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I am a little confused as to why a blockchain was necessary here? Since Telegram is a centralized platform, couldn't they just roll their own "usernames" which

I am a little confused as to why a blockchain was necessary here? Since Telegram is a centralized platform, couldn't they just roll their own "usernames" which they already do.

transcriptase 4y ago
Honestly. Telegram is a superb chat client, but there’s no reason for this blockchain nonsense. Let users choose a username and password like services have been doing for decades.
- SnowHill9902 4y ago
  How is its interface so sleek? It’s better than Apple’s own apps.
  - mitemte 4y ago
    On iOS it’s written using a fork of Texture, formerly AsyncDisplayKit. In my experience, Texture outperforms UIKit’s auto layout and rich text widgets significantly. https://github.com/TextureGroup/Texture https://github.com/TextureGroup/Texture
    - lawgimenez 4y ago
      Desktop is written in QT I believe which I enjoy using very much.
  - transcriptase 4y ago
    Sleek, fast, intuitive, and seamless across devices. From a software standpoint it’s incredible, compared to something like Discord which takes longer to launch than it takes my PC to power on and get to the desktop.
    - karpour 4y ago
      Discord is a bloated UI nightmare. There are so many awkward choices. Most annoying is that the server list is icons only. There are many servers with similar icons. Just allow me to have actual text there.
      - addandsubtract 4y ago
        Discord straight up doesn't work on the web for me anymore. The enter key doesn't trigger anything, so I can't search or write anything. It's the most obnoxious bug I've ever witnessed.
        wolongong942 4y ago
        None of these bloated apps work on the web very well anymore on Firefox I've found, even Twitter and Instagram. Especially true if you have even minor privacy settings/adblock toggled on in your browser. I think sites like Discord just assume you'll install the app and that browser users are just boomers or the 0.1% who are more security+privacy oriented.
        nine_k 4y ago
        For Twitter, there's Nitter. Is there any decent lean client for Discord? Chat only, no voice or whatnot.
        trvv 4y ago
        If you’re permitting desktop apps, https://github.com/diamondburned/gtkcord4 https://github.com/diamondburned/gtkcord4 is an option.
        distantsounds 4y ago
        https://cancel.fm/ripcord/ https://cancel.fm/ripcord/ - also a slack client!
frollo 4y ago
Durov has been pushing a lot of blockchain nonsense over his app. I really like Telegram as a chat app, but his stunts are making me wonder whether it's still a good idea to depend so much on it.
- ignoramous 4y ago
  They need to monetize. Blockchain is one way to capture value (unfortunately, the hype train has long left the station). Given Telegram's functionality (file sharing, large groups in particular), it is likely the costs are way too high.
  - kennydude 4y ago
    They could just literally charge the $16 or roughly whatever it is upfront. It means nothing for them to be in a blockchain except waste of resources (ironically increasing their costs...)
    - super256 4y ago
      > They could just literally charge the $16 or roughly whatever it is upfront. It means nothing for them to be in a blockchain except waste of resources (ironically increasing their costs...) I don't think so. When you own a lot of crypto, and have lots of real dollars (Pavel has lots of real dollars!), you can manipulate price a little bit. In 2019/2020 Telegram had to give investors all their money back, and the new TON project started without venture capital with a value of 0$. It's now 1.84$. If their market makers are sophisticated enough, they will create enough liquidity grabs to sell telegram's TON bags over time for a nice sum. I think they are aiming for creating a market + "eco system" similar to ETH.
  - rpgbr 4y ago
    Curiously, Durov didn't mention Fragment/blockchain initiatives in his post about Telegram's monetization strategy[1]. [1] https://t.me/durov/203 https://t.me/durov/203
  - jrm4 4y ago
acaloiar 4y ago
Because there's only one way to turn up the heat on the crypto hellscape: more blockchain. Telegram launched a silly username auction that I won't link here. It essentially turns usernames into NFTs.
- qwerty456127 4y ago
  Very sad. I loved the fact I could change my username whenever I wanted. Ideally I would want no username as well as no phone at all, just a random numeric ID like ICQ had. I really hate being forced to invent a nickname and be hard-glued to it forever.
  - super256 4y ago
    You can still change your username whenever you want. But the coolest ones are taken and being sold on the market. Similar to how ICQ low digits used to be sold.
  - EGreg 4y ago
    Why have a numeric ID at all? Just have a ton of private keys or nothing at all so no one can track you across any messages and anything you write.
    - qwerty456127 4y ago
      You have to spell your ID to people so they can contact you anyway and a number is the easiest to spell aloud when communicating to people from different countries because everybody (every language) calls the same letters a different way and almost nobody cares to study proper letter names as this is the most useless knowledge about a language otherwise.
      - EGreg 4y ago
        No need to spell it Send a QR code or a link that can be used only once. Why have an identifier that any number of people can use to contact you?
mldbk 4y ago
They do so, you can choose almost any free username out there. Telegram wants to popularize its side blockchain project called TON (which could make an ICO, due to SEC limitations). So they decided to utilize it by making an auction for l33t usernames. Today they launched virtual sim service on the same platform (https://fragment.com/numbers https://fragment.com/numbers), so anyone can buy virtual number and create a Telegram account.
mattwilsonn888 4y ago
Clicking the link to that blockchain service informs you that it is "Not Available in the U.S." Some blockchain. To answer your question - the point of a blockchain would be a universal and uncensorable key store the Telegram client can point back towards. The fact that Telegram is centralized is less important when messages are encrypted. It would still in theory offer a way to bootstrap connections with people that is less vulnerable to censorship than relying on a central server, but I don't know and won't speculate more on the details of the specific blockchain they are using.
solardev 4y ago
We should just stop calling it a "blockchain" and give it a more realistic name. Telegram, now with integrated scamweb™!

