hash-n-slash
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Proof of concept for converting any content into a domain name.
Hash-n-Slash
Hash-n-Slash is a proof-of-concept Chrome extension that allows any text to be used as a domain name. By turning domain names into hashes, we allow for a greater flexibility of exactly what can be used to point to an online resource.
Install
Available in the Chrome Web Store here, or as the .crx
file here
How
Hash-n-Slash currently does 3 things:
- Any url, typed in the url bar, that starts with
#<tab>
will be intercepted and SHA-1 hashed to a.com
address. - Web pages are scanned for links that start with
#://
, which are then SHA-1 hashed to a.com
address. - If a link's href contains just
#://
, the link's textContent will be SHA-1 hashed to a.com
address.
But why?
Good domain names are pretty scarce. It's a source of frustration for anyone who has ever tried to buy a domain. I thought it might be fun if there was a hashing scheme that allowed more flexibility in mapping resources to locations on the web. Under a domain hashing scheme, the following might be possible:
- Documents could have unique resources on the web. A document's
sha1sum
could be a valid domain name to find the document itself, or other related resources about the doc. egsha1sum ForestFire.pdf
=>5fd035907cf17542631feb891babe3235e56c198.com
- More expressive domain names. Quotes or phrases could point somewhere. eg "For sale: baby shoes, never worn" =>
3f7bc217f621dfd7ce371ca2450c99787a11ce5b.com
- Bind searches to domain names, eg "food in chicago" =>
f02970848a63988965aa40cd368ffcf9046209ca.com
Why this is a bad idea that will never work™
This is just for fun! A proof of concept.