[marquis]

I'd like to note that every single item listed in this is a technical barrier. There are no political barriers, there are no wealth or resource barriers. RF is free to use on the spectrum we need it to work on (ok, until that's illegal). It's that it's a hard, hard problem to solve and it hasn't been solved yet. Do not let that stop anyone from continuing to do work on this: maybe it will get solved.

[shaddi]

I generally agree, but I tried to shed some light on the fundamental physics/math behind why building such a network is impractical. In any case, it might one day be possible, but I think a better use of resources (especially for non- and semi-technical people) is to contribute to the social movement around Internet free speech and to build real-world political networks.

[sliverstorm]

To me the damning evidence is that these problems still haven't been solved for decades even with a fair amount of work by professionals. Solutions probably exist, but will a decentralized group of redditors really be the ones who solve them?

I personally figure if people just accept the low speeds of HF instead of expecting full Hulu streaming for everyone, a lot of the problems will be immediately mitigated, but that's unlikely- if only because HF gear is not nearly as cheap and ubiquitous as WiFI.

[saulrh]

There's precedent for well-communicating groups with a well-defined goal producing impressive results in the short term. Examples include the Manhattan project, the space race, and the more recent Polymath projects [1]. These redditors probably aren't the people to do it, but if the same attempt were made on comp.* or at google it might go somewhere.

http://michaelnielsen.org/polymath1/index.php?title=Main_Pag...

[ap22213]

I really don't want to be the cynic on this subject, but I can't help but point to what I think is the elephant in the room: The political barriers will emerge as you succeed in this.

Suppose you are able to jump the technical barriers - you make the tech happen. I believe it will be at that point when power oligarchy will erect the political, legal barriers against your successes. Worse, they'll probably use your technology against you.

I realize that it is possibly harder to change that political structure. And, that's assuming that the technical situation is hard enough. But, if you change the political structure, you have less to worry about in the long run. You don't always have to be running.

We really need to abolish IP laws in their current state. We need new IP laws that are reasonable for our current social and political structures and technological realities. Hard, hard work, yes, but otherwise, it's always going to be running for a safe place and getting squashed by the people in power.

[rhizome]

Red Queen Hypothesis: solving problems reveals more unsolved problems.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Queens_Hypothesis

[stfu]

Without having real detail knowledge the problems seem somewhat solvable. It just appears that technology/protocols were not made with that intention in mind and are not some challenges where we would need to invent nuclear power first to get it started. I think the idea has to grow over time and we shouldn't try starting with wrong expectations such as covering a whole city from the stand, but starting with the local University campus would be a first significant step in the right direction.