One thing that I used to like about KaZaa and Napster (back in the day) and the old morpheus was the "find more from same user" feature, and also the ability to chat. This is very nice as it really adds a community feel and is useful for finding new files (instead of just downloading files your already know about.)

I realize that this is a lot of work but it is something which would be nice to see sometime in the distant future...

um, perhaps you should actually try looking at gnucleus' features 1st you request something

ummm... perhaps you should read more than just the subject line of my post.

I know that gnucleus has a "chat" feature but AFAIK, it's just an IRC client. What I am talking about is a way to send messages to certain users directly (like, users who are connected to your machine) in addition to being able to browse all of a certain user's files. this all exists in KaZaa.

ummm... perhaps you should have been more specific to begin with then the misunderstanding wouldn't have occurred in the first place.

As for browsing a user's shared library, I could go for that.

If gnutella clients had those features, the network would have to be centralized and then it would get sued and shut down like Napster did.

IMO chat is not so important. Gnucleus just should download/upload stuff. Nothing else. If I want to talk to someone I use ICQ or the old methode the phone

Why would it have to be centralized? Explain your reasoning behind that please. Just because that's the way Napster or Kazaa chose to do it doesn't mean that's the ONLY way to do it.

Here are my suggestions:

As for chat, the way I see it, chat between two hosts (not using IRC) is already possible in some clients (LimeWire for instance), but as for chatting amongst differently branded clients (ie. between Gnucleus and LimeWire for instance), this could theoretically be accomplished by adopting a simple personal messaging standard (similar to AIM or ICQ except for the requirement of a central server to route messages). As long as it was a connection oriented protocol external to the Gnutella protocol, there would be no danger of flooding the Gnutella network with even more data for servents to route.

As for requesting a host's shared file listing, seeing as file transfers between Gnutella hosts are accomplished using HTTP, that might be a good place to start. Instead of issuing a "GET" command for a specific file, modify the "GET" command to retrieve a list of shared files (unless there is a command within HTTP itself which is used to request a file listing that could be used for this purpose). This would eliminate the need for routing any extra packets on the Gnutella network since you'd be directly connected to the person you wish to retrieve a file list from.

There... simple methods to implement the features requested without the need for central servers.

This might be a bit off-topic, but I've just searched for "mp3", waited a bit, and sorted for the number of hosts. The result is, ..., I bet the suspense is killing you, ..., "Brandy - What about us.mp3". The number one song on my bit of the network! (I'm just downloading it coz I've never heard it). Hey, it's an instant Top of the Pops [chart show], and constantly changing! Any other suggestions for instant interactivity?!

Cancel that last post! I didn't like Brandy

Well, it is and open-source client, after all. Sooooo.....go for it!