21 comments

  • AgentK20 12 hours ago ago
  • jcon321 10 hours ago ago

    What's the usecase for this? Texting your classmates right next to you when wifi is down and you didnt pay your phone bill? It requires peers to be running bitchat. So is this only going to be useful if everyone has bitchat installed?

    • theultdev 10 hours ago ago

      - hiking

      - protests

      - festivals / events

      - remote communities

      details are in other comments in this thread.

  • ryanisnan 11 hours ago ago

    This is super neat! I love tech that expands beyond the internet. I have a strong feeling that this kind of technology plays a very important, but limited job in our future.

  • JonnyReads 11 hours ago ago

    I don't get the hype around this. No one would be talking about it if it was released by someone who wasn't a billionaire

    • BLKNSLVR 11 hours ago ago

      Whilst there are alternatives, one being Briar and there are others whose names I can't recall, it's not a flooded market, so I think it's worth some discussion.

      Additionally, tools that allow communication and coordination without relying on internet or cloud-based services seem to be of increasing pertinence to the direction the world is currently going.

      Re hype: that's just human reaction to any well known person's new thing. Just don't get caught up in it, discuss "thing" for "things" sake and move on.

    • baobun 11 hours ago ago

      Care for some more constructive criticism?

      • JonnyReads 11 hours ago ago

        Maybe I'm being overly critical. But it's nothing revolutionary or new, we've had Bluetooth mesh chat for a long time. In fact I vaguely remember seeing it as someone's a university masters project over 10 years ago. I'm more interested in the lo-ra mesh, but that's probably because it feels more mysterious to me, as I have little understanding of radio networks. Let's not even get started on the name (b*tch@).

        But I must admit it is cool that it's open source. I'll keep a eye out for an android app

      • jahsome 11 hours ago ago

        I'll ask more directly: What's the use case and/or value proposition for the average person?

        I've heard about it a few times over the last 24 hours, and I'm relatively off social media, so that to me indicates a considerable buzz. But the only thing that gets headlines is "Jack did a thing!" And the readme is primarily jargon.

        I can't speak for GP, but it's not clear to me _why_ it's a Really Big Deal.

        • bravoetch 10 hours ago ago

          For the average person, probably not much use. But we're in an interesting time where laptops and phones are ubiquitous and all of them have bluetooth. It being open source, and already ported to Android, is a bit special too. Seems like a coinflip whether it catches on, and if people start using it for concerts, festivals, group camps or whatever, then in a disaster it will already be there for people.

          • jahsome 10 hours ago ago

            I feel like it probably has particilar applications, especially if seamlessly integrated, but I also can't but help feeling like there's a certain level of "protocol fatigue" for non-tech folks.

            In my experience a lot of people dont really understand the distinction between WiFi and Cellular for example. Or maybe more relevant, SMS vs MMS vs RCS.

            That's not to say it can't or won't work, but rather the tech is interesting but I imagine a lot of potential friction for early adopters, which seems (to my limited understanding) self defeating as it only works if there's a critical mass of users.

        • baobun 11 hours ago ago

          > What's the use case and/or value proposition for the average person?

          Weird take. If it doesn't make sense to you, maybe it's just not for you (yet). That's not an indictment of either you, the project, or other people being excited about it. Not everything has to be targeting the lowest common denominator on launch.

          Who even is "The Average Person"?

          • jahsome 11 hours ago ago

            How is trying to better understand what I'm missing a "weird take"?

            Edit: feel free to answer if you're so inclined, but after seeing your edits, I have no desire to engage with you further; You win!

        • theultdev 11 hours ago ago

          Bluetooth mesh chats were quite popular and effective during the Hong Kong protests.

          Aside from protests, I'd also say they could be useful during festivals and other events where mobile networks can get quite congested.

          Eventually fragments of groups will pass within range, forwarding messages to the rest, useful for coordinating rendezvous.

          If built into an app for the event, it would be even more effective.

          • jahsome 11 hours ago ago

            Thanks, that's helpful context!

            • theultdev 10 hours ago ago

              A side note, airtags + iphones are effectively the largest bluetooth mesh network in the world, and they are quite useful even though only coordinates are sent.

              • jahsome 10 hours ago ago

                Do you mean useful in general or useful in this specific application?

                If the goal is transmitting a message how do coordinates from a "read-only" device facilitate a p2p transfer?

                • theultdev 10 hours ago ago

                  I meant useful in general. It's slightly off topic, but I think many people overlook the fact they are just a bluetooth mesh network as well.

                  Imagine one just as large as the airtag + iphone ecosystem but with messaging capabilities!

                  Would be cool to see one built into android + iphones but that will never happen. But a 3rd party could get so popular that it achieves somewhat close to that.

                  I'd imagine remote villages and towns could all install this and communicate with each community member very effectively.

                  • jahsome 10 hours ago ago

                    Ah! I see the connection of your points. Thanks so much for your thoughtful responses.