http://opensimulator.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Czubul&feedformat=atomOpenSimulator - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T17:12:31ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.19.9http://opensimulator.org/wiki/MoneyMoney2008-08-09T14:48:11Z<p>Czubul: /* A Different Idea */</p>
<hr />
<div>This page is intended as an open discussion board for ideas regarding an in-world financial system - Ezekiel.<br />
<br />
== Motivation ==<br />
In order to be successful, any new world simulator needs to allow for financial transactions. While many residents enjoy the creative and social aspects of virtual life, others are there to provide them with the necessary means - and usually intend to be compensated.<br />
Metaverses without a business component (allowing residents to make money) depend largely on the creativity of the makers and tend to fall into disuse as soon as competitive simulators with better graphics and better entertainment come along (e.g. Active Worlds).<br />
<br />
== Play Money vs. Serious Money ==<br />
There are two types of financial systems and currencies: one is purely an in-world affair (play money) and supports roleplay, the other is convertible into hard currencies (serious money).<br />
While it is commonly agreed that implementing a serious in-world currency system (with all the security implications) is out of scope at least for the current phase of the OpenSim development project, there are still some functional decisions to be made.<br />
<br />
There are several possible ways of handling money in a grid:<br />
* no money support<br />
* in-world play money for roleplay<br />
* in-world currency supported, protected and converted by the grid owner (like SL)<br />
* off-world payment implementation, no in-world currency<br />
* in-world play money plus off-world payment capabilities (might be confusing)<br />
<br />
OpenSim should allow for an implementation of any of those alternatives.<br />
<br />
== Off-World Implementation ==<br />
These are crucial in-world functions for off-world financial transactions:<br />
* put a price tag on a prim, specifying amount and currency<br />
* notification event (LSL) that resident X agrees to buy item / pay amount Y.<br />
<br />
These functions are not crucial, since they may be implemented off-world:<br />
* an in-world currency (use an internet payment provider or an e-currency instead)<br />
* avatar account (use an internet payment provider or an e-currency instead)<br />
* receive payment (can be handled off-world through osLoadURL - for most providers)<br />
* give money (can be handled off-world through osHTTPRequest - for some providers)<br />
* notify avatar of payment (can be done through IM or e-Mail)<br />
<br />
== Wallet Plugin ==<br />
It occurs to me that perhaps it isn't the job of the grid to keep track of every avatars financial transactions. Perhaps this should be left to banks and other financial organizations. I'm thinking that perhaps OpenSim should pull the money out of the grid and develop an independent bank server. Avatars could choose which "wallet" or "bank" to use for a transaction.<br />
<br />
<br />
== A Different Idea == <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
'''A Currency that Pays a Divident'''<br />
<br />
The OpenSim project should have a currency that pays a divident. If users earn a divident just by using the game currency this will be a great incentive not only to participate in the game but also to use the currency in real life. Thus this increases the possibility that a market of things of value will develop in the game and maybe the currency will be used for real life transactions as well. A currency that pays a divident will prevail over any other form of virtual currency by means of the strategic advantage of directly benefiting the user. Convertibility to real currencies will depend solely on free market ability of the currency to provide goods and services and not some convertibility obligation undertaken by the company that hosts the server.<br />
<br />
Implementing a currency that produces a divident would require suitable financial institutions, capital markets, and a mechanism to liquidate a part of current value of financial instruments. Through liquidating a sustainable part of current value of financial instruments the company that hosts the server would earn the game money funds which when converted to real currency would pay for its operational costs plus the funds needed to pay a divident. It would be in the best interest of the company that hosts the server to ensure that the financial structure operates efficiently for the benefit of the users so that the game currency has maximum value of convertibility to real life currencies.<br />
<br />
The financial structure required could be as follows:<br />
<br />
'''1. Central Bank'''<br />
<br />
THe Central Bank would oversee the monetary volume, the amount to be liquidated and the keeping of individual money accounts of users free of charge but free of interest as well.<br />
<br />
- All users would be shareholders to the Central Bank, owning no more and no less than one share each<br />
<br />
- The monetary volume would be a fixed amount of currency for each share, say 100.000 units, which would be the nominal value of the Central Bank share.<br />
<br />
