First the main reasons: "Not enough interesting content" 1509 : 31% "I was not able to get it running!" : 1050 : 22% "It takes too long to retrieve content from it" 771 : 16% "It slowed down my computer" 612 : 13% "It worked initially, but then stopped working" 387 : 8% "It slowed down my Internet connection" 328 : 7% "The content I found was objectionable" 144 : 3%
Now the detail: Lots of users mentioned the Firefox breakage. Various users complained about Freenet adding a user to run under. But I really don't see what we could do differently... one user said it changed the login screen for XP, I've heard this before too, it may be that there is no solution. :| A number of users mentioned auto-start/24/7 operation. Many of them were mysteriously unable to find the Start Freenet / Stop Freenet links that we put both on the start menu and the desktop. However for Vista users these didn't work at all, showing "Error 5" when trying to stop or start Freenet. [Wed Dec 31 2008] [16:40:56] <nextgens> toad_> error5 is vista [Wed Dec 31 2008] [16:41:08] <nextgens> and yes it's a known issue [Wed Dec 31 2008] [16:41:19] <toad_> is there any way to fix it, short of telling the user to STFU when they try to install on vista? [Wed Dec 31 2008] [16:41:32] <nextgens> probably [Wed Dec 31 2008] [16:41:49] <nextgens> it's just a matter of triggering UAC before running the script A number of users were unable to see what to do with Freenet, or ask for clearer instructions. IMHO documentation represents a failure to build a user friendly interface... A small number uninstalled because they were scared away by our frank warnings. Some users mentioned BSODs and other system crashes, not just on Windows. Presumably caused by high CPU usage and flaky hardware. A small number mentioned Thaw not being bundled etc. This is likely confusion caused by old documentation. A small number defected to 0.5 for various reasons, including Frost being DoS'ed. A few error 1067's (generic windows failed to start service error). At least 2 users complained about the lack of a german translation, despite the fact that we have one. Occasional complaint(s) about lack of download resuming. A few users mentioned not being able to find the downloaded files, possibly the queue page either. Several users even complained about the lack of a search engine on the home page, some of them definitely after I implemented one. It is possible they missed it, it is also possible they are idiots, it is also possible it's some bizarre plugins bug. Some users think it is Tor and when they find out it isn't uninstall it. User suggestions under "I wasn't able to get it running!": ==================================== "Content not uncensored", "Stop censoring content" "Constant errors just trying to view websites or download files. A major bug causing me to be continuously disconnected from my peers." "Improve the ability to download files. If it's marked as high priority, it should error out and stop downloading ... it should keep trying again and again, until it gets the file." "could not remove desk top items" "could not start the program, your pages listed in the install would not display" "Hard to configure for my needs" "I'd like it to be easy configured for my needs. Want to be able to configure everything quick and easy" "I want to change my username" "Link to change username on homepage" "Make it easier to install on linux. I'm on Fedora 8, not a chance of it working. Im a long-time user of it on windows though" "translate those quite long and hard-to-understand explanations of what Freenet is, and be sure to tell people that they decide what (folders, files) to share in a mor direct way" (from a swedish user) "Better GUI, easier accessability, improved Darknet functionality." "When are you ever going to make it user friendly. I suppose never! Especially the combination with firefox is impossible to operate!!" "Make it more end-user friendly. I am on a Mac, and we're used to GUIs and applications being a little smarter about how to operate in this OS (said with humor). I'd like to see something more straightforward on the installation - for example, my firewall is PF-based and headless. The instructions aren't very clear, and I'm not wanting to install something that may potentially compromise my system. etc. etc." "troubleshooting, clarify how to get it connected to other hosts. I do not know anyone who uses it, but I was able to get it running in 2005, before I went to school for network support... now I can't... go figure!!" "Its just not very user-friendly or intuitive for a non-geek like me. The Firefox interface did not work properly from the start. Where the heck do I find CHK's ssk's or whatever kkk's anyway? Maybe Vista caused some problems too." "Difficult to understand how to execute on macs." "improve the installer so that it works DOS boxes dont impress me much" "I could not find the "Download manager" I found something about "Thaw" but the directions were not clear about how to find in windows. " "More feedback on how far along I am establishing a usable connection. If that already exists, making it easier to understand or find." "Work on the speed and ease of use. Also, use less system resources. Consistently using ~15% of a 2.33 