Not a alt-coin, but better. Alt-communications

[crazy_rabbit]

Have a look at this:

https://bitmessage.org

I read the white paper and it's fascinating. It's essentially a secure communication medium using a 'bitcoin like' system. No, it's not namecoin.

I'm setting up a node right now to help out. But it allows for encrypted messages to be sent where both the sender and receiver are encrypted, and indeed where the recipient can even passively acknowledge receipt of messages.

If you're into privacy and looking for something simpler then PGP, this is it!

[FuzzyBear]

nice find i'll be looking into this more for sure

[ElectricMucus]

An interesting idea.

Makes me think about the possibility of a more universal proof-of-work library.

[GoldenWings91]

Nice find

[nethead]

K, post your addresses to sent eachother messages to test it out
It seems COOL

addy: BM-BcSkDaFPe8iiRMoFN27oLYRiyoodKB9u

[str4wm4n]

this is awesome! i've been hoping something like this would be made for a long time!

is it possible to 51% attack something like this?

[CoinHoarder]

this is really cool.

What benefit do miners receive for running the network since there is no currency?

[crazy_rabbit]

this is really cool.

What benefit do miners receive for running the network since there is no currency?

I guess none- but maybe down the line someone can create a client that looks like "email"- like "whatsapp" or something like that. Although to be honest- I can't imagine how this would scale. It says it would keep messages for just 2 days or something like that, but if it were email thats hundreds of millions of messages.

[Digigami]

Well, my node is up and running to give this a go.. anyone is free to send me a message to try it out.

BM-BbkHMfwKznBbHFBGtrx92cMc5cyvdzzT

[doublec]

IRC discussion going on in EFNet in #bitmessage if anyone's interested. There's also a reddit /r/bitmessage.

[doublec]

What benefit do miners receive for running the network since there is no currency?

There are no miners. A proof of work is done by the sender when a message is sent.

[smoothie]

What benefit do miners receive for running the network since there is no currency?

There are no miners. A proof of work is done by the sender when a message is sent.

Which proof of work algorithm?

[Digigami]

What benefit do miners receive for running the network since there is no currency?

There are no miners. A proof of work is done by the sender when a message is sent.

Which proof of work algorithm?

The POW currently used is just like Bitcoin's POW except that the difficulty doesn't adjust based on the number of people sending messages, only the size of the individual message. I can give you more specific details if you would like them. I would like to change to a GPU resistant algorithm and am currently researching Sergio_Demian_Lerner's MAVEPAY  POW algorithm and scrypt. I would happily look into other suggestions as well.

The Bitmessage system doesn't have an equivalent system to Bitcoin's blocks. After the POW is completed, message are sent and received within seconds.

https://bitmessage.org/forum/index.php/topic,865.msg892.html#msg892

[str4wm4n]

bump for an awesome idea

i'd like to see this used more!

BM-Bcbnfga5rzxsWyjnSfmLHPYJffNUFGNC

[stevegee58]

Woohoo.  My address is BM-ooqMp3Pzg4b4nhrsJ69rGfYBvMi6Qfwft

Hit me up, yo.

[carpetbagger]

Very cool 

BM-BcZJ1gsbDGgjccyDmgbBNjMQA6iEc4Zm

I sent a few messages out but no replies yet. Feel free to send.

[gmaxwell]

A lot of the decisions in it seemed weird and unfortunate to me— E.g. it uses ginormous RSA keys instead of compact compressed ECC pubkeys.  It uses addresses which are key hashes, when it actually needs a pubkeys to communicate— so the elegant and strongly secure broadcast medium is compromised by having to have an interactive/online key exchange the first time you send someone a message why not make the address be a pubkey?— it wouldn't even be any longer.

When it was first announced I exchanged some messages with some people on #bitcoin-dev, but since it wouldn't work with my tiling window manager I didn't continue to use it.

[doublec]

A lot of the decisions in it seemed weird and unfortunate to me— E.g. it uses ginormous RSA keys instead of compact compressed ECC pubkeys.  It uses addresses which are key hashes, when it actually needs a pubkeys to communicate— so the elegant and strongly secure broadcast medium is compromised by having to have an interactive/online key exchange the first time you send someone a message why not make the address be a pubkey?— it wouldn't even be any longer.

Some of this has changed, for example ECC is now used. The initial key exchange is still there unfortunately.

[ralree]

BM-BcZTQaxiogFfL67s4AEHapDJjEa9R9Lr

I just sent everyone who posted above a message.  Hit me back if you got it!

[stevegee58]

I noticed that when you send a message the CPU maxes to 100% for about 2.5 minutes.  I assume this is the lengthy ECC crypto algorithm running.
Surely this could be offloaded to a GPU using OpenCL.