[blog] +decentralisation

content/u/blog/the-importance-of-decentralisation/contents.lr

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+title: The importance of decentralisation
+---
+pub_date: 2019-11-14
+---
+author: ungleich
+---
+twitter_handle: ungleich
+---
+abstract:
+Or: why the Internet still functions
+---
+body:
+
+Did you ever wonder, why the Internet is as robust as it is?
+Then this article is for you.
+
+## The Internet Architecture
+
+The Internet basically consists of a lose collaboration of network
+service operators. Each operator, whether an individual or a large
+scale enterprise, can announce their own networks and run services in
+their own networks.
+
+The dependency on other providers is relatively low, the only thing
+you need to operate in the Internet is one or more upstream
+providers. If you happen to have many of them, we call this
+**peering** and it allows you to get good deals for data exchange.
+
+## Decentralisation is an enabler
+
+Because each operator can decide what to run in their network, whether
+it's providing access to websites, providing a mail infrastructure,
+providing a webshop or other services. What you do, what you sell is
+up to you.
+
+So far so good, isn't it?
+
+## The threat of centralisation
+
+In the real world, we see that some services have become strictly
+centralised. Services like ebay, amazon, google or facebook are very
+convenient, because they allow access to a lot of resources, but are
+also very dangerous at the same time.
+
+### Problem one: Seller dependency
+
+Imagine you are selling pink socks. Because pink socks are
+the coolest and they make people feel more warm in winter.
+Imagine further you exclusively sell your products solely through
+one of these platforms. Then the provider bans you from their website,
+because pink is considered to be incorrect, socks always have to be
+black. This will ruin your business model completely, because you
+don't have an alternative.
+
+While the example of pink socks is fictional, there are
+[many such real world cases](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bannled+from+selling+on+amazon).
+
+### Problem two: Buyer dependency
+
+On the other hand as a consumer, if you usually go to one site. Now
+if you are banned from that site, you cannot approach the seller, even
+if the seller wanted to sell to you.
+
+### Problem three: Censorship
+
+A generic problem with centralised platforms is censorship. This is a
+very important one, as it applies to providers in
+[a lot
+nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_and_surveillance_by_country).
+We have seen censorship on a variety of platforms including a variety
+of reasons including political motivated censorship. Centralised
+platforms are especially prone for censorship with huge effects.
+
+### Problem four: Lack of choices
+
+Once a centralised platform has been established, the lack of choice
+forces sellers, buyers and consumers into a strong dependency (related
+to this is [strong vendor
+lock-ins](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendor_lock-in). If the
+platform raises prices or decides to reduce privacy features, users
+don't have a choice, but to accept, if there are no alternatives.
+
+## Some many problems - what is the solution?
+
+Like we say in Switzerland, we like to **buy locally**, supporting
+small shops and small companies. But how do you realistically do this in
+the Internet? We see one easy to use way that is not on everyone's
+radar: **switching to IPv6**. Let us show you how to establish your
+own presence in 3 small steps.
+
+### 1. Acknowledge that you are a network operator
+
+First of all, anyone can be a network operator. This is how the
+Internet was built and it is still true. You can start by
+[getting your own IPv6
+space](https://ungleich.ch/en-us/cms/blog/2019/02/05/how-to-get-ipv6/).
+
+This is really easy and in case you are using the
+[IPv6VPN.ch](https://IPv6VPN.ch) only requires installing
+[wireguard](https://www.wireguard.com/) and a configuration.
+
+### 2. Setup your own presence
+
+When you have your own IPv6 range, you can run anything in it. From a
+website, to mail servers, ... anything any other operator can do.
+
+If you don't know how to do that, you can ask for help on the
+[IPv6.Chat](https://IPv6.chat), where you find many people who are
+using IPv6 on a daily basis.
+
+You can even setup your [own social
+network](https://mastodon.social/about) on your infrastructure!
+
+### 3. Talk about it
+
+Many people are not aware that with IPv6 the game really changes and
+that everyone is back in the game. So when you start your journey, we
+ask you to talk about it and enable other people.
+
+### 4. (optional) Get an IPv4 Proxy
+
+If you want to be reachable from the IPv4 world, you can also use an
+IPv4-to-IPv6 proxy, which you find the the [IPv6
+Shop](https://ipv6onlyhosting.com/en-us/cms/ipv6-shop/).
+
+## Summary and Outlook
+
+Centralisation is a danger to everyone. It concentrates decision power
+and effectively can censor opinions and in the worst case even ruin
+businesses. With IPv6 you can back in control. Even better, you can
+be part of driving decentralisation.
+
+Soon upcoming is the [Black IPv6
+Friday](https://swiss-crowdfunder.com/campaigns/black-ipv6-friday?locale=en),
+where you can get direct IPv6 experience. Or you can exchange your
+ideas for decentralisation on the [IPv6.Chat](https://IPv6.chat).