Distributed systems are networks comprised of nodes that interact directly with each other - no central server required. These nodes can store and edit files offline and in geographically diverse locations, and each node accessing the file has a copy. When it's time to bring the changes together and synchronize the file copies, there needs to be a mechanism in place that handles this efficiently and accurately. Conflict-free Replicated Data Types (CRDTs) are an excellent solution.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://fission.codes/blog/what-are-crdts/