- All financial transactions of users, Investment Banks and Capital Markets would be processed through the Central Bank's server software and console<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of Investment Bank's current stock value must be held in liquid reserves<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of those liquid reserves will be contributed to the Special Account in order to be distributed to the users as divident and to the company that hosts the server<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will have the power to dispense payments through the Special Account to the company that hosts the server, to shareholders and to in-game political institutions such as elected moderators <br />
<br />
- Ideally the Central Bank management would be ellected by users, even better by Invesment Bank managers <br />
<br />
- Any increase or decrease in monetary volume would be achieved solely by depositing or withdrawing funds to/from each user's account <br />
<br />
'''2. Investment Banks'''<br />
<br />
The Investment Banks would be the main user operated financial institution. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only financial instrument users would be able to directly buy shares of. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only vehicle available for investment in Capital Markets. <br />
<br />
- They would be able to structure and trade financial instruments through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be able to lend money for projects<br />
<br />
- Any user or group of users would able to open an Investment Bank through a console provided by the Central Bank if they provide capital equal to say 10 Central Bank Shares worth <br />
<br />
- An individual who wants to trade the financial markets with his own money, should come up with enough capital to open an Investment Bank<br />
<br />
- Investment Banks would freely be able to raise capital by issuing shares<br />
<br />
- Their shares would be floated and traded in a separate market than Capital Markets through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be under obligation to keep a part of their investment portfolio in cash so the Central Bank can deduct a contribution to the Special Account<br />
<br />
- The holdings in their investment portfolio would be open for every interested investor to audit<br />
<br />
'''3. Capital markets'''<br />
<br />
These would be the Exchanges where financial instruments are traded<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank would provide the console for the Exchanges and handle the payments<br />
<br />
- Anything of value could be traded on the Exchanges<br />
<br />
- The financial instruments would be structured freely by the Investment Banks<br />
<br />
- Individual loans would be structured as financial instruments and traded freely<br />
<br />
- The coding of financial instruments would be open for everyone to audit<br />
<br />
- An Exchange would be a user-managed institution, the user-managers would be able to charge a commision on transactions as compensation for managing the exchange<br />
<br />
- The Exchanges would all be interconected, so the most efficient ones get the most business<br />
<br />
'''Supporting Environment'''<br />
<br />
The financial structure's legitimacy and effectiveness would benefit the most by a functional political proccess within the game and the development of legal and political institutions that would oversee its implementation. In this way the company that hosts the server would have relegated most of the work too the user community. In a maybe utopian scenario the company itself could be owned by the users. A lot of reated economic activity could evolve alongside the main structure such as auditing companies, programmers etc<br />
<br />
'''Kickstarting a Project'''<br />
<br />
Once the software is implemented as above this could evolve as essentially a game where the collective purpose of the users would be to develop and increase the value of the game currency and spread its use. A group of people willing to kickstart such a project would need to set up a server and a rudimentary mechanism to buy and sell shares to the Central Bank and thus opening user accounts. Integration with a payment system such as Paypal would help. A new user would be able to either:<br />
<br />
- use real money to buy enough in-game currency from other users or the central bank as a provider of last resort to purchase his share to the Central Bank and so be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
- or start free and offer services or anything of value in-game so as to accumulate enough in-game currency to buy his share in the Central Bank and then be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
When a new user opens an account and purchases his share to the Central Bank, new in-game money is created up to the value of one Central Bank share. If he buys his share, the money is deposited in his account. If he does not buy a share and starts free the money is deposited to the Special Account for the benefit of all users. In this way the monetary volume is increased as new users come in and all all users benefit from attracting new users. A de facto mechanism for the convertibility of the in-game currency would thus be achieved and setting up a server for the game could prove profitable. Ideally various groups would be able to start different projects but all grids should be interconnected and maybe their currencies floated on a common exchange</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/MoneyMoney2008-04-02T08:43:10Z<p>Czubul: </p>
