we need significantly more resilient communications infrastructure. though this applies equally to disaster prep since the internet is extremely fragile. i see this as a problem with a bunch of parts, but some of the main pieces look like this to me:
organizing computers (spare phones, spare laptops, actual server hardware) into cloud-like infrastructure components
writing software that actually works well running on trash (fediverse nodes really hate it when hostnames change, so hexbear itself may not adapt well if the domain gets seized. they aren’t a good match for disaster services either since you can’t guarantee that global DNS will work)
building overlay networks to connect nodes over the internet (yggdrasil+i2p looks like a winner in the short term)
building a physical mesh network to link nearby computers together over fast links (BATMAN for no se vende mesh here in LA)
developing a mobile adhoc mesh routing protocol that can setup a usable internet using only smartphones that interoperates with the fixed mesh noted in 4 (this will likely replace BATMAN, but is also a research problem and would represent a novel capability)
there are a bunch of shitty mesh apps and hardware components out there that may also be applicable, but its hard to get anything useful out of them without more planning and coordination. (meshtastic, briar, secure scuttlebutt, simplex, et al. come to mind)
i’ve been working on minibase for the micro-cloud component in an experimental capacity for years using alpine linux (just cuz i like it), but I’ve recently started working on a production version based on nix.
4: building a physical mesh network to link nearby computers together over fast links (BATMAN for no se vende mesh here in LA)
5: developing a mobile adhoc mesh routing protocol that can setup a usable internet using only smartphones that interoperates with the fixed mesh noted in 4 (this will likely replace BATMAN, but is also a research problem and would represent a novel capability)
I think there is a strong tendency to put the cart before the horse when it comes to mesh networking. People imagine how cool it would be to have widespread mesh networks, but setting up a digital radio doohickey accomplishes nothing if there is nobody listening on the other end. We need social organizations first. Then, communications technology can be built to serve the needs of these organizations. It is very much a local organizing problem. The tech does not circumvent this.
we need significantly more resilient communications infrastructure. though this applies equally to disaster prep since the internet is extremely fragile. i see this as a problem with a bunch of parts, but some of the main pieces look like this to me:
there are a bunch of shitty mesh apps and hardware components out there that may also be applicable, but its hard to get anything useful out of them without more planning and coordination. (meshtastic, briar, secure scuttlebutt, simplex, et al. come to mind)
i’ve been working on minibase for the micro-cloud component in an experimental capacity for years using alpine linux (just cuz i like it), but I’ve recently started working on a production version based on nix.
I think there is a strong tendency to put the cart before the horse when it comes to mesh networking. People imagine how cool it would be to have widespread mesh networks, but setting up a digital radio doohickey accomplishes nothing if there is nobody listening on the other end. We need social organizations first. Then, communications technology can be built to serve the needs of these organizations. It is very much a local organizing problem. The tech does not circumvent this.
The other issue of course is that mesh networks only work in very densely-populated areas.
I’m in full agreement on your points about organizing being the real task, not the tech side.