GHz Core 2 Duo is just ridiculous." "I needed more time to concentrate on getting it running. It seems like a mini project that needs some time investing to get it work on Vista. I will give it some time in a couple of months but at the moment I have a couple more priorities. All the best and I will return. " I will try to install it again and may need to consult someone to help me. The error had to do with not recognizing regedit. "I believe since I only had FireFox 2.x.x on Mac OS X, it wouldn't work." "to be usefull for no-specialiste" "make it more simple" "After download, please let it work!" "Since Firfox introduced this wretched profile before logging in I can't get Freenet to work properly. It sometimes runs, very slowly, in the background but I can't open a window to see what's going on. Shame because it is really interesting. There is a note saying find firefox exe and do something with it ... but I have no idea how to do this. Also, I'm running Vista and I don't think that works too well when Freenet is running." "i have tried freenet for about 3 years. Every year I try it. It is just too complicated to work. If it was just one program like maybe firefox. You can implant the node and a gui interface in one . If you get a step by step guide to make it work and use it then please email me. I am dieing for such software. May i also add that there is a good p2p program called filetopia. It claims to be anonymous so maybe you can look at that for ideas." "make it auto connecting like limewire" "Freenet 0.7 didn't work together with Ubuntu 8.10. The Node kept saying that my MTU is too small. I changed my MTU to 1454 (the same as my Router uses), but the Message was still there and Freenet 0.7 hasn't managed to connect to the Opennet within 3 Hours. So I gave up. My suggestion for you is therefor, that you test Freenet 0.7 on Ubuntu to figure out what the Problem really is. On Ubuntu 8.04 Freenet 0.7 was working just fine." "I used stand alone installer in russian mode and after finishing installation and starting freenet there was information that my version of software is outdated..." "clearer instructions, or more intuitive gui" "you should put a default user if we dont know any one using freenet" "Just seems baffling. Mac version needs a bit of explanation. " "Yes ! A better installation for Linux user (distribution package), a better navigation, more services... more in French ! ;-) Good job !" "i have a dell dimension 4100, 512m memory, 933mhz uP comkputer--not very computer-smart myself, i tried following the help page that suggested refresh, etc. during install a note appeared that said something did not install-i'll try again." "Instruction of configuration in polish " "A reinstallation of freenet could not connect to any peers. Previous installs worked fine." "A better installation, I could only get it to work on old versions (Early after the .5)" "make the offline installation file downloadable and executable.thanks" "Unless you can deal with nasty, P2P hating ISPs, then nothing really. I never got to use your program. I'm sure It's great though; anonymity is useful." "Update to install with Firefox version 3. It would not create a second profile and would not run with the default profile." I tried with the last Firefox on my Mac OS X 10.5.2, but i couldn´t get it running ! Freenet must be more ergonomic don't have it stop working after the 4th wizard screen. It is very hard to work with this program in MAC OS environment this is very confusing... i couldn't get it to do anything Include a clear way to start and stop freenet on macs make installer easier and make sure it runs after it installs Make it so that it makes sense. I am not a computer retard and after a few minutes of playing with it it did not make any sense. I couldn't get files I had downloaded to open, or to a place I could access them. really hard to comprehend for novice th purpose encryption and more anon it is not working behind the fire wall. .deb it, and provide an upgrade.. live installer doesn't work for me and the offline is "too old"... I'll be trying again very shortly. Troubleshooting computer and firewall/gateway/access point port-mapping problems? I could't get past firewall on router or computer.Tried to open port but couldn't. I was using mac os10.5 Update function When trying to browse freenet, firefox opens up with a page saying to keep itself open, and a dialog box opens asking me to select a profile...however the only profile available to select is "default", which i can't even select because it says it is already in use. All I can do is close that dialog box down...so no browsing. :( For some reason my computer won't recognize the installation program. make it easy sorry, it was confusing the service did not start and I can't figure out how to start it "Improve the uninstaller. On Vista, if executed without administrator privileges, it removes some files (including the installation log), but leaves the services active, thus making them difficult to find and remove by hand. Also, I didn't use Freenet as I couldn't make it work behind SOCKS proxy; please include information on how to do that if it's possible." "Make it work. It used the offline installer. Everything went ok, install, ff