<hr />
<div>This page is intended as an open discussion board for ideas regarding an in-world financial system - Ezekiel.<br />
<br />
== Motivation ==<br />
In order to be successful, any new world simulator needs to allow for financial transactions. While many residents enjoy the creative and social aspects of virtual life, others are there to provide them with the necessary means - and usually intend to be compensated.<br />
Metaverses without a business component (allowing residents to make money) depend largely on the creativity of the makers and tend to fall into disuse as soon as competitive simulators with better graphics and better entertainment come along (e.g. Active Worlds).<br />
<br />
== Play Money vs. Serious Money ==<br />
There are two types of financial systems and currencies: one is purely an in-world affair (play money) and supports roleplay, the other is convertible into hard currencies (serious money).<br />
While it is commonly agreed that implementing a serious in-world currency system (with all the security implications) is out of scope at least for the current phase of the OpenSim development project, there are still some functional decisions to be made.<br />
<br />
There are several possible ways of handling money in a grid:<br />
* no money support<br />
* in-world play money for roleplay<br />
* in-world currency supported, protected and converted by the grid owner (like SL)<br />
* off-world payment implementation, no in-world currency<br />
* in-world play money plus off-world payment capabilities (might be confusing)<br />
<br />
OpenSim should allow for an implementation of any of those alternatives.<br />
<br />
== Off-World Implementation ==<br />
These are crucial in-world functions for off-world financial transactions:<br />
* put a price tag on a prim, specifying amount and currency<br />
* notification event (LSL) that resident X agrees to buy item / pay amount Y.<br />
<br />
These functions are not crucial, since they may be implemented off-world:<br />
* an in-world currency (use an internet payment provider or an e-currency instead)<br />
* avatar account (use an internet payment provider or an e-currency instead)<br />
* receive payment (can be handled off-world through osLoadURL - for most providers)<br />
* give money (can be handled off-world through osHTTPRequest - for some providers)<br />
* notify avatar of payment (can be done through IM or e-Mail)<br />
<br />
== Wallet Plugin ==<br />
It occurs to me that perhaps it isn't the job of the grid to keep track of every avatars financial transactions. Perhaps this should be left to banks and other financial organizations. I'm thinking that perhaps OpenSim should pull the money out of the grid and develop an independent bank server. Avatars could choose which "wallet" or "bank" to use for a transaction.<br />
<br />
<br />
== A Different Idea == <br />
<br />
(contact czubul to discuss)<br />
<br />
'''A Currency that Pays a Divident'''<br />
<br />
The OpenSim project should have a currency that pays a divident. If users earn a divident just by using the game currency this will be a great incentive not only to participate in the game but also to use the currency in real life. Thus this increases the possibility that a market of things of value will develop in the game and maybe the currency will be used for real life transactions as well. A currency that pays a divident will prevail over any other form of virtual currency by means of the strategic advantage of directly benefiting the user. Convertibility to real currencies will depend solely on free market ability of the currency to provide goods and services and not some convertibility obligation undertaken by the company that hosts the server.<br />
<br />
Implementing a currency that produces a divident would require suitable financial institutions, capital markets, and a mechanism to liquidate a part of current value of financial instruments. Through liquidating a sustainable part of current value of financial instruments the company that hosts the server would earn the game money funds which when converted to real currency would pay for its operational costs plus the funds needed to pay a divident. It would be in the best interest of the company that hosts the server to ensure that the financial structure operates efficiently for the benefit of the users so that the game currency has maximum value of convertibility to real life currencies.<br />
<br />
The financial structure required could be as follows:<br />
<br />
'''1. Central Bank'''<br />
<br />
THe Central Bank would oversee the monetary volume, the amount to be liquidated and the keeping of individual money accounts of users free of charge but free of interest as well.<br />
<br />
- All users would be shareholders to the Central Bank, owning no more and no less than one share each<br />
<br />
- The monetary volume would be a fixed amount of currency for each share, say 100.000 units, which would be the nominal value of the Central Bank share.<br />
<br />
