feat: publish mcaptcha-net blog

content/blog/10-20-mcaptcha-net/index.md

@@ -1,32 +1,47 @@
 ---
-title: "mCaptcha net"
+title: "Introducing mCaptcha net"
 description: "A network of mCaptcha instances sharing PoW stats to make mCaptcha more efficient and accessible"
-lead: "We are mCaptcha. We build kickass CAPTCHA systems that give (DDoS) attackers a run for their money. And we do all of this without tracking your users. Oh and did I mention our UX is great?"
 date: 2023-10-19
 lastmod: 2023-10-19
-draft: true
+draft: false
 weight: 50
 images: ["icon.png"]
 contributors: ["Aravinth Manivannan"]
 ---
 
-mCaptcha requires the webmaster to provide [difficulty
-factor](docs/terminology/difficulty-factor/) configurations to offer
-effective protection. Choosing difficulty factors that work for everyone is a hard task
-because it isn't possible to accurately predict the kind of visitors
-have. But what if had a system that will improve [mCaptcha
-installations](/docs/introduction/installing-captcha/)
-based on performance of it users? Enter mCaptcha net!
+mCaptcha uses a Proof-of-Work (PoW) based algorithm to offer
+Denial-of-Service protection, because of [its excellent accessibility
+characteristics](https://www.w3.org/TR/turingtest/#proof-of-work). PoW
+within mCaptcha is configuration --- webmasters can configure
+[difficulty factors](/docs/terminology/difficulty-factor) for their
+installations, which determines waiting time for visitors. But PoW can
+become inaccessible if webmasters choose a very high difficulty factor.
+So they have to maintain a balance which imposes sufficient load on DDoS
+attackers while also being accessible to common folk.
+
+{{< alert icon="⭐" text=" mCaptcha installation: integration of the mCaptcha widget to a service." >}}
+
+To help webmasters correctly configure difficult factors, we are
+building a feedback loop which would gather performance statistics from
+voluntary mCaptcha installations and make them available to other
+mCaptcha installations. The performance statistics can be used by all
+mCaptcha instances to automatically optimize an installation. We are
+calling this the mCaptcha net.
+
+## Participation is optional
+
+Participation in the mCaptcha net is disabled by default and is
+optional as it has privacy implications: it will reveal the
+existence of an mCaptcha instance.
 
 The admins of mCaptcha instances can choose to upload truly anonymous
-Proof-of-Work (PoW) statistics to
-[mCaptcha/survey](https://git.batsense.net/mCaptcha/survey) instances,
-which other mCaptcha instances can then use to automatically optimize
-the installations that they hsot.
+PoW performance statistics to a number of [mCaptcha/survey](https://git.batsense.net/mCaptcha/survey) instances.
+The data uploaded is public and so is accessible to all mCaptcha
+instances.
 
-NOTE: This system is opt-in, webmasters must consent to publishing
-for the performance statistics from their mCaptcha installation to be
-uploaded.
+We also offer opt-in controls at installation level:
+
+{{% img src="installation-level-opt-in.png" alt="A screenshot of the 'add sitekey' form on the mCaptcha dashboard with a checkbox for anonymously publishing performance statistics. It is not checked by default." caption="Add sitekey form on the mCaptcha dashboard with a checkbox for anonymously publishing performance statistics. It is not checked by default." %}}
 
 ## Ensuring anonymity
 
@@ -42,10 +57,17 @@ mCaptcha doesn't fingerprint its users. Performance parameters include:
 "worker_type":"wasm"
 ```
 
-This doesn't include the usual fingerprinting parameters like User-Agent,
-cookies, and IP address. Additionally, we use a psuedo ID within
-mCaptcha to avoid. We also use psuedo IDs within mCaptcha to prevent the
-underlying mCaptcha installation from being exposing.
+This doesn't include the usual fingerprinting parameters like
+User-Agent, cookies, and IP address. Additionally, we use pseudo IDs
+at both mCaptcha/mCaptcha and mCaptcha/survey to avoid exposing installations.
 
+{{% img src="working-rpc.png" alt="A screenshot of a tmux window with logs of mCaptcha/mCaptcha and mCapctha/survey showing both of them talking to eachother" caption="mCaptcha/mCaptcha uploading performance statistics to a mCaptcha/survey instance" %}}
 
-{{% img src="working-rpc.png" alt="A screenshot of a tmux window with logs of mCaptcha/mCaptcha and mCaptha/survey showing both of them talking to eachother" caption="mCaptha uploading performance statistics to a survey instanc3" %}}
+## Status
+
+We now have performance statistics uploads to mCaptcha/survey instances
+working. Pull request [mCaptcha/mCaptcha#92](https://github.com/mCaptcha/mCaptcha/pull/92)
+added abilities to mCaptcha to upload statistics to mCaptcha/survey instances and
+[mCaptcha/survey#40](https://git.batsense.net/mCaptcha/survey/pulls/17) enable survey to process the uploaded data. We will soon build a
+self-tuning algorithm within mCaptcha to use this data and optimize
+installations automatically.