The OFFSystem

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What is OFF?

The Owner-Free Filesystem (or OFF) is a distributed filesystem in which everything is stored in reference to randomized data blocks, as opposed to a 1:1 copy of the original data being inserted. The creators of the Owner-Free Filesystem have coined a new term to define the network: A brightnet. Nobody shares any copyrighted files, and therefore nobody needs to hide away.

What does OFF accomplish?

OFF provides a platform through which data can be stored (publicly or otherwise) in a private, distributed manner. The system is private because the data (blocks) being transferred from peer to peer does not bear any relation to the original data. Incidentally, no data passing through the network can be considered copyrighted because the means by which it is represented is truly random.

But don't those blocks constitute derivative works?

As stated above, no data stored or transferred in OFF is copyrighted because all data is random. A simple analogy is seen in that every number has an infinite number of representations (3+2=5, 2*2+1=5, 10-5=5, 10/2=5, etc). Even if the number (file) in question can be copyrighted under current legislation, it is practically impossible and unreasonable to state that every other representation of that particular number is copyrighted.

How does it work? (technical explanation)

Files “inserted” into the OFF System are represented using randomized blocks of data. It is unnecessary to encrypt, compress, or split any of the inserted into chunks, because the randomized blocks do not represent the original data inserted to begin with. When storing a file, an appropriate number of blocks (which are each 128KiB in size) are created and referenced to in a URL which contains the instructions needed to assemble these randomized blocks back into the form from which they originally came, prior to insertion. Without the URL, however, the blocks cannot be re-assembled into anything "useful". In addition, once plugged into the system OFF blocks can be used and re-used indefinitely in order to represent other inserted files, a process known as "multi-use encoding". OFF blocks can be explained as arbitrary locator keys, similar to radio triangulation. Data is stored not as a block, but between several blocks which serve as locators for an indefinitely large number of other files.

Where can I get the Owner Free Filesystem?

Try the sourceforge page. For some basic introductory notes, you may want to check out Getting Started.

More info

Downloading and using OFF

Developers

Relevant links

Contacting us

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