192.0.0 and will also forward message just as it does with
      bluetooth. So not only every message sent are forwarded by bluetooth, they
      are also forwarded by WiFi !

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worklogin
This domain is flagged as "malicious software/botnets"... be careful clicking
on this link!

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golemotron
I'd like to see someone make an app which only works in the nearby mode and
requires no registration.

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micampe
Shortwave [https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shortwave-short-range-
anonym...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/shortwave-short-range-
anonymous/id864480884?mt=8)

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alanpoe918
Anyone use the SDK ?

