For the people that don't understand, it is very likely to be a scam :
The idea of paying for a decentralized peer-to-peer Internet is totally contradictory. If you get money to run nodes, then you'll inevitably end up with centralised nodes !
The fact that this copy of freenet omit to quote freenet and claim to be a new idea is the proof that MaidSafe is highly dodgy.
It could also be a manipulation to pump the price of MasterCoin up as the price per MSC is fixed.
While it may well be a scam, it is possible to be decentralized because of the chunking, and the passwords being located only on your computer. In addition, it is unlikely that all the nodes will wind up in some central area. While many of the nodes might be centralized, the whole thing will be located on many times the 13 root servers. Parts of it will always be located on lots of little home computers located all over the place. Will the centralizing that will inevitably happen be enough to overcome the separate nodes of all the little home computers? Even if it is, there should be enough to keep the Internet decentralized. And because of the chunking, the only advantage that the centralization might have is to be a complete on/off switch, rather than a blocking of particular websites or email services.
As the network will become centralised, it will be possible to know which chunk come from where and maybe access some data.
Also data could be simply deleted and lost.
Any network involving cryptocurrency become centralised because of the competition for money.
I've just seen this :
The MaidSafe Foundation, a registered charity, actually own the patents.In order to use MaidSafe, you have to trust
The MaidSafe Foundation who is simply the MaidSafe staff.
It is against the idea of decentralized and free Internet. MaidSafe aim to replace Internet by making it centralised. This is absurd.
MaidSafe will have access to your data any time, will be able to sell it and I think they will do as they are greedy as hell.
I agree with the potential for most of what you say. However, if they happen to be altruistically minded, the benefit they offer will be tremendous, if they ever get their coding/scripting done so that people can use it.
We all need to keep whatever programming we design, cached/saved on our own computers. Then, in the future, if Maidsafe turns out to be a bunch of greedy dogs, all we need to do is go back to the old way we did it.
As dirvine said above, "None of the sale is founders shares, proceeds will actually be used to create competitors to MaidSafe itself, which is unusual but very important we feel." So, if the ability to fork MaidSafe is NOT allowed freely in the future, and if, as he said, "... we are in talks with CODA about an IP pool to protect all decentralised apps," is not something that is to be applied to the public domain, we will all see it before we get a long way into using the MaidSafe protocol, and we will abandon it.
The potential benefit is great, while the dangers are limited by our vigilance.
EDIT: True, MaidSafe could DECLARE that the patents are in the public domain with signed paperwork to that effect.
