Notes on Decentralized Publishing

What is the difference between the data stored on the chain and those stored on traditional websites?

• The data on the blockchain is stored by decentralized nodes, while traditional website data are mostly held by a single institution or individual.
• Once the data on the blockchain is stored, it cannot be tampered with or removed from the shelves technically, only a new version can be added; the data on the traditional website can be completely deleted from the website.

What are the benefits of decentralizing data storage?

• Unless all nodes are shut down, the blockchain remains operational and data remains online
• Anyone can set up a node according to public steps without checking qualifications
• Taking LikeCoin chain as an example, there are currently 50 active nodes, from all over the world, with different names and anonymity

What is the bottleneck of backing up data?

• Technology is not the bottleneck, although it is necessary to continuously improve the user experience. As long as you need to clear, crawl data, store data on the chain, and back up to a decentralized file system, you can find technical personnel for help
• The most difficult thing to solve is data collation, which involves editorial professional judgment, operating conditions of different media, privacy considerations, etc.
• No matter how dedicated volunteers are, they still need to make ends meet. So consider raising funds to support a small team of people working on backup full-time
• It is recommended to formulate a format standard for the same type of data, and then develop a set of backup tools and processes based on this standard. For example: Metadata format standard for articles, videos, photos, etc.

Does LikeCoin provide a convenient way to search/access data on the chain?

• Currently, it can only be searched on app.like.co through the unique ISCN ID of the data, or directly query the node in block explorer or program, such as this link .
• Unable to directly Google to on-chain data

Searching on the chain is too difficult, does it still make sense to store data on the chain?

• Although there is a lack of exposure channels for the time being, as long as the data is well preserved, people with a heart can gradually develop more portals and search tools based on the on-chain database. It is a matter of time and resources.

The content of the report needs to be modified or deleted, so it is not suitable to write on the blockchain?

• If this is a hard requirement that must be met, it is recommended to regularly write the content that has been public for a period of time (for example, three months) on the chain
• Content that has been public for a while should be assumed to be impossible to completely remove from the network, such as way back machine or anyone who has a chance to have a snapshot of the data backed up
• Taking the original content off the shelves may make the situation more ambiguous. For example, for the backup content created after Apple Daily closed its website, because the link to the original content has expired, it is even more difficult to verify whether the current version is different from the original.

How to verify that the content on the chain is from the original author/institution?

• Each profile has a publisher's wallet address. The address on the chain does not recognize the person, only to verify whether the address is "trustworthy"
• Institutions can publicly authenticate wallet addresses

How to back up the government's public information?

• Install archive.org's plugin, and take a backup when visiting
• List the data sites you want to track, and use the power of civil society to develop tools for regular backup

How to handle backups with privacy concerns?

• Only Metadata can be recorded on the blockchain for future indexing and leaving authenticity evidence, while the detailed content is stored in encrypted form
• The decryption method will be disclosed only when the information can be disclosed.

Is increasing the exposure of data an effective way to enhance the credibility of data?

• yes and no. Visibility, such as being listed on the front page of Google, is indeed one of the qualities of influence (hence "credibility"), but it is not the most important quality in this era of serious misinformation problems, because disinformation creators often have a lot of resources , which can easily fill the reader's attention window
• Competing with fake information makers only in terms of exposure, I am afraid it is short-term and long-term
• It is recommended that the Citizen Media Alliance establish a certification mechanism for the credibility of content to compete for the right to speak "true and false".

How can media organisations get involved?

• A full-time Librarian in an organization is an important and urgent task in today's social environment. The establishment of processes and standards for data collation should begin as soon as possible.
• The newly generated content should also conform to the format standard as soon as possible, so that it is ready to be put into the database at any time
• Participate in regular discussions on this topic

Can IPFS, Arweave and even blockchain technology really guarantee "forever"?

• Although there is no 100% guarantee of "forever", at least it is a long-term and safe storage solution
• A piece of data should be stored in more than one way, and the metadata of the content is used as an index for different versions
• It is very likely that other decentralized storage solutions will appear in the future, and they should also be used simultaneously to diversify the risks of the tools
• Centralized solutions (such as traditional hosting) should also be considered

Next step?

• Develop format standards for several commonly used materials
• Find a few media sites as a pilot, and always synchronize and back up the published content
• Build a knowledge base of tools to make it easier for interested people to participate
• Not only backing up past data, but also automatically uploading new content to the chain

Original link: Huang Niu Shanren