
Namecoin: Distributed (p2p) domain registration system based on bitcoin - elliottcarlson
http://dot-bit.org/Main_Page
======
Duff
Sweet! Now I can use money that nobody uses to own a domain name that nobody
can visit!

~~~
kiba
The money that nobody uses is also apparently making me rich, for now.

Hopefully, it will get even better.

~~~
trotsky
lets leave the ponzi dreams over on your smf

~~~
mike_esspe
My partner dropped his work to work full time on bitcoin project back in
February. I think he was one of the first, who have bitcoins as main income
source.

Currently bitcoin related projects are an unexplored land of possibilities :)

~~~
shii
Could you elaborate on what he does and how it all works out? Sounds pretty
fascinating, does he use Mt Gox or something else to convert to more
recognized fiats?

Does he (and you) have a backup plan in case things don't work out as planned
with Bitcoin?

~~~
mike_esspe
Mining pool (<http://deepbit.net>). Yes, mtgox for now, though i hope that in
a year or two i will be able to pay my rent with it directly :)

Currently the growth is exponential, so it takes time to scale it.

For me it's a side project, though it's becoming a large part of my income. If
bitcoins fail - no big deal, just move on.

~~~
grondilu
I would definitely not be willing to pay my rent directly in bitcoins. It is
much more interesting to pay in silly worthless fiat governmental currency.

~~~
mike_esspe
Currently to pay it i have to convert bitcoins to fiat currency (and lose
around 2% in the process). I'd like to be able to skip this part.

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Vlasta
This is a good project that attempts to add a bit of freedom back to the
internet, but the DNS concept is not the right thing for a truly free
internet. We need to take it one step further and get rid of domain names
entirely, start building on the freenet concept and replace urls with hashes
and domains with author signatures.

~~~
JeremyBanks
I am working on a simple system of that sort. I'm not sure I trust myself
using crypto, so consider it a proof-of-concept. The system provides key-based
domains, and allows sites to update them automatically over http or distribute
them through websites.

This system can also work alongside ordinary DNS. When it is running, any
domain you visit can provide a record and a public key. If the DNS record
changes in future but the signed record isn't updated to match, the user
continues to use the signed record.

The first version is probably going to be an HTTP proxy, but I'd like to make
it a browser plugin if I can figure out how (it looked more difficult than I
expected).

 _Example Scenario:_

\- I'm running wikileaks.com. I generate a key and upload a signed record with
the IP.

\- Clients visit wikileaks.com and automatically download the record and
associate the key with the domain.

\- Government sizes wikileaks.com domain.

\- Clients are redirected to wikileaks.com-via-a-long-generated-domain...

\- Clients are able to visit the site without interruption.

\- I now register wikileaks.ch, and I use my key to sign an updated record
with the new domain.

\- Clients check wikileaks.ch and associate it with the key, then redirect any
requests to wikileaks.com or the-long-generated-domain... to to wikileaks.ch.

I will provide a link when it's a little more complete.

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elliottcarlson
Other links of interest regarding Namecoin:

[http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/2011/05/12/namecoin-a-dns-
alter...](http://www.bluishcoder.co.nz/2011/05/12/namecoin-a-dns-alternative-
based-on-bitcoin.html)

<https://github.com/vinced/namecoin>

<http://www.bitcoin.org/smf/index.php?topic=6017.0>

~~~
chalst
Plus a duplicate HN story that got some discussion:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2586778>

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rryan
I think there is a scaling problem here -- every client in the network has to
hold a full copy of the entire block-chain in order to know every host on the
.bit TLD or to participate in acquiring and actively renewing one's domains.
DNS solves this problem by virtue of its recursive nature. I'm not sure this
is suitable for Internet-scale use.

~~~
mcav
I was wondering the same thing about Bitcoin itself. If Bitcoins took off,
wouldn't they run into a scaling issue too?

~~~
cruzer
This is how it is implemented now. However, it is not needed. The dev's have
already said this can and will change when it needs too.

Pluss, even now it is only the mining rig's that need the full list. If you
just want a wallet to send and receve bitcoin you don't need the whole
thing.... Correct me if I am worng. Also, you can use an on-line wallet
service to hold your coins and then you don't need anything.

~~~
rmc
So essentially there is going to be a big change to make BitCoin work better
in a while. That sounds like IPv6, new web versions, and OS/browser upgrade
head fuck.

~~~
mburns
No, it is not a change in the protocol. It will be a seamless migration for
normal clients to not keep the entire blockchain. This was planned for from
day 1.

~~~
Groxx
And already exists in the Java client: <http://code.google.com/p/bitcoinj/>

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kiba
Technologies have a tendency to escape their niches. Namecoin is jailbreak out
of Bitcoin technology's niches.

~~~
Yxven
I agree completely. If this works, why tie its fate to bitcoin? With various
governments deciding they can seize domains, this could be huge.

------
known
<http://wiki.opennicproject.org/ClosestT2Servers>

------
RyanKearney

      Set $wgLogo to the URL path to your own logo image.
    

Well this sure was thrown together quickly.