profile and ff window with the quickstart wizard. But, after it was finished and I checked the Freenet's status, I was warned that I couldn't connect because my version was too old :-( Figured Freenet should have downloaded some update files, so tried to restart using the web panel. But then Freenet stopped working, and I was not able to start it anymore. System Error 1097 (???)" can it be run as a normal program instead of this service web-interface stuff? file sharing and email need to be built right into freenet, that will simplify trying to get everything working. The reason I uninstalled it was that frost would always hang on me when I tried to launch it. :-( ============================================== Non-standard reasons: (user's reason => user's suggestion): (I missed out some firefox-related stuff, and stuff that isn't interesting like moving to another machine): I was to stupid to understand freenet => A good description in french I was too perplexed at the decntalisation of it all. Couldn't make it run the way I wanted. => Well, Making it user friendly is nigh impossible. Streamlining the process as well. So just keep on trucking with what you can do. i wnted to use it as anti flitter but it didn't work(in iran) I'm german. my english isn't good enough to understand what I have to do. damn impossible to stop Insecure installation by default install failed,only download 1.4MB from fnp.org download page via tor, using firefox installation failed, got som java errors Installed as root and it went bad it blocked my wifi-card as well as normal firefox use It brought my computer to its knees it created its own account on my computer => lmk if it's installing its own account. it restarted every minute or so it said error starting freenet It seems I need to uninstall the old version in order to successfully install the latest version It starts running automatically when I start my computer. I want it to run when *I* say so, but can't find an option to make that happen. => Give me the option for the service *not* to start automatically. Too big of a file and full of viruses ============================================== User suggestions from "It slowed down my computer" : I have a quad core computer with 1 terrabyte of hard drive. 8 gigs of ram, and a 1 gig graphics card. this program brought my machine to a crawl AND used up all my internet bandwidth (which is over 95 gigs a month). The program should NOT run in the background without my consent. when i turn the node off and shut the program down it should STAY shut down until i want it up again! onion routing / tor driven haven't been able to test it's full potential..thing is i use a webpage log in to get connected. freenet doesn't allow the connection to go through as the login page doesn't come up. Looking for a work around. when i get it freenet is gonna be set back up again. Don't use up so much processor time or hd space, 1.5GB seems pretty excessive. It's extremely user unfriendly; I couldn't figure out how to use anything. The instructions are written in Martian. Spam on Frost needs fixing or the new messaging system needs to be easy to install. Build it on Linux to run it? Bullshit I say! Needs to be faster. How about not sending out hundreds/thousands of reporting packets every minute. Fix the 100% CPU utilization problem. My computer becomes unusable when running Freenet. Inform people that it erases all of your bookmarks in Firefox!!! I lost a whole semesters worth of bookmarks that I needed for my final project in one of my classes. You've done a very god job, but it is too slow under Mac OS X On Ubuntu, it just blocks shutdown of the machine for hours, unless you manually click on "disconnect from Freenet" before shutting down ! I think, it would be better if it uses a dynamic memory size. It should also use only the idle cpu time of the computer. I know that it is impossible to change but java is too slow and too buggy 1. don't install on c: it takes all space and there are warnings all the time. 2. a little more efoort on the explaining side. it may be the best thing in the world, but if i don't understant how to use it... It appears that Fuqid doesn't run on Linux, which is sad. Plus, when you begin, you don't have any Freenet "friends" to rely on. I don't understand how this should work. Bandwidth cap to avoid wrath of ISP (may already be implemented, what do I know!) But don't count this as a diss - I'm gonna install freenet on a computer which I don't rely on for my daily work make it look less sketchy and be less of a resource hog I hate java, and I hate how freenet starts like five processes and services in the background. Not enough information (technical/non-technical), not enough options. Extremely bad done in all possible aspects (except for the technology concept itself). freenet must be less slow I think disk access was what killed the computer. Need to find a way that it wont affect the default firefox configuration. Greatly improve CPU usage, I love the idea behind freenet but the freenet server constantly ate 50% or more of my CPU time, maybe if I had a quad-core machine in which I could dedicate it a single core to do its work it wouldn't be an issue, but on my 2GHZ P4 every clock cycle counts. Not the