Almonit is a project for decentralized websites and web services. Decentralized websites and web services are an alternative to the way the web functions today. They combine decentralized storage (like IPFS), decentralized name services (like ENS) and P2P networks in order to replace the server-based model of the web. This lecture describes the Almonit project, its architecture, the technical details of the technology and the ecosphere in which it is created. Come discover the state-of-the-art of this up-and-coming area! This talk has been accepted late, due to Open and federated identities with ID4me by Vittorio Bertola being promoted to a full talk at 11:00. How does the web function? Generally speaking, it uses servers to provide content or services, and DNS to provide access to those servers. The Almonit project provides an alternative to the traditional server-DNS model. Instead of a server, we use decentralized storage (like IPFS), and instead of DNS, we use a decentralized name service (like ENS). We provide tools, methods and a portal for creating and accessing the decentralized web. The decentralized websites and web services scene is very new. In its current form, it was developed mostly in 2019. So far, it contains a few dozen websites experimenting with the technology, but its potential is promising. We envision it being used to create community-driven websites which would be made, moderated and maintained by a community instead of a central entity. This lecture describes the Almonit project, its architecture and technical details. We also present the ecosphere of decentralized websites and web services in which the project is created, and survey the past, present and also possible future use-cases of this technology, including its limitations. |