On 26/09/14 12:42, Joseph Birr-Pixton wrote: > On 24 September 2014 23:48, Tao Effect <[email protected]> wrote: >> OK, but you've glossed over all the details and then declared it to be >> simple. > ... >> The Blockchain *is* the simple thing. >> >> Here's how email would work with the blockchain (once software matures): >> >> To send someone an email: >> >> 1) Enter their email address. >> 2) Type message and click send. >> >> Done. And the correct key is fetched from the blockchain based on their >> email. >> >> To receive an email: >> >> 1) Receive an email. >> >> Done. >> >> To reply to an email. >> >> 1) See "to send someone an email". >> >> >> It is simple, but it is also secure. > > You've glossed over the details (of how a user gets his mail->key > mapping into the blockchain) and then declared it to be simple.
Oooh, I think I can answer that one. You install your blockchainmail client, and it tells you a made-up "raw" address (bunch of base56), and you use an online exchange to buy some NMC or whatever currency and send them to that address. This is the hardest part, but more exchanges and better UIs on them is something that will improve in time; it's a matter of building businesses, which will happen if there's demand. In an ideal world, your blockchainmail client knows what the best exchange for your location is, and sends you directly to their web site (passing the raw address through for you) so you just pay your dollar or whatever with your card; or type/scan in a code from a "pre-pay card" you buy at a local shop. Once you have some money in your blockchainmail client, you can then try and register a "nice address", which will succeed or fail (if the address is already taken) - in the latter case, try another. Under the hood, it spends your NMC balance to set up an address mapping pointing to some underlying mail delivery thingy, such as an existing SMTP mailbox, or its own peer-to-peer protocol, or whatever - you don't really need to know. And, of course, to a public key. Once that's done, you now have a name you can hand out to people, which is globally assigned to a public key which your client holds the private part of. I don't think blockchains are a panacea for global identity - but they're pretty sweet. I think the problems with them are more likely to be economic (will there be lots of easy-to-use exchanges, or other ways of buying/earning NMC? and what will the actual cost of registering a name be, in the long run?) > > Cheers, > Joe > ABS -- Alaric Snell-Pym http://www.snell-pym.org.uk/alaric/ _______________________________________________ Messaging mailing list [email protected] https://moderncrypto.org/mailman/listinfo/messaging
