RFC: Eep2Eep mails

[unveiledwrath]

To give big picture context, here's the vision within which I thought about this. Imagine the I2P network itself as a foundation. On top of this foundation, there are pillars:
The pillar 1 are the pages: the websites.
The pillar 2 is being able to share big files reliably: BitTorrent.
The pillar 3 is direct communication: this is supposed to be e-mail.

Notice how these pillars turn I2P from just a network into a complete suite usable for all primary internet tasks. Including I2PSnark into the default Java client was a great idea because it made it possible for me to convince some randoms on the internet to use it to share some files they wanted instead of relying on crap like shitty random file hosts. There is definitely demand for anonymous decentralized mail. Being able to tell some internet rando to use I2P to communicate would also be very helpful.

The synergies between these pillars will make the whole I2P stronger. For example, if I want to add a large attachment to my I2P mail, I can do it as a torrent. In clearnet I would not do such a thing, because I don't want to reveal my IP, and NAT reachability is always a question. Furthermore I have no idea if the other side can torrent. But I2P is the enabler: If both e-mail and torrent is included in the default I2P suite, I can do all this without the aforementioned worries.

Everyone runs their own mail server.

Just a quick interjection from me. MuWire has already built this in, email and chat, with short and long addresses. And if someone wants to flood you with garbage, you can lock them out permanently.

But who uses MuWire? Is this something that's actually used by people, maintained by the devs? Seems to be abandonware. This is why I insist on having this e-mail be accepted as a core pillar of I2P suite that works out of the box or not be done at all. I can maybe convince people to install I2P and click I2PSnark, but making them jump through the hoops to install a potential abandonware 3rd party thing? Fat chance. Also of course this e-mail thing needs to be as simple as possible for devs to be able to maintain it. No crazy complex features.

[lgillis]

But who uses MuWire? Is this something that's actually used by people, maintained by the devs? Seems to be abandonware. This is why I insist on having this e-mail be accepted as a core pillar of I2P suite that works out of the box or not be done at all. I can maybe convince people to install I2P and click I2PSnark, but making them jump through the hoops to install a potential abandonware 3rd party thing? Fat chance. Also of course this e-mail thing needs to be as simple as possible for devs to be able to maintain it. No crazy complex features.

A simple “no thanks” would have sufficed, but well, let's see if I can dispel your fears.

MuWire has had a small but stable user base for years. Of course, it is difficult to prove whether they are people in such an environment. (I have been told that an AI can now give itself a nickname and formulate complete sentences better than many humans. Seen in this light, however, the entire I2P network could be a botnet and this thesis is supported by the fact that the absolute majority of those campaigning for more freedom of expression do not express their free opinion.)

Last month, when the sole developer of the open source software MuWire came back from his well-deserved vacation, he adapted MuWire to the current circumstances. What the tool, which works similarly to BitTorrent under the hood, is still missing is more polish and shine and, in the long term, a deamon so that maintenance work on the desktop is possible without stopping MuWire.

Email is called Messages in MuWire, but apart from that I don't see any difference. The user clicks on Compose and selects his addressees in the mail window that opens, writes whatever he wants and attaches files if necessary. The message is delivered as soon as the recipient is online. This doesn't give me the impression of being complicated or even crazy and complex.

The built-in chat works just as easily. With a click of the mouse, you connect to the other party and the conversation can begin. And there is no third-party provider who acts as both intermediary and supervisor.

MuWire has a wiki for developers and a user manual and the well-known and public developer answers questions personally. Everyone is free to study the source code, just like you do with I2P and I2Pd, especially in times of war.

Better a sparrow in the hand than a pigeon on the roof.