- All financial transactions of users, Investment Banks and Capital Markets would be processed through the Central Bank's server software and console<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of Investment Bank's current stock value must be held in liquid reserves<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of those liquid reserves will be contributed to the Special Account in order to be distributed to the users as divident and to the company that hosts the server<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will have the power to dispense payments through the Special Account to the company that hosts the server, to shareholders and to in-game political institutions such as elected moderators <br />
<br />
- Ideally the Central Bank management would be ellected by users, even better by Invesment Bank managers <br />
<br />
- Any increase or decrease in monetary volume would be achieved solely by depositing or withdrawing funds to/from each user's account <br />
<br />
'''2. Investment Banks'''<br />
<br />
The Investment Banks would be the main user operated financial institution. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only financial instrument users would be able to directly buy shares of. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only vehicle available for investment in Capital Markets. <br />
<br />
- They would be able to structure and trade financial instruments through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be able to lend money for projects<br />
<br />
- Any user or group of users would able to open an Investment Bank through a console provided by the Central Bank if they provide capital equal to say 10 Central Bank Shares worth <br />
<br />
- An individual who wants to trade the financial markets with his own money, should come up with enough capital to open an Investment Bank<br />
<br />
- Investment Banks would freely be able to raise capital by issuing shares<br />
<br />
- Their shares would be floated and traded in a separate market than Capital Markets through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be under obligation to keep a part of their investment portfolio in cash so the Central Bank can deduct a contribution to the Special Account<br />
<br />
- The holdings in their investment portfolio would be open for every interested investor to audit<br />
<br />
'''3. Capital markets'''<br />
<br />
These would be the Exchanges where financial instruments are traded<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank would provide the console for the Exchanges and handle the payments<br />
<br />
- Anything of value could be traded on the Exchanges<br />
<br />
- The financial instruments would be structured freely by the Investment Banks<br />
<br />
- Individual loans would be structured as financial instruments and traded freely<br />
<br />
- The coding of financial instruments would be open for everyone to audit<br />
<br />
- An Exchange would be a user-managed institution, the user-managers would be able to charge a commision on transactions as compensation for managing the exchange<br />
<br />
- The Exchanges would all be interconected, so the most efficient ones get the most business<br />
<br />
'''Supporting Environment'''<br />
<br />
The financial structure's legitimacy and effectiveness would benefit the most by a functional political proccess within the game and the development of legal and political institutions that would oversee its implementation. In this way the company that hosts the server would have relegated most of the work too the user community. In a maybe utopian scenario the company itself could be owned by the users. A lot of reated economic activity could evolve alongside the main structure such as auditing companies, programmers etc<br />
<br />
'''Kickstarting a Project'''<br />
<br />
Once the software is implemented as above this could evolve as essentially a game where the collective purpose of the users would be to develop and increase the value of the game currency and spread its use. A group of people willing to kickstart such a project would need to set up a server and a rudimentary mechanism to buy and sell shares to the Central Bank and thus opening user accounts. Integration with a payment system such as Paypal would help. A new user would be able to either:<br />
<br />
- use real money to buy enough in-game currency from other users or the central bank as a provider of last resort to purchase his share to the Central Bank and so be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
- or start free and offer services or anything of value in-game so as to accumulate enough in-game currency to buy his share in the Central Bank and then be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
When a new user opens an account and purchases his share to the Central Bank, new in-game money is created up to the value of one Central Bank share. If he buys his share, the money is deposited in his account. If he does not buy a share and starts free the money is deposited to the Special Account for the benefit of all users. In this way the monetary volume is increased as new users come in and all all users benefit from attracting new users. A de facto mechanism for the convertibility of the in-game currency would thus be achieved and setting up a server for the game could prove profitable. Ideally various groups would be able to start different projects but all grids should be interconnected and maybe their currencies floated on a common exchange</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/User_talk:CzubulUser talk:Czubul2008-04-01T19:48:46Z<p>Czubul: </p>
