decentralization.mdwn (1174B)
1 Decentralization 2 ================ 3 4 **Decentralization** refers to distributing activity away from a central, authoritative location. 5 6 In computing, a prominent example of [[centralization]] are large online platforms (often related to social media). Decentralization of these includes moving activity from them to smaller servers ([[smallnet]], [[Fediverse]]), as well as moving away from the [[WWW]] towards more [[offline-tolerant|offline first]] or [[peer-to-peer]] protocols. 7 8 Decentralization supports [[diversity]] (including [[technological diversity]]) and empowers users to own the technology and services they use. 9 10 Decentralization may also go horribly wrong in ways that work against permacomputing goals with radically increased energy use, etc. See the [[cryptocurrency]]/blockchain world for examples. 11 12 A useful reflection on the negative aspects of dencentralization is [Problems of Decentralism](https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/murray-bookchin-the-meaning-of-confederalism#toc2) from The Meaning of Confederalism by Murray Bookchin. 13 14 See also: 15 16 * [[file collection]] 17 * [[offline first]] 18 * [[information battery]]