I am a little confused as to why a blockchain was necessary here? Since Telegram is a centralized platform, couldn't they just roll their own "usernames" which they already do.

transcriptase 4y ago

Honestly. Telegram is a superb chat client, but there’s no reason for this blockchain nonsense. Let users choose a username and password like services have been doing for decades.

SnowHill9902 4y ago
How is its interface so sleek? It’s better than Apple’s own apps.
- mitemte 4y ago
  On iOS it’s written using a fork of Texture, formerly AsyncDisplayKit. In my experience, Texture outperforms UIKit’s auto layout and rich text widgets significantly. https://github.com/TextureGroup/Texture https://github.com/TextureGroup/Texture
  - lawgimenez 4y ago
    Desktop is written in QT I believe which I enjoy using very much.
- transcriptase 4y ago
  Sleek, fast, intuitive, and seamless across devices. From a software standpoint it’s incredible, compared to something like Discord which takes longer to launch than it takes my PC to power on and get to the desktop.
  - karpour 4y ago
    Discord is a bloated UI nightmare. There are so many awkward choices. Most annoying is that the server list is icons only. There are many servers with similar icons. Just allow me to have actual text there.
    - addandsubtract 4y ago
      Discord straight up doesn't work on the web for me anymore. The enter key doesn't trigger anything, so I can't search or write anything. It's the most obnoxious bug I've ever witnessed.
      - wolongong942 4y ago
        None of these bloated apps work on the web very well anymore on Firefox I've found, even Twitter and Instagram. Especially true if you have even minor privacy settings/adblock toggled on in your browser. I think sites like Discord just assume you'll install the app and that browser users are just boomers or the 0.1% who are more security+privacy oriented.
        nine_k 4y ago
        For Twitter, there's Nitter. Is there any decent lean client for Discord? Chat only, no voice or whatnot.
        trvv 4y ago
        If you’re permitting desktop apps, https://github.com/diamondburned/gtkcord4 https://github.com/diamondburned/gtkcord4 is an option.
        distantsounds 4y ago
        https://cancel.fm/ripcord/ https://cancel.fm/ripcord/ - also a slack client!

frollo 4y ago

Durov has been pushing a lot of blockchain nonsense over his app. I really like Telegram as a chat app, but his stunts are making me wonder whether it's still a good idea to depend so much on it.

ignoramous 4y ago
They need to monetize. Blockchain is one way to capture value (unfortunately, the hype train has long left the station). Given Telegram's functionality (file sharing, large groups in particular), it is likely the costs are way too high.
- kennydude 4y ago
  They could just literally charge the $16 or roughly whatever it is upfront. It means nothing for them to be in a blockchain except waste of resources (ironically increasing their costs...)
  - super256 4y ago
    > They could just literally charge the $16 or roughly whatever it is upfront. It means nothing for them to be in a blockchain except waste of resources (ironically increasing their costs...) I don't think so. When you own a lot of crypto, and have lots of real dollars (Pavel has lots of real dollars!), you can manipulate price a little bit. In 2019/2020 Telegram had to give investors all their money back, and the new TON project started without venture capital with a value of 0$. It's now 1.84$. If their market makers are sophisticated enough, they will create enough liquidity grabs to sell telegram's TON bags over time for a nice sum. I think they are aiming for creating a market + "eco system" similar to ETH.
- rpgbr 4y ago
  Curiously, Durov didn't mention Fragment/blockchain initiatives in his post about Telegram's monetization strategy[1]. [1] https://t.me/durov/203 https://t.me/durov/203
- jrm4 4y ago

acaloiar 4y ago

Because there's only one way to turn up the heat on the crypto hellscape: more blockchain. Telegram launched a silly username auction that I won't link here. It essentially turns usernames into NFTs.

qwerty456127 4y ago
Very sad. I loved the fact I could change my username whenever I wanted. Ideally I would want no username as well as no phone at all, just a random numeric ID like ICQ had. I really hate being forced to invent a nickname and be hard-glued to it forever.
- super256 4y ago
  You can still change your username whenever you want. But the coolest ones are taken and being sold on the market. Similar to how ICQ low digits used to be sold.
- EGreg 4y ago
  Why have a numeric ID at all? Just have a ton of private keys or nothing at all so no one can track you across any messages and anything you write.
  - qwerty456127 4y ago
    You have to spell your ID to people so they can contact you anyway and a number is the easiest to spell aloud when communicating to people from different countries because everybody (every language) calls the same letters a different way and almost nobody cares to study proper letter names as this is the most useless knowledge about a language otherwise.
    - EGreg 4y ago
      No need to spell it Send a QR code or a link that can be used only once. Why have an identifier that any number of people can use to contact you?

mldbk 4y ago

They do so, you can choose almost any free username out there. Telegram wants to popularize its side blockchain project called TON (which could make an ICO, due to SEC limitations). So they decided to utilize it by making an auction for l33t usernames. Today they launched virtual sim service on the same platform (https://fragment.com/numbers https://fragment.com/numbers), so anyone can buy virtual number and create a Telegram account.

mattwilsonn888 4y ago

Clicking the link to that blockchain service informs you that it is "Not Available in the U.S." Some blockchain. To answer your question - the point of a blockchain would be a universal and uncensorable key store the Telegram client can point back towards. The fact that Telegram is centralized is less important when messages are encrypted. It would still in theory offer a way to bootstrap connections with people that is less vulnerable to censorship than relying on a central server, but I don't know and won't speculate more on the details of the specific blockchain they are using.

solardev 4y ago

We should just stop calling it a "blockchain" and give it a more realistic name. Telegram, now with integrated scamweb™!