Question about freenet

[Broletariat]

http://freenetproject.org/

How does it work exactly? Do I need to be paying an ISP in order to use it? How are the computers physically connected to each other? If I unplug my modem I lose internet, does freenet also run through my modem? Does it then require to be paying to internet to work?

[Sword and Shield]

How does it work exactly? Do I need to be paying an ISP in order to use it? How are the computers physically connected to each other? If I unplug my modem I lose internet, does freenet also run through my modem? Does it then require to be paying to internet to work?

Freenet seems like a peer-to-peer style file hosting network built on top of the internet. So you would upload a file or something to the internet (which requires an ISP connection and modem), and then you could disconnect from the internet and people could still download the file. At least that's what it seems like to me.

[Decolonize The Left]

http://freenetproject.org/

How does it work exactly? Do I need to be paying an ISP in order to use it? How are the computers physically connected to each other? If I unplug my modem I lose internet, does freenet also run through my modem? Does it then require to be paying to internet to work?

Alright.

So the internet is a system of links between computers. Think of the internet as streets and the computers as houses. The World Wide Web (see the www. at the top of the page?) is the big highway which runs down the center of town and connects all the houses. It's really big and really fast with lots of lanes in each direction - upload and download. We all use this highway. So we send information (the stuff in our car) out into the highway and it disappears into a big tunnel with all the other information, then it reappears in someone else's driveway.
With me so far?
Ok.
Freenet is the sidestreets. It's the alleyways which connect the houses. So theoretically you could drive from point A to point B two different ways:
1) On the big highway (the world wide web).
2) On the backroads (freenet).
The first way gets you there real quick, and you can stop for burgers and soda on the way, and watch a movie too. It's also very exposed and full of traffic.
The second way takes longer and has no groovy stuff to see on the way. But it gets you there and if you want, it's completely anonymous.
But take note, point B isn't the same thing. You cannot access the world wide web via freenet - it is an alternative net. So there is no YouTube on freenet, although theoretically there could be an 'weTube' or something which is identical.

So you need an internet connection to use freenet (as the internet connection is your car). But with freenet you only drive on the sideroads and never on the highway, and no one knows which car is yours.

Make sense?

- August