FAQ.md

   1 # FAQ
   2
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   6
   7
   8 - [Why did you create PeerTube?](#why-did-you-create-peertube)
   9 - [I don't like the name "PeerTube"](#i-dont-like-the-name-peertube)
  10 - [If nobody watches a video, is it seeded?](#if-nobody-watches-a-video-is-it-seeded)
  11 - [What is WebSeed?](#what-is-webseed)
  12 - [If a client requests each chunk of a video through HTTP, will the server be overloaded?](#if-a-client-requests-each-chunk-of-a-video-through-http-will-the-server-be-overloaded)
  13 - [Will an index of all the videos of servers you follow be too large for small servers?](#will-an-index-of-all-the-videos-of-servers-you-follow-be-too-large-for-small-servers)
  14 - [Which container formats can I use for the videos I want to upload?](#which-container-formats-can-i-use-for-the-videos-i-want-to-upload)
  15 - [I want to change my domain name, how can I do that?](#i-want-to-change-my-domain-name-how-can-i-do-that)
  16 - [Why do we have to put our Twitter username in PeerTube configuration?](#why-do-we-have-to-put-our-twitter-username-in-peertube-configuration)
  17 - [How video views are calculated?](#how-video-views-are-calculated)
  18 - [Should I have a big server to run PeerTube?](#should-i-have-a-big-server-to-run-peertube)
  19 - [Can I seed videos with my classic BitTorrent client (Transmission, rTorrent...)?](#can-i-seed-videos-with-my-classic-bittorrent-client-transmission-rtorrent)
  20 - [Why host on GitHub and Framagit?](#why-host-on-github-and-framagit)
  21 - [Are you going to use the Steem blockchain?](#are-you-going-to-use-the-steem-blockchain)
  22 - [Are you going to support advertisements?](#are-you-going-to-support-advertisements)
  23 - [What is "creation dynamic" and why not modify it?](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it)
  24 - [I have found a security vulnerability in PeerTube. Where and how should I report it?](#i-have-found-a-security-vulnerability-in-peertube-where-and-how-should-i-report-it)
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  27
  28 ## Why did you create PeerTube?
  29
  30 We can't build a FOSS video streaming alternative to YouTube, Dailymotion,
  31 Vimeo... with centralized software. One organization alone may not have
  32 enough money to pay for bandwidth and video storage of its servers.
  33
  34 Our stance is that only a decentralized network of servers can provide an
  35 acceptable answer to technical issues (bandwidth, transcoding expenses, etc.)
  36 and social answers (need for a particular moderation policy, preserving
  37 content, etc.).
  38
  39 While a paragraph is not enough to answer all these problems, PeerTube has
  40 very early prouded itself for using a contributory design, both for creating
  41 communities as federated nodes (as [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) for
  42 example), and for seeding videos (instances can seed each other's videos). But it's not
  43 enough because one video could become popular and overload the server. That is
  44 why we need to use a P2P protocol to limit the server load. Thanks to
  45 [WebTorrent](https://github.com/feross/webtorrent), we can use BitTorrent
  46 inside most modern web browsers, and users become seeds as the video gets
  47 more viewers.
  48
  49
  50 ## I don't like the name "PeerTube"
  51
  52 PeerTube is just the name of the software. You can install it on your
  53 server, and choose a name you want. For example, [this instance](https://framatube.org/)
  54 is named "Framatube".
  55
  56
  57 ## If nobody watches a video, is it seeded?
  58
  59 Yes, the origin server always seeds videos uploaded on it thanks to
  60 [Webseed](http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0019.html).
  61 It can also be helped by other servers using [redundancy](https://docs.joinpeertube.org/#/contribute-architecture?id=redundancy-between-instances).
  62
  63
  64 ## What is WebSeed?
  65
  66 It is a BitTorrent extension that allows a server to seed a file through HTTP.
  67 It just needs to statically serve a file, then the clients will request chunks
  68 with a `Content-Range` HTTP header.
  69
  70
  71 ## If a client requests each chunk of a video through HTTP, will the server be overloaded?
  72
  73 Not really. Reverse proxies like Nginx handle very well requests of static
  74 files. In my tests, it can send chunks at 10MB/s without consuming more than 5%
  75 of CPU on a very small VPS.
  76
  77
  78 ## Will an index of all the videos of servers you follow be too large for small servers?
  79
  80 In our benchmarks, 1,000,000 videos takes around 2GB of storage on PostgreSQL.
  81 We think it is acceptable for a video platform.
  82
  83
  84 ## Which container formats can I use for the videos I want to upload?
  85
  86 WEBM, MP4 or OGV videos are supported by default (they are streamable formats),
  87 but instance administrators can additionally enable support for MKV, MOV, AVI
  88 and FLV formats when transcoding is enabled on their instance.
  89
  90
  91 ## I want to change my domain name, how can I do that?
  92
  93 You can't. You'll need to reinstall an instance and reupload your videos.
  94
  95
  96 ## Why do we have to put our Twitter username in PeerTube configuration?
