Well, as long as a distinction is made. I appreciate the information. I still feel that “decentralized” should be replaced with “polycentric,” but I’ll accept that “decentralized” is the standard term for a system with multiple centers.

Thanks for asking. :) Have a good one.

Then what would you call a network where specific data isn’t tied to specific nodes and lost when the node goes down?

Because it’s polycentric. Each instance is a center. When an instance goes down, it takes all its users and data with it.

I know people around here aren’t fond of cryptocurrency, but bitcoin is what I’d consider a truly decentralized system. Nothing is lost to the network when a bitcoin node goes down. As long as you have your private key, you can spend from any node, and you don’t even need a node to receive.

I believe it’s helpful to distinguish between the two types of systems.

I just said that lemmy is not a decentralized network…

macro?

I think “polycentric” is a better term than “decentralized.”

Every instance is a center, and is vulnerable to failure and corruption like any service provider. But at least we have a choice of instances, and there isn’t a single point of failure for the whole network.