I think I missed something. If information is exchanged when machines are on the same network, how does the guy in New Zealand get updates from the guy in Hawaii? Is there a server involved, or does the New Zealand guy have to wait until he is on a network with someone who has already connected with the Hawaii guy?
Information can also be exchanged using legacy internet.. ;)
kidding aside: we just introduce a few instances that act as exchange points (also called "pubs").
I played a little with the idea of using tor hidden services to directly connect to people, so that you don't need another computer that runs all the time.
(Public) information is not only shared between friends, but also between friends of friends. So as long as they have common friends connected to the internet, the data flows without problems.
To help with this situation, the network includes so called pubs. These are basically bots that run 24/7 and friend people. The article very briefly mentions them. More information here: https://www.scuttlebutt.nz/concepts/pub.html
