I don't think we should define p2p, as it is mainly used as a
political tool against us (i.e., "p2p enables piracy", "p2p developers
are inducers", etc.).  The Internet by definition enables "peer to
peer" communication, whether that communication involves a centralized
server or not.  The fact that the edges of the network have recently
been strutting their stuff in software applications is mainly a
consequence of how Internet connectivity was rolled out (dial-up, now
broadband with fast downstream but limited upstream).  Perhaps we
should rename this list 'edge-hackers'? :)

Thanks!
Susheel

On 11/9/06, Ryan Barrett <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
On Thu, 9 Nov 2006, Florent THIERY wrote:

> I'd say the biggest difference is that you don't host your mails. A
> local-user-hosted mailserver network would be P2P, in the P2P user sense.

technically, POP email would fit shirky's definition of P2P. the intermediate
MTAs, including your POP server, only host the mail temporarily. of course,
POP has declined in favor of IMAP and webmail, which don't fit his definition.

having said that, his definition is probably more useful for social and
political purposes than technical ones. jabber, napster, and ICQ (jabber, AIM,
etc.) all use centralized servers, with occasional direct connections between
peers. that's not the kind of P2P this list usually discusses.

-Ryan

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