right thing for a netbook with too small mem (512M). I have to few friends about 4 and a half Keep it up IT team, but it slows down my comp, my internet connection and my TV way too much. make it faster, leaner and more features with an apple style interface, add an encrypted phone, encrypted video, etc... I think OS integration would be great. Freenetfs is a good start. Keep it up! Also I think improving the http possibilities (more dynamic content) vould greatly improve the browsing experience and would help attract new users. A good-looking startpage vith links to documentation would also welcome new users and give a better impression. I like the underground feeling but maybe that should be aroud the corner. The first thing that the system presents to the user should look proffessional. (I don't mean like those unnavigable bloated corporate websites, but rather just a coherent good-looking graphical profile.) I like Freenet! I will come back to it when I have a computer system that can bear the load. (RAM and harddisk space were limiting factors this time.) The use of Java is essentially a deal breaker, because it doesn't seem to handle long running applications very well. I was running Freenet on a laptop, which doesn't have an large amount of memory for Java to keep using more and more of. It's worth considering rewriting Freenet in another language, because of the high memory usage. Bear in mind that one of the main reasons that the Bittorrent client Azureus is no longer the popular, is due to Java using so much memory. Cut down the memory footprint to less than a quarter of what it uses at the moment (about 200mb down to 50mb), and you have an application that I would still be running now (I run a tor node, because I don't miss the bandwidth really, and the memory/cpu usage is negligible). Maybe a better explanation of what the software is and how it is to be used prior to installing. Also, make it very clear that it runs in the background all the time so it will use pc and network resources. the freenet runs with JAVA vitual maquine, My computer is to old for run java properly, I'm from argentina, my english is not the best.. Maybe, I going to use freenet wend I buy a new computer... best wishes Impossible to know where are the downloaded files et TOO SLOW ! No 100% CPU usage at windows start freenet is not really Vista compatible. The normal installation does not work; the exe installer worked. But it is not possible to stop the freenet service (error -5) from Start Menu item and it took 15% processor speed (java). i did not know where the files would be saved. I was afraid for my data as I do not know how to encrypt my hard drive. I wonder why it was usung 4.3 GB on my drive. Seems very suspicious. STOP EATING ALL MY MEMORY : (((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( have a search engine on the home page Tell it not to allocate 16 billion gigs of virtual memory (really, I'm not making that number up) Need more easy and user friendly UI for biginner. While I very much appreciate the idea and it technically does the job, for me it seemed too early to be of practical use. The content reminded me of the Internet back in 1992. But the main reason I gave up was that it made me angry that it started up automatically and used 300MB ram. FMS, i couldn't get it running and there was nowhere to look for troubleshooting or asking for help The jvm would often spike up to 90% on both CPUs, slowing down other work. Just speed it up. And i can't found any guide to make it NOT to start node on system startup, so i have to uninstall it. ============================================================ It slowed down my Internet connection: Have a preferences pane on OS X to start or stop freenet. I didn't figure out how to stop freenet. don't interact with firefox maybe use bundle gecko engine + easy for future version please yes, I need to be able to start and stop the service to stop it chewing up all my bandwidth allowance. srsly using Ubuntu, could not find how to pause/stop the server, was not in docs, killed process and it just restarted, WTF? Mac version - couldnt figure out how to prevent Freenet auto-starting when the system starts easier uninstaller, easier profile selection for firefox, better explanation of what is being installed, modified, etc. Freenet needs useful helpfile. the download speed it's better from the other programs but takes a little to open some web pages excessivement lent et très difficile à comprendre Not really. The problem here was my dirt-slow internet connection; fine for basic web browsing and the like, not so much for file distribution and the like. It can be more Transparent while using, with a proper GUI mode it will suitably be more productive to users. may be a p2p ui software like kazaa or torrent as extra with freenet package would be a good tool to improve freenet proyect and make it more popular. The masive use of the people is what make a proyect stay alive. I like the proyect thehory, but in practice is not the same. You must offer something fast, small and esay to use. Good luck with the proyect. An interace that is clear would be nice. Dont use java, it utterly destroys the speed of most machines. How-To on uninstalling the process that runs in the background, for mac. A more obvious way to start and stop a node would be nice. Like a little applet or control application. Maybe that exists, but I didn't find it. I think it is ok to let the node run in normal operation, a bit like the s...