<hr />
<div><br />
==A Currency that Pays a Divident==<br />
<br />
The OpenSim project should have a currency that pays a divident. If users earn a divident just by using the game currency this will be a great incentive not only to participate in the game but also to use the currency in real life. Thus this increases the possibility that a market of things of value will develop in the game and maybe the currency will be used for real life transactions as well. A currency that pays a divident will prevail over any other form of virtual currency by means of the strategic advantage of directly benefiting the user. Convertibility to real currencies will depend solely on free market ability of the currency to provide goods and services and not some convertibility obligation undertaken by the company that hosts the server.<br />
<br />
Implementing a currency that produces a divident would require suitable financial institutions, capital markets, and a mechanism to liquidate a part of current value of financial instruments. Through liquidating a sustainable part of current value of financial instruments the company that hosts the server would earn the game money funds which when converted to real currency would pay for its operational costs plus the funds needed to pay a divident. It would be in the best interest of the company that hosts the server to ensure that the financial structure operates efficiently for the benefit of the users so that the game currency has maximum value of convertibility to real life currencies.<br />
<br />
The financial structure required could be as follows:<br />
<br />
'''1. Central Bank'''<br />
<br />
THe Central Bank would oversee the monetary volume, the amount to be liquidated and the keeping of individual money accounts of users free of charge but free of interest as well.<br />
<br />
- All users would be shareholders to the Central Bank, owning no more and no less than one share each<br />
<br />
- The monetary volume would be a fixed amount of currency for each share, say 100.000 units, which would be the nominal value of the Central Bank share.<br />
<br />
- All financial transactions of users, Investment Banks and Capital Markets would be processed through the Central Bank's server software and console<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of Investment Bank's current stock value must be held in liquid reserves<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of those liquid reserves will be contributed to the Special Account in order to be distributed to the users as divident and to the company that hosts the server<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will have the power to dispense payments through the Special Account to the company that hosts the server, to shareholders and to in-game political institutions such as elected moderators <br />
<br />
- Ideally the Central Bank management would be ellected by users, even better by Invesment Bank managers <br />
<br />
- Any increase or decrease in monetary volume would be achieved solely by depositing or withdrawing funds to/from each user's account <br />
<br />
'''2. Investment Banks'''<br />
<br />
The Investment Banks would be the main user operated financial institution. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only financial instrument users would be able to directly buy shares of. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only vehicle available for investment in Capital Markets. <br />
<br />
- They would be able to structure and trade financial instruments through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be able to lend money for projects<br />
<br />
- Any user or group of users would able to open an Investment Bank through a console provided by the Central Bank if they provide capital equal to say 10 Central Bank Shares worth <br />
<br />
- An individual who wants to trade the financial markets with his own money, should come up with enough capital to open an Investment Bank<br />
<br />
- Investment Banks would freely be able to raise capital by issuing shares<br />
<br />
- Their shares would be floated and traded in a separate market than Capital Markets through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be under obligation to keep a part of their investment portfolio in cash so the Central Bank can deduct a contribution to the Special Account<br />
<br />
- The holdings in their investment portfolio would be open for every interested investor to audit<br />
<br />
'''3. Capital markets'''<br />
<br />
These would be the Exchanges where financial instruments are traded<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank would provide the console for the Exchanges and handle the payments<br />
<br />
- Anything of value could be traded on the Exchanges<br />
<br />
- The financial instruments would be structured freely by the Investment Banks<br />
<br />
- Individual loans would be structured as financial instruments and traded freely<br />
<br />
- The coding of financial instruments would be open for everyone to audit<br />
<br />
- An Exchange would be a user-managed institution, the user-managers would be able to charge a commision on transactions as compensation for managing the exchange<br />