  97
  98 You don't have to: we set a default value if you don't have a Twitter account.
  99 We need this information because Twitter requires an account for links share/videos embed on their platform.
 100
 101
 102 ## How video views are calculated?
 103
 104 Your web browser sends a view to the server after 30 seconds of playback. Then, the IP cannot send another view in the next hour.
 105 Views are buffered, so don't panic if the view counter stays the same after you watched a video.
 106
 107
 108 ## Should I have a big server to run PeerTube?
 109
 110 Not really. For instance, the demonstration server [https://peertube.cpy.re](https://peertube.cpy.re) has 2 vCore and 2GB of RAM and consumes on average:
 111  * **CPU** -> nginx ~ 20%, peertube ~ 10%,   postgres ~ 1%, redis ~ 3%
 112  * **RAM** -> nginx ~ 6MB, peertube ~ 120MB, postgres ~ 10MB, redis ~ 5MB
 113
 114 So you would need:
 115  * **CPU** 1 core if you don't enable transcoding, 2 at least if you enable it (works with 1 but this is really slow)
 116  * **RAM** 1GB
 117  * **Storage** Completely depends on how many videos your users will upload
 118
 119
 120 ## Can I seed videos with my classic BitTorrent client (Transmission, rTorrent...)?
 121
 122 Yes you can, but you won't be able to send data to users that watch the video in their web browser.
 123 The reason is they connect to peers through WebRTC whereas your BitTorrent client uses classic TCP/UDP.
 124 To check if your BitTorrent client supports WebTorrent you can see this issue: https://github.com/webtorrent/webtorrent/issues/369
 125
 126
 127 ## Why host on GitHub and Framagit?
 128
 129 The project has initially been hosted on GitHub by Chocobozzz. A full migration to [Framagit](https://framagit.org/chocobozzz/PeerTube) would be ideal now that Framasoft supports PeerTube, but it would take a lot of time and is an ongoing effort.
 130
 131
 132 ## Are you going to use the Steem blockchain?
 133
 134 Short answer: no, since like most appchains/votechains, it modifies the dynamic of creation, and as such cannot be integrated into mainline PeerTube. Read more about that in [the dedicated section](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it).
 135
 136 Long answer is that the Steem blockchain goes astray of its promises of fairness and decentralization: the deliberate relaunching of the currency to ensure centralization, and the stake-based voting power, makes manipulation by wealthy users inevitable ([source here](https://decentralize.today/the-ugly-truth-behind-steemit-1a525f5e156)).
 137 Worse, money generated primarily goes to stakeholders ([source here](https://steemit.com/steemit/@orly/how-the-steem-pyramid-scheme-really-works) ).
 138 For more information, read the complete whitepaper analysis done by [Tone Vays](https://twitter.com/ToneVays/status/761975587451928576).
 139
 140 ## Are you going to support advertisements?
 141
 142 Short answer: no, we don't want advertisers to dictate which content should be financed.
 143 That would modify the dynamic of creation; as such it cannot be integrated into mainline PeerTube.
 144 Read more about that in [the dedicated section](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it).
 145
 146 The long answer is probably more subtle. YouTube has shaped generations of video creators by making it easy to place ads;
 147 but making big money with the platform can be a challenge.
 148 A typical video ad runs between $.10 and $.30 per 1000 views (as of March 2018).
 149 More than 70% of video creators use ads as the main way to make money on YouTube, yet less than 3% of video creators make a living out of their YouTube activity (with partnerships and commissions, otherwise counting only ad revenue it drops to 1%).
 150 Read more about it in the 2018 study by Mathias Bärtl, [*YouTube channels, uploads and views: A statistical analysis of the past 10 years*](https://www.dropbox.com/s/0cq4wtxm83s95t2/10.1177%401354856517736979.pdf?dl=0).
 151 To the best of our knowledge, small and medium-community creators are better off getting support from their community on platforms such as Liberapay, Tipeee or Patreon.
 152 Moreover, don't forget that advertisers already pay considering YouTube's large user base; with PeerTube's way smaller user base and refusal of user profiling, a pay-per-view that's lower than YouTube's could only be expected.
 153
 154 ## What is "creation dynamic" and why not modify it?
 155
 156 We define creation dynamic as the way any original content, regardless of its monetary value, is created and incentivized.
 157 We want to stay neutral by limiting the influence of our platform on authors as much as possible. We are not curators, and want to limit the scope of PeerTube instance owners and administrators' responsibilities to moderation tasks only.
 158
 159 If you still want to use a functionality potentially altering that state of things, then you could interface with our upcoming plug-in system, which will be the place to integrate such features in the near future.
 160
 161 With that being said, know that we are not against these features *per se*.
 162 We are always open to discussion about potential PRs bringing in features, even of that kind. But we certainly won't dedicate our limited resources to develop them ourselves when there is so much to be done elsewhere.
 163
 164 ## I have found a security vulnerability in PeerTube. Where and how should I report it?
 165
 166 We have a policy for contributions related to security. Please refer to [SECURITY.md](./SECURITY.md)