I don't really find Mastodon that slow.
I do think it's got a lot, lot of sharp edges that need smoothing out before it's really viable. But speed isn't a problem, and it's decentralised.
I do think it's got a lot, lot of sharp edges that need smoothing out before it's really viable. But speed isn't a problem, and it's decentralised.
Mastodon is decentralized, because there is no central server. However, it is not distributed.
Hubs can have decent uptime and thick internet connections. Hubs are relatively few so they replicate state quickly between themselves, and then more locally between spokes when they come online.
Most natural structures are more tree-form, like that.
In context of protocols like Mastodon, if the end-user devices aren't primary holders of data, then I don't call it distributed. It's just decentralized. I guess that way, "distributed" necessarily implies peer-to-peer.
The crux comes down to the consensus model for state
Everyone who played any P2P multiplayer shooter in their life knows P2P sucks... on the other hand, dedicated server based shooters and MMOs (generally) work great. You don't have to be an IT professional to know this. Similar concepts (speed of light and multiplicative effects of multiple slow connections) apply here.
P2P is only great for uses where latency doesn't matter. See: Torrents.
So for your example: One on ones over p2p are optimal, but p2p matches with more than 8 players are suboptimal (I pulled the number out of my ass it depends on the protocol and usecase)
Mastodon page: requires unblocking JavaScript, takes one second just to load the basic layout (without post contents), then takes four to ELEVEN seconds to fully load
https://fosstodon.org/@rauschma
I expected better.
Took between 1.2 and 1.8s for a full fresh load, for me.
Not generally, but many servers. Which results in me avoiding clicking on any links to mastodon because I expect it to be extremely slow.
It takes 10 seconds to load a tweet, and I have to click through the "view in app" nag, to boot.
Using Mastodon servers have been a breath of fresh air in comparison.