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Yes, lightning is awesome and the protocol is very decentralized.
However, we see that most end-users rely on a lightning service provider (LSP) to use it. In some way lightning is growing into a hub and spoke model. Even many hobbyists that run a lightning node for fun are buying channels from such an LSP.
This risk of geo-blocking for an Ark Server and LSP is quite similar. We need moreArk Servers. But at some point we need more LSPs
PS: All code is public and anyone can run their own Ark Server.
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Ark users have the ability to do an emergency unilateral exit that does not require the server to co-sign.
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I definitely see how the liveness requirement of Ark is less intense than the liveness requirement of lightning. It feels like a big improvement there.
But I was thinking about it like this: with lightning, I can create a channel with any peer willing to make a channel with me. And the odds are there will be somebody who is willing to do that. So I can get access into the wider lightning network.
With a client-server relationship like Ark, I could get shut out if the Ark Service Provider doesn't want to serve me. For instance, imagine that I live in Iran and bark doesn't want to get in trouble, so they might potentially geoblock ip addresses from Iran. It seems like the client-server nature of Ark makes it a little less open than lightning.