@home... but if I want to play a game I want 110% out of my system... More obvious control of how Freenet uses system resources (e.g. bandwidth, CPU). I had a complete system freeze when using Freenet (very rare). less-technical support info through conventional internet channels. I like the ideology behind freenet, but I never know why a feature isn't working, or even whether it is working or not. I'll continue to watch freenet news for signs that it is becoming more idiot-friendly. ========================================= Some more comments, some of them from the not enough interesting content / objectionable content sections (No, this isn't exhaustive): Should be simpler. More like Vidalia + Tor FF plugin, unique URL scheme. Online installer was ignoring system wide proxy settings Additional firefox profile badly broke system settings (local problem) - but it would be nice to chose to NOT install this thing Opening Browser windows in Background is very anoying Several anoying bugs Memory setting in Wizard is ignored Store is initially set to an insane amount if large online store is mounted into local file-system (over 8TB) Persistent connections to fproxy make other browsing over accessing machine impossible node wont restart after being down - works after reboot fine conclusion Freenet is getting worse not better - this time I wot get back and give it a try in 3 month I'm gone for good I'm not 100% sure (yet) but I think freenet was using about a GB a day - even when I didn't access it, and since I only have 15GB a month peak time, I had to uninstall it. If it turns out Freenet isn't the culprit, I shall reinstall! It's not very good for laptops right now. I don't have a concrete suggestion for how to improve that in light of Freenet's design. My solution for the time being is to move Freenet to a server on my LAN (to which I have VPN access when on the road) rather than using it installed directly on the laptop I use day-to-day. My firewall blocked too many attempts to access web My harddrive spun too much. My ip is STILL the same while browsing. So YOU lied to me. No need a program that does not hide ip while saying it does. What is the PROFIT of using a program that slows Internet and gives nothing in return? Give us free "friends" with I. P.'s! I'd say make it more user friendly, but that also makes it more open to get caught. more clear interface, more content listing , better categories Better search and more content. I read a lot about freenet and I find very interesting the way informations are managed but unfortunely I feel uncomfortable for some reasons. First of all seem to me that every second spent in public area makes me more and more unsafe.. I don't know.. I fell that.. like public area was there only to let you enjoy, sooner or later, the darknet side where everyone found real security.. you know? like a "limbo". Second I see a little confusion about many things.. before connect me to freenet I read somewhere that I can use internet safely and anonymously but when I'm in I never realize how, I mean I can go round in freenet not in internet.. than I see application unofficial becames official (ok I know it could be.. it's normal) which downloaded from internet was claim "the safe mode", instead downloaded from freenet was claim "less secure". Third I see no application indeed.. when I start freenet, it opens firefox then I see an "home page" where I can manage settings.. ok but what can I do now here? ok I can go to many "websites" how long? 5 maybe 10 maybe 15 minutes? enough. I read there are a p2p and an IM clients on freenet.. let's see.. I hope p2p is not that thing call "upload" on the left menu and about IM I say it all in the second point. to be short I feel like I'm entering in a clockwork's desert I never got to see the message boards due to the DDoS problem. I looked a few times but found nothing of interest on the network. I didn't know what freenet was before I started to use it and found it an interesting idea. I will wait until I am told that there is something interesting there before trying to use it again. I have no planned usage for it other than curiosity... I kinda enjoy talking uncensored to native chinese though, about general life. It's better than any film. Perhaps if the message boards worked I might have tried? more clear searching for files I want ultimate security without sacrificing performance add more filesharing. Make freenet more "transparent" where a certain domain would correlate to a freesite such as *.free or something that isnt in use on the internet. Anonet has used this and it works great I know that there's limited bandwidth out there, but if Freenet could use it a bit more efficiently... And I would consider 'moving' the node towards content it requested, rather than 'positioning' it depending on content it provides. Allow Freenet to be paused/suspended for when full processing power is needed by other apps e.g. when gaming.
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