Path: csiph.com!x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net!usenet.pasdenom.info!aioe.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Rui Maciel Newsgroups: comp.programming Subject: Re: Ideas on solving the file transfer problem Date: Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:08:47 +0000 Organization: Aioe.org NNTP Server Lines: 49 Message-ID: References: <9nrt3eF524U1@mid.individual.net> Reply-To: rui.maciel@gmail.com NNTP-Posting-Host: AqItoBXOUTdaiWbH4r55cA.user.speranza.aioe.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7Bit X-Complaints-To: abuse@aioe.org User-Agent: KNode/4.7.3 X-Notice: Filtered by postfilter v. 0.8.2 Xref: x330-a1.tempe.blueboxinc.net comp.programming:1254 Leif Roar Moldskred wrote: > Ian Collins wrote: >> On 01/19/12 04:16 AM, Leif Roar Moldskred wrote: >> >>> Sure, but none that ticks all the boxes "easy", "convenient", "secure" >>> and "no third party involved". >> >> scp? >> > > That's one of the better ways, but it's not something Joe Regular User > would be comfortable with. > > And like many of the methods, scp is made to exchange files between > machines rather than between users. If Frank wants to send a file to > Bob, he not only have to figure out which machine Bob is on and > manually navigate NAT / firewalls to reach that machine, but Frank > needs to have credentials on Bob's machine to be allowed to write a > file to it. > > Perhaps the best way to send files between people rather than machines > (if we ignore sending files through e-mail) is DCC file copy on IRC: > there's no need to register any accounts or log-in details with any > service providers, it's easy to agree on a meetup, the users doesn't > need to know any information about each other beyond the meetup > details (servername, channel and / or nick), the receiver doesn't need > to know anything about the sender's file system or vice versa and the > file is never available to any third party. Both users have to be > online at the same time, though, and DCC does not play very well with > NATs and firewalls. It appears that DCC represents the best available option. Nowadays maybe XMPP is a better alternative than IRC, as it is properly decentralized and users don't require to be connected to the same server/network to be able to interact. Plus, at least some XMPP clients also offer support for DCC file transfer. Maybe this is the way to go. > These days, perhaps the most convenient solution for most people would > be some mechanism for sending files from one Facebook account to > another, but I'm not aware of any existing one. It might be convenient, but it wouldn't be wise, to say the least. Facebook represents a middlemen which isn't particularly known for his staunch defence on user's inalienable right to privacy. Rui Maciel