[jdev] Semantic question

[Adrien]

On 04/30/2015 12:54 PM, Dave Cridland wrote:
> On 30 April 2015 at 11:23, Goffi <goffi at goffi.org> wrote:
> [...]
>>          - federated: the ability from servers of different domains (
>> example.net and capulet.lit) to talk together, in both directions.
>>
>>
> Yes, or more generally, the ability for multiple disparate administrative
> domains to intercommunicate on an equal basis.

"administrative" is really the good word here.

>> [...] Actualy it's a bit tricky, because if one entity has 1000
>> servers but everybody is using the same domain, the data are centralised in
>> the hands of the same entity.

This entity looks decentralised if you count the servers and look at 
their geographical repartition. But since they are controlling them all, 
it's the same administrative authority. So I guess "administrative" 
should be the word again :)

>> So, what meaning do you put behind these words ? Are decentralisation and
>> federation more or less synonyms ?

That's what I understand, even if decentralisation - as it's been said 
by Dave - can be more general. For the academic definitions, it's a mess 
according to [1].

I noticed that federation is not used on [2] but instead:

"Decentralized — the architecture of the XMPP network is similar to 
email; as a result, anyone can run their own XMPP server, enabling 
individuals and organizations to take control of their communications 
experience."

So... am I XSF-compliant if I use the terms like that:

- centralisation: single administrative authority (it's like a kingdom).

- decentralisation or federation: many administrative authorities 
(states federation).

- interdomain federation: a special case of the decentralisation that 
makes it possible for any entity to become a new administrative 
authority (very open federation).

- distribution: peer2peer (direct democraty)

??


[1] 
http://networkcultures.org/unlikeus/resources/articles/what-is-a-federated-network/

[2] http://xmpp.org/about-xmpp/technology-overview/

--
Adrien