Internet catastrophe, Masternodes to the rescue?

thelonecrouton

thelonecrouton

Well-known member
Foundation Member
So the internet, at least in your location, goes down.

Your cryptocurrency is now completely useless, and therefore worthless. Without whole-network consensus blocks can't be validated, forks occur, situation gets rapidly FUBAR.

Would it be possible, if there was just one Masternode locally to validate transactions, to build a method of having those 'offline' (as far as the rest of the blockchain is concerned, because your town is currently offline remember) transactions get smoothly integrated back into the larger network when connectivity to the internet-at-large is restored?

I'm talking about mesh networking for blockchains, using Masternodes as local 'authorities.'

Can we make Darkcoin resilient by using Masternodes in such a scenario?

eg, plug your MN into one of these http://piratebox.cc/ and carry on doing business. Or outright integrate MNs with routers, have MNs as appliances?
 
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Regardless of how masternodes are programmed and from the point of view of the blockchain, wouldn't such a masternode need the users' private keys in order to re-broadcast their transactions to the rest of the network?

Other issue: suppose guy A shares his wallet with his wife B and that they agreed to always keep their wallet.dat files synchronised (e.g., by sharing it each time one of them performs a transaction).
Now, network outage occurs in A's location but not in B's.
Guy A wants to pay shop C.
How can the local masternode know if A actually still has the coins he wants to give C and that B didn't spend them before?
 
Dr.Crypto said:
Regardless of how masternodes are programmed and from the point of view of the blockchain, wouldn't such a masternode need the users' private keys in order to re-broadcast their transactions to the rest of the network?

Other issue: suppose guy A shares his wallet with his wife B and that they agreed to always keep their wallet.dat files synchronised (e.g., by sharing it each time one of them performs a transaction).
Now, network outage occurs in A's location but not in B's.
Guy A wants to pay shop C.
How can the local masternode know if A actually still has the coins he wants to give C and that B didn't spend them before?
Click to expand...
Same way InstantX works - timestamped locking.
 
Raptor73 said:
if every computer, every smarthone is useless in your scenario. nobody would sell you a gun or bread for crypto then.
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That's like saying nobody would sell you a gun or bread for cash. Same thing.

The gun dealer wants to sell guns. The baker wants to sell bread. Commerce continues.
 
Dr.Crypto said:
I don't understand.
Does the local masternode have access to the internet? (I guess not, else the location wouldn't be isolated)

Because if it doesn't, I really don't see how it could guess that B spent the coins before A initiated the transaction.
Click to expand...
Guy learns never again to share his wallet with his wife, as both the local arms dealer and the local baker come knocking demanding their AK and their loaf back. :eek:

Good point though! :smile: Dunno. :sad:
 
So I did this

z7fOwdF.jpg






************************************************************
wife buys big macs at McDolan
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dIYAxYR.jpg




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B's wallet is actually empty but no one in Paris knows (they're too busy eating le frogs)
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a5hWyxz.jpg





************************************************************
local MN can not know if local transactions are funded
************************************************************


ZYBX8WL.jpg



 
Yeah it's an issue. Paper cash (or silver coins, whatever) can't easily be copied. Digital cash can be copied infinitely. Coffee time... ;)

edit: 1st possible workaround that has dawned like a wet Wednesday morning in West Thurrock upon me:

'offline' network knows it's offline, therefore, requires collateral to the tune of whatever DRK spent while 'offline' that can be released back to the spender's wallet upon eventual blockchain resync?

eg, you want to spend 28DRK on some ammo and a sandwich, you need to pay another 28DRK as insurance to the local MN?

Hmmm, nope, at best that would only halve the potential doublespend if your wife spent the lot on shoes and handbags in Paris while you were hunting alien predators in the jungle. Or vice-versa. Dammit. :mad:

Some means of determining that the DRK in any given wallet are unique might be needed, making backups, and probably anonymity, a bit of a problem. However, this mechanism wouldn't need to be universal, you could run your unique-ify script on your predator-hunting wallet before you flew off to Guatamala or wherever. Not practical.

I'm sure there is some clever mathematical solution out there, this can't be a new problem.
 
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thelonecrouton said:
That's like saying nobody would sell you a gun or bread for cash. Same thing.

The gun dealer wants to sell guns. The baker wants to sell bread. Commerce continues.
Click to expand...

I don't get your problem.

If a network based electronic cash lacks network, it doesn't work because the delivery medium is missing.

It's the same as when you'd want to pay your guns with normal cash but are not able to deliver the cash (personally) because the dealer is located on a different continent.

When the delivery medium fails, you'll always get problems. And if someone accepts your DRK without having access to the network he's dumb. Besides the problem to give him the DRK at all, because "every computer, every smarthone is useless...".
 
crowning said:
I don't get your problem.

If a network based electronic cash lacks network, it doesn't work because the delivery medium is missing.

It's the same as when you'd want to pay your guns with normal cash but are not able to deliver the cash (personally) because the dealer is located on a different continent.

When the delivery medium fails, you'll always get problems. And if someone accepts your DRK without having access to the network he's dumb. Besides the problem to give him the DRK at all, because "every computer, every smarthone is useless...".
Click to expand...
No, I'm just considering if/how temporarily separate networks might be made to be later integrated without problems. You still have the 'cash' locally to transact within your temporary bubble, assuming that a copy of the blockchain exists locally.
 
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