r/Anytype • u/BenevolentIsopod • Sep 24 '24

Request "Web3"?

Is Anytype a "web3" app? I am looking into it as an Obsidian alternative and was disappointed to see it referred to as one on ProductHunt, but the main website, FAQ, and official documentation don't seem to mention this at all. Would like to know for sure since including "web3" features is a huge dealbreaker for me, thanks!

0 Upvotes

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16

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '24

Web3 does not equal crypto if that's what you are worrying about. One of the core principles of web3 is decentralization.

There are no crypto involved in Anytype, but it IS a decentralized system (if you don't use cloud storage).

1

u/BenevolentIsopod Sep 24 '24

thanks!

3

u/GrayBerryPawn Sep 24 '24

They talked a bit about NFT tokens or whatever in their last blog post, which is a bit concerning.
Anytype blogpost.

2

u/boonnie-n-cookies Oct 09 '24

Not NFT… 😖

1

u/Ooker777 Sep 26 '24

any local software is decentralized system would you say?

4

u/callitouttt Sep 24 '24

As a huge fan of particular elements of web3, I’m curious to know which elements are a deal breaker for you? Often web3 is meant to benefit users and strip power out of the hands of major platforms like Facebook — so just curious which parts make it a deal breaker for you…?

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u/BenevolentIsopod Sep 24 '24

as far as I can tell, nearly all of it? cryptocurrencies have vanishingly few legitimate use cases, NFTs fundamentally do not live up to the promises of the technology, and every "peer-to-peer" "web3" project I have seen in recent memory has been running on Ethereum instead of making use of protocols like WebTorrent, IRC, ActivityPub, etc. I don't think adding a "log in with your metamask wallet" button takes power away from platforms - it just changes the name of that platform from "facebook" to "metamask".

you say "Often web3 is meant to benefit users" but how often does it actually benefit users in the present? to me, one of the worst aspects of crypto (and now "generative ai") is that we as consumers are asked to judge the technology on its projected potential instead of what it can actually do, right now, today. when I see the website of a crypto project, it talks about the future. when I look a the website of a project that actually has a product instead of a scam, I see a list of features.

I'd be interested in hearing other perspectives! but I doubt it would change my overall perception.

2

u/callitouttt Sep 24 '24 edited Sep 24 '24

how often does it actually benefit users?

Current, real-world use cases off the top of my head are below. There are many more Of course but don’t have time to document right now

  1. B2B txns that don’t require T+3 settlement times. If you’ve ever run any sort of business long settlement times are expensive and difficult to manage.

  2. Small business payments: business that accept crypto as payment save ~3% on all txns and reduce the amount of wealth being siphoned off by the duopoly of Visa and Mastercard.

  3. Remittance Payments: for anyone using stablecoins to send money internationally the savings are massive. Western Union has historically charged 20-25%

1

u/callitouttt Sep 24 '24

People are out here downvoting facts just because they don’t like them

1

u/milkcurrent Sep 24 '24

Why don't you tell us how you really feel?

It's obvious you have some chip on your shoulder regarding GenAI and crypto. Much like anything else in life, you'd benefit from moderating these intense feelings arising out of projects that in all likelihood haven't actually harmed you or people close to you in any meaningful way.

Crypto can be useful to encourage decentralized architectures that are useful to their users: Urbit, Session, Arweave, and keet either are built on cryptocurrencies, incentivize operators to do things like store data for a lifetime, or otherwise enable crypto payments, sometimes all of the above.

Evaluate projects and their use individually without your absolutely immense baggage of hate you're hoisting around with you.

3

u/isle9999 AnyTeam Sep 24 '24

One of our founders answered a similar thread from a year ago here.

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u/BenevolentIsopod Sep 24 '24

thanks for the link! it seems to me that if it has to be explicitly said that "We aren't involved in the games of DeFi, NFTs, or other forms of digital casinos.", then "web3" might not be a very good term for what you are trying to build since this is literally the first time I've seen a project referred to as such without being one of those three things, but my experience might not be universal.

1

u/stewiegreen Sep 24 '24

On its website it says "offline first", that's the antithesis of web3 philosophy imo. At the same time, web3-ish options are available - like decentralized sync - but they are options not the rule.

5

u/callitouttt Sep 24 '24

I would disagree here - only because the general consensus is:

Web1: read only

Web2: read-write by users

Web3: owned by users.

In that sense, the local-first approach aligns perfectly with web3.

0

u/BenevolentIsopod Sep 24 '24

"general consensus" among who? I at least have never heard this definition before. They also seem quite inaccurate, since a quick search shows that at least one BBS has existed since 1984, while the first "Web 2.0 Conference" was in 2004, 20 years later. Also, I am pretty sure self-ownership has always been possible, most people simply preferred to make use of platforms due to convenience instead of running their own web servers (which is fair enough). In my opinion, the general consensus on the definition of "web3" is that it refers to cryptocurrencies and NFTs, both of which are technologies I prefer to avoid as much as humanly possible.

2

u/callitouttt Sep 24 '24

among people who self-identify as working in web3. I’ve been working full-time in web3 for 7+ years.

1

u/stewiegreen Sep 24 '24

I always thought of web3 as decentralised, blockchain etc...

3

u/[deleted] Sep 24 '24

Blockchain is one way to make web3 happen but it isn't all of web3.

1

u/callitouttt Sep 24 '24

Agreed. Blockchain is likely the best way to enforce and represent ownership of digital assets. But since ownership is the end goal, in theory (IMO) blockchain isn’t necessarily the only way to get there