[whatwg] Adding "ipfs" to the safelisted schemes

[Mathias Rangel Wulff]

To whom it might concern

In short, I suggest adding "ipfs" to the safelisted schemes provided in the
HTML specs 8.7.1.3 "Custom scheme handlers: the registerProtocolHandler()
method"  (
https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/system-state.html#safelisted-scheme)

The idea of building a decentralised web was core in the early days of what
we now know as the internet. Today the landscape of the internet has vastly
changed; centralised megahubs of content has turned the client-server
distribution model into a much more throttle prone and censorable beast
than ever imagined.



The InterPlanetary File System (IPFS) is a peer-to-peer hypermedia protocol
where content is stored in a distributed manner and addressed by content
identifiers. The project has gained much traction since its inception in
2014, and vast amounts of data are now stored in this parallel web of peers
providing a genuinely decentralised infrastructure for exchanging data.

To enhance mainstream adoption the regular browser experience needs to
bridge how content is accessed via IPFS. Browser plugins already exists,
but implementation and fallback mechanisms are limited due to existing (and
legitimate) safety concerns.

Adding "ipfs" to the safelisted schemes of the registerProtocolHandler
method will significantly improve the seamless adoption of a censor
resistant and decentralised internet, bringing the user experience closer
to what was originally envisioned for the world wide web.

As an example, the browser Brave (brave.com) is now working on native
support for providing content via IPFS as a seamlessly integrated part of
the user experience. Building upon The Chromium Project (chromium.org) a
whitelisting of "ipfs" as a safe scheme will be a step towards Brave
providing its users with a more decentralised web.

For more information about IPFS, please visit https://ipfs.io


- Mathias Rangel Wulff