In my view of history, P2P takes off and does well when it's faster for end-users than centralized solutions; P2P solutions fail when centralized solutions are faster.
This holds regardless of the political advantages (or disadvantages) of P2P.
BitTorrent is often faster for large files than centralized solutions, so people use it. (It's still inconvenient for a new user to kick off their first torrent, but WebTorrent will help.)
Freenet is essentially never faster than alternatives, and so it has stumbled.
If some future P2P network can outperform HTTP, then it will succeed; otherwise, it will fail.
Regardless, unless we see a breakthrough in battery technology, it will never be the case that lots of people will carry around mobile phones in their pockets whose radios are always on and participating in a mesh network. The battery would die in an hour or two.
P2P networks work best when coupled with reliable power networks. But if you have reliable power, you can probably set up a reliable wired network, too.
I think this is an accurate assessment of how things play out in the real world. It seems like many people here are attracted to decentralized solutions for ideological reasons, but don't realize/acknowledge that the vast majority of people don't care and will go with whatever is convenient for them.
Maybe there will be a time in the future when the necessary factors will all coincide. Improved battery technology, slowing Internet speeds (for Reasons), and change in the public's attitudes (probably starting with those generation or two below us).
Anything attempting to solve the problem before this time could be cursed as "before its time".
This holds regardless of the political advantages (or disadvantages) of P2P.
BitTorrent is often faster for large files than centralized solutions, so people use it. (It's still inconvenient for a new user to kick off their first torrent, but WebTorrent will help.)
Freenet is essentially never faster than alternatives, and so it has stumbled.
If some future P2P network can outperform HTTP, then it will succeed; otherwise, it will fail.
Regardless, unless we see a breakthrough in battery technology, it will never be the case that lots of people will carry around mobile phones in their pockets whose radios are always on and participating in a mesh network. The battery would die in an hour or two.
P2P networks work best when coupled with reliable power networks. But if you have reliable power, you can probably set up a reliable wired network, too.