Namecoin vs ENS vs Unstoppable Domains

[Abiky]

I've always been quite fond of truly-decentralized tech. Decentralized TLDs are not new (it all started with Namecoin), although they've gained traction after ENS became a household name. While decentralized domains are a better alternative than centralized domains under the scope of ICANN (in terms of censorship-resistance), I wouldn't expect them to become used by every website in the world. They'll always be the minority.

That said, I'm curious to know which of the aforementioned projects (title says it all) are best? Also, do you think decentralized domains are the future? Or are they just a failed experiment?

An overview of the advantages/disadvantages between each decentralized domain name registrar, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[nutildah]

Its a good idea in theory but was never put to much practical use. Several years ago there was an update to Mozilla Firefox that broke compatibility with the Namecoin plugin that allowed people to host websites under ".bit" domains. Last I heard there is still another way to do it, but its not widely used.

IMO the reason why decentralized domains never really took off is because Tor already does a pretty good job of allowing for uncensorable websites. The URLs just aren't as memorable as "nutildah.bit" or something.

With ENS, yes its great that you can just type "nutildah.eth" in an explorer or in Metamask and it will instantly convert to the ENS owner's ETH address. But AFAIK they aren't actually being used as website domains.

[Abiky]

Its a good idea in theory but was never put to much practical use. Several years ago there was an update to Mozilla Firefox that broke compatibility with the Namecoin plugin that allowed people to host websites under ".bit" domains. Last I heard there is still another way to do it, but its not widely used.

IMO the reason why decentralized domains never really took off is because Tor already does a pretty good job of allowing for uncensorable websites. The URLs just aren't as memorable as "nutildah.bit" or something.

With ENS, yes its great that you can just type "nutildah.eth" in an explorer or in Metamask and it will instantly convert to the ENS owner's ETH address. But AFAIK they aren't actually being used as website domains.

Good-old Namecoin is not a popular as it used to be in the early days. I doubt Mozilla is going to patch things up with the next release of Firefox browser, just to make .bit domains work. I've been using extensions like Dotbit.me and Peername on both Firefox and Chrome browsers to resolve .bit domains. I wonder if they still work with the new update?

Anyways, the idea of decentralized domains is great. But without mainstream adoption, centralized domains would continue to dominate the Internet for long. I've always dreamed of truly-decentralized websites using decentralized domains, built on top of a decentralized network (SAFE Network, ZeroNet, IPFS, etc) with decentralized smart contracts (Web3). It would truly make them censorship-resistant. As much as I like Tor, I've read online articles which claim it is compromised. Some say that Tor exit nodes can expose your identity (IP), leaving you vulnerable against government surveillance. So hosting a site on Tor with a .onion domain wouldn't be recommended. I2P is another option. Ever heard of eepsites? They're sites built on the I2P network using the .i2p domain. I've found this article online to anyone's interest: https://mhatta.medium.com/how-to-set-up-untraceable-websites-eepsites-on-i2p-1fe26069271d

Who knows if someone decides to build a decentralized marketplace or exchange on top of a decentralized network infrastructure in the future? 

[nutildah]

I2P is another option. Ever heard of eepsites? They're sites built on the I2P network using the .i2p domain. I've found this article online to anyone's interest: https://mhatta.medium.com/how-to-set-up-untraceable-websites-eepsites-on-i2p-1fe26069271d

Who knows if someone decides to build a decentralized marketplace or exchange on top of a decentralized network infrastructure in the future? 

What's interesting is the 2nd version of the AlphaBay darknet marketplace used I2P in addition to Tor and one of the roadmap items offered by the dev (DeSnake) was to build a decentralized marketplace that could never fully be taken down. That turned out to be bumpkis, and DeSnake just disappeared off the face of the planet, but from a DNM user standpoint its not a bad idea, kind of like a highly illegal OpenBazaar (wonder what ever happened to them as well).

[Abiky]

What's interesting is the 2nd version of the AlphaBay darknet marketplace used I2P in addition to Tor and one of the roadmap items offered by the dev (DeSnake) was to build a decentralized marketplace that could never fully be taken down. That turned out to be bumpkis, and DeSnake just disappeared off the face of the planet, but from a DNM user standpoint its not a bad idea, kind of like a highly illegal OpenBazaar (wonder what ever happened to them as well).

Maybe the dev disappeared out of fear from government prosecution. Who knows? You'd need to be aware of the consequences tied to creating decentralized applications that's outside the scope of the government. It's all a matter of being extremely-cautious. The concept of AlphaBay (i2p + Tor) is interesting. Although, I don't encourage the buying/selling of illegal goods on the web. Decentralized domains, alongside decentralized CDNs open up a new door of possibilities.

As far as marketplaces go, OpenBazaar is not as decentralized as I thought it would be. At least, that's what I've read online. I'm sure someone will fork the project to make a better version of it. It's best to keep things at the protocol level to maintain censorship-resistance as much as possible. The future of crypto (and the web) depends on it. Hopefully, we'd get to see truly-decentralized websites in the long run.

[nelson4lov]

ENS does it for me. AFAIK, Namecoin is a very old project and I don't hear it being talked about much anymore. It's the same for unstoppable domains. I'd just highlight the biggest benefit ENS has over the other projects being compared with it. One ENS domain can be used across most if not all of the EVM chains currently available. So you don't have to reject a domain for each blockchain as long as it has EVM support. That right there is a very powerful feature to keep in mind during this comparison.

[freigeist]

Who knows if someone decides to build a decentralized marketplace or exchange on top of a decentralized network infrastructure in the future? 

Hello.

You can try to check "Qortal" here
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5258519.0