Comment by mempko | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mempko | Hacker News Reader

Love to see P2P coming back. Back in 2013 I built a P2P application platform called Firestr (https://www.firestr.com) that was targeted as an all in one platform to build and share graphical P2P apps. The apps were built using a built-in collaborative app editor. You could build P2P apps with friends using P2P!

You create a conversation with one or more people and can then launch apps into that conversation. The people on the other side didn't have to have the apps installed. If they liked an app, they can install it with one click and use it in their own conversations. If they wanted to change the app, they can do that too using the built in editor! All across a real-time encrypted p2p channel.

Despite how easy all these new P2P app frameworks are, none of them are as easy as Firestr was.

Example apps

https://github.com/mempko/firestr/tree/master/example_apps

Example p2p drawing application

https://github.com/mempko/firestr/blob/master/example_apps/d...

I've stopped developing it years ago. Maybe I should pick it up again if P2P is becoming interesting again for folks.

That's really cool—big props to you! Really dig being able to effortlessly create and share graphical P2P apps with others.

I'm keen to test this with others and dive deeper. The docs were a bit vague on what 'identity' means—is it just a username, or more like a public key? The idea of connecting or 'joining' others in P2P apps seems complex for many. Sharing keys or long strings might be intimidating for widespread use.

Did Firestr gain much traction? Was there an effort to expand it? It seems like an opportune moment for a comeback!

Thanks for the positive feedback!

Identity is a public key. You have a contact list that you add keys too. When two people exchange keys and add them to their lists, they automatically connect and can have conversations. Exchanging keys you needed another channel (email, sms, etc) or use the introduction system inside the app where you can introduce one person to another.

In regards to total users? I have no idea. By it's design there isn't a central user list. I have no idea who is talking with who using it.

I believe one limitation was that identities were really tied to a device and I never made a phone version of it. So it being limited to desktop limited it's reach as a communication system.

Maybe it can inspire others. I would love to see P2P as the main way to communicate.

Thank you for your reply and for breaking down how identity worked. It makes perfect sense now.

The idea of having no user tracking also aligns brilliantly with the ethos of a truly P2P application.

I'm right there with you, hoping to see more decentralised models of communication in the future!

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