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)
  25 - [Does PeerTube ensures federation compatibility with previous version?](#does-peertube-ensures-federation-compatibility-with-previous-version)
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  28
  29 ## Why did you create PeerTube?
  30
  31 We can't build a FOSS video streaming alternative to YouTube, Dailymotion,
  32 Vimeo... with centralized software. One organization alone may not have
  33 enough money to pay for bandwidth and video storage of its servers.
  34
  35 Our stance is that only a decentralized network of servers can provide an
  36 acceptable answer to technical issues (bandwidth, transcoding expenses, etc.)
  37 and social answers (need for a particular moderation policy, preserving
  38 content, etc.).
  39
  40 While a paragraph is not enough to answer all these problems, PeerTube has
  41 very early prouded itself for using a contributory design, both for creating
  42 communities as federated nodes (as [Mastodon](https://joinmastodon.org/) for
  43 example), and for seeding videos (instances can seed each other's videos). But it's not
  44 enough because one video could become popular and overload the server. That is
  45 why we need to use a P2P protocol to limit the server load. Thanks to
  46 [WebTorrent](https://github.com/feross/webtorrent), we can use BitTorrent
  47 inside most modern web browsers, and users become seeds as the video gets
  48 more viewers.
  49
  50
  51 ## I don't like the name "PeerTube"
  52
  53 PeerTube is just the name of the software. You can install it on your
  54 server, and choose a name you want. For example, [this instance](https://framatube.org/)
  55 is named "Framatube".
  56
  57
  58 ## If nobody watches a video, is it seeded?
  59
  60 Yes, the origin server always seeds videos uploaded on it thanks to
  61 [Webseed](http://www.bittorrent.org/beps/bep_0019.html).
  62 It can also be helped by other servers using [redundancy](https://docs.joinpeertube.org/#/contribute-architecture?id=redundancy-between-instances).
  63
  64
  65 ## What is WebSeed?
  66
  67 It is a BitTorrent extension that allows a server to seed a file through HTTP.
  68 It just needs to statically serve a file, then the clients will request chunks
  69 with a `Content-Range` HTTP header.
  70
  71
  72 ## If a client requests each chunk of a video through HTTP, will the server be overloaded?
  73
  74 Not really. Reverse proxies like Nginx handle static file requests very well. In my tests, it can send chunks at 10MB/s without consuming more than 5% CPU on a very small VPS.
  75
  76
  77 ## Will an index of all the videos of servers you follow be too large for small servers?
  78
  79 In our benchmarks, 1,000,000 videos consume around 2GB of PostgreSQL storage.
  80 We think that is acceptable for a video platform.
  81
  82
  83 ## Which container formats can I use for the videos I want to upload?
  84
  85 WEBM, MP4 or OGV videos are supported by default (they are streamable formats),
  86 but instance administrators can additionally enable support for MKV, MOV, AVI
  87 and FLV formats when transcoding is enabled on their instance.
  88
  89
  90 ## I want to change my domain name, how can I do that?
  91
  92 It's not officially supported, but you can try the `update-host` script: https://docs.joinpeertube.org/#/maintain-tools?id=update-hostjs
  93
  94
  95 ## Why do we have to put our Twitter username in the PeerTube configuration?
  96
  97 You don't have to: we set a default value if you don't have a Twitter account.
  98 We need this information because Twitter requires an account for links share/videos embed on their platform.
  99
 100
 101 ## How are video views counted?
 102
 103 Your web browser sends a view to the server after 30 seconds of playback. If a video is less than 30 seconds in length, a view is sent after 75% of the video. After giving a view, that IP address cannot add another view in the next hour.
 104 Views are buffered, so don't panic if the view counter stays the same after you watched a video.
 105
 106
 107 ## Should I have a big server to run PeerTube?
 108
 109 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:
 110  * **CPU** -> nginx ~ 20%, peertube ~ 10%,   postgres ~ 1%, redis ~ 3%
 111  * **RAM** -> nginx ~ 6MB, peertube ~ 120MB, postgres ~ 10MB, redis ~ 5MB
 112
 113 So you would need:
 114  * **CPU** 1 core if you don't enable transcoding, 2 at least if you enable it (works with 1 but this is really slow)
 115  * **RAM** 1GB
 116  * **Storage** Completely depends on how many videos your users will upload
 117
 118
 119 ## Can I seed videos with my classic BitTorrent client (Transmission, rTorrent...)?
 120
 121 Yes you can, but you won't be able to send data to users that watch the video in their web browser.
 122 The reason is they connect to peers through WebRTC whereas your BitTorrent client uses classic TCP/UDP.
 123 You can check if your BitTorrent client supports WebTorrent in this issue: https://github.com/webtorrent/webtorrent/issues/369
 124
 125
 126 ## Why host on GitHub and Framagit?
 127
 128 The project was initially hosted on GitHub by Chocobozzz. A full migration to [Framagit](https://framagit.org/framasoft/peertube/PeerTube) would be ideal now that Framasoft supports PeerTube, but it would take a lot of time and is an ongoing effort.
 129
 130
 131 ## Are you going to use the Steem blockchain?
 132
 133 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).
 134
 135 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)).
 136 Worse, money generated primarily goes to stakeholders ([source here](https://steemit.com/steemit/@orly/how-the-steem-pyramid-scheme-really-works) ).
 137 For more information, read the complete whitepaper analysis done by [Tone Vays](https://twitter.com/ToneVays/status/761975587451928576).
 138
 139 ## Are you going to support advertisements?
 140
 141 Short answer: no, we don't want advertisers to dictate which content should be financed.
 142 That would modify the dynamic of creation; as such it cannot be integrated into mainline PeerTube.
 143 Read more about that in [the dedicated section](#what-is-creation-dynamic-and-why-not-modify-it).
 144
 145 The long answer is probably more subtle. YouTube has shaped generations of video creators by making it easy to place ads;
 146 but making big money with the platform can be a challenge.
 147 A typical video ad runs between $.10 and $.30 per 1000 views (as of March 2018).
 148 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%).
 149 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).
 150 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.
 151 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.
 152
 153 ## What is "creation dynamic" and why not modify it?
 154
 155 We define creation dynamic as the way any original content, regardless of its monetary value, is created and incentivized.
 156 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.
 157
 158 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.
 159
 160 With that being said, know that we are not against these features *per se*.
 161 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.
 162
 163 ## I have found a security vulnerability in PeerTube. Where and how should I report it?
 164
 165 We have a policy for contributions related to security. Please refer to [SECURITY.md](./SECURITY.md)
 166
 167 ## Does PeerTube ensures federation compatibility with previous version?
 168
 169 We **try** to keep compatibility with the latest minor version (2.3.1 with 2.2 for example).
 170 We don't have resources to keep compatibility with other versions.