The I2P Network Communication Infrastructure: Building Capacity
I2P is communication infrastructure.
Consider what makes good communication infrastructure.
Contribute to it.
The I2P network needs:
Easy to reproduce infrastructure code and guides for future developers and maintainers.
More people testing core development: transports, cryptography.
Digital security trainers to test and assess existing onboarding and distributions and options.
It needs designers and UX professionals as much as it needs people who write code.
It needs people to guide policy and security standards.
We need to reframe the conversation around networks like I2P. Overlay networks have incredible capacity to truly keep people connected. These transports need more people contributing to them. The networks need more people exploring the potential of how it can achieve better adoption. It needs better accessibility.
Community standards are just as important as the technology the community rallies around in protecting its users and its future and legitimacy.
I2P is more than a privacy network. It is actively supporting people in parts of the world where Tor is blocked. I2P's transports are designed for blocking resistance. Please read about the latest SSU2 UDP transport protocol: https://geti2p.net/en/blog/post/2022/1
The power of the I2P network are not limited to how it handles censoring of speech. This is a human problem.
It is how I2P transports PROTECT messages and thrives in restricted environments.
I encourage anyone who participates in FOSS network infrastructure to ensure that you are working on consensus, user safety, and making time in your own maintenance to improve, update and share documentation for how to recreate your service. Even better- actively try to onboard people. Yes - it is worth it to take the time to teach. Not every new contributor learns by just reading documentation. Consider offering a video tutorial, for instance.
In the I2P network participants are dependent on reseeds, outproxies, and jump services, to name a few.
These services are vital. Creating content is vital. It all supports the adoption, security and longevity of the project and its health.
The network is run by people for people. And yes - the network does support people in vulnerable and hostile situations. Having these conversations builds trust in our community and with people who are considering using the I2P network. Over the past 2 years I have organized I2P reviews with people who need I2P.
As we now have more people looking at the consequences of centralized platforms and infrastructure, let's consider what we as contributors to decentralized FOSS networks and software can learn from this and what we should be addressing for our future.