Petrogale is a step from user generated content to user distributed/hosted content or from web 2.0 to web 3.0, even it doesn’t seems to be. It looks like a combination of a Wiki and a social network. But the difference is the technique in the background. Using a peer-to-peer-network in the browser all data will be stored on the machines of the user! But that is “only” a side-effect as the benefit
for the user is our highest good. Summarizing our goals in one sentence, our mission is to creating a for everyone easy-to-use website to prevent a certain censorship of accessibility of knowledge/news and to promote privacy, which should all in all lead to a lower impact of surveillance as far as possible. Or more in detail the principles of Petrogale are:
- no technical knowledge needed
- no program, application or plugin have to be installed -> usable with every browser
- a more censor resistant network
- better control of private data
- no datacenters at all
Having more than one goal often leads to the need of a trade-off – the same here. The main goal will be a robust, efficient peer-to-peer-network which is usable from every computer with internet connection and a browser installed. In that way access to the wiki should not fall victim to censorship. Since the wiki is the basis of Petrogale, this holds true for the integrated social network. Moreover privacy is the highest priority in this social part (where it should compound surveillance like PRISM or Tempora). By the way: the core of Petrogale – Mareeba (the “engine” for the p2p-connections and most of the functionalities) – will be published separately under an Open-Source-Licence.