<br />
- The Exchanges would all be interconected, so the most efficient ones get the most business<br />
<br />
'''Supporting Environment'''<br />
<br />
The financial structure's legitimacy and effectiveness would benefit the most by a functional political proccess within the game and the development of legal and political institutions that would oversee its implementation. In this way the company that hosts the server would have relegated most of the work too the user community. In a maybe utopian scenario the company itself could be owned by the users. A lot of reated economic activity could evolve alongside the main structure such as auditing companies, programmers etc<br />
<br />
'''Kickstarting a Project'''<br />
<br />
Once the software is implemented as above this could evolve as essentially a game where the collective purpose of the users would be to develop and increase the value of the game currency and spread its use. A group of people willing to kickstart such a project would need to set up a server and a rudimentary mechanism to buy and sell shares to the Central Bank and thus opening user accounts. Integration with a payment system such as Paypal would help. A new user would be able to either:<br />
<br />
- use real money to buy enough in-game currency from other users or the central bank as a provider of last resort to purchase his share to the Central Bank and so be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
- or start free and offer services or anything of value in-game so as to accumulate enough in-game currency to buy his share in the Central Bank and then be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
When a new user opens an account and purchases his share to the Central Bank, new in-game money is created up to the value of one Central Bank share and deposited to the Special Account for the benefit of all users. In this way the monetary volume is increased as new users come in and all all users benefit from attracting new users. A de facto mechanism for the convertibility of the in-game currency would thus be achieved and setting up a server for the game could prove profitable. Ideally various groups would be able to start different projects but all grids should be interconnected and maybe their currencies floated on a common exchange</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/User_talk:CzubulUser talk:Czubul2008-03-26T06:43:24Z<p>Czubul: </p>
<hr />
<div>My interest is in creating open financial mechanisms and a currency that pays a divident to its users, here is how I tried to put it on a forum:<br />
<br />
<br />
Suppose you find a financial mechanism to liquidate a percentage of world GDP through capital markets on a monthly say basis and distribute it to 6.500.000.000 people so that every one gets something like 2.000 usd per year on top and regardless of whatever else they earn. That means a familly of 4 would have a very good income in countries like India - Africa - China etc. What would the effects of such a measure be on the environment and the economy?<br />
<br />
My take:<br />
- Eliminate or minimize the need for Social Security, maybe solve this problem.<br />
<br />
- Eliminate the need for a lot of public sector jobs and public economic activity aimed only in providing a pretence for employment.<br />
<br />
- Maybe eliminate the need for a lot of consumer waste<br />
<br />
- Eliminate a lot of natural resource and energy waste associated with these activities<br />
<br />
- Minimize the wave of economic refugees from undeveloped coutries and get rid of the cost and waste of resources used to police immigration.<br />
<br />
- Maybe be able to open all borders<br />
<br />
- Maybe get rid of a couple of costly and destructive wars too<br />
<br />
- Ensure the solvency of the economic system<br />
<br />
- Minimize a great deal of criminal activities such as human trafficing, child labor, theft etc<br />
<br />
- Minimal employment will be enough for someone to advance financialy<br />
<br />
- Maybe also people leave expensive cities and reinhabit the countryside<br />
<br />
And it could even go a bit further... Suppose also that maybe you increase a bit this "divident" and use it as the sole source of taxation. Abolish all other taxation on any form of productive economic activity, thus achieve an ideal productive economy. Couple this with the ability of persons to freely choose their country of residence and then only the optimal political and social organisms will attract residents and be able to increase their resources by taxing the resident's "divident" and employing their resources.<br />
<br />
You can also couple that with a non inflationary central bank where the monetary base is comprised solely of say 100.000 usd per capita (no fractional reserve lending) and every person has an account and a share through which the divident is payed. There would be space for supply-side economics by abjusting the monetary base per share/capita, but only through depositing the increase in every persons account. The central bank could have limited intervention powers by adjusting the percentage of GDP to be liquidated and distributed each month. The Central Banker should be elected by business heads instead of government. Capital Markets should otherwise be free to create financial instruments and regulation proccesses according to needs.<