h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://www.freenetproject.org/

Awkward question: Do freenet keys count as 'links' or not?

Um... we just went over there to work out the answer, and although the site described the philosophy behind freenet (nice idea!) we couldn't spot any links (the 'What is Freenet' page doesn't contain the word 'key' at all!).

Sorry to come back with no answer at all, but could you tell us a bit more, and maybe give an example (which may or may not be moderated out... )? Then we can try to help...

I have found a definition but only after I installed the software.

When you want to request some information from Freenet you need the exact key for that data, much as you need the exact URL for a webpage before your web browser can retrieve it. Sometimes keys will be self explanatory, such as freenet:KSK@the_us_constitution.txt, but sometimes they will just look like a random collection of letters and numbers. Fortunately, however, just as with the WWW, you can also retrieve a particular key just by clicking on a hyperlink such as freenet:[email protected]. You can find some sample hyperlinks above.

I'll provide a handful of examples once I'm back at my work PC, which has the freenet client installed, though I'm not sure how much that'll help you. See you Tuesday then...

It's a very interesting concept. Essentially recreating the World Wide Web but in an anonymous way, unfortunately, it seems to play host to some pretty revolting pornography. Still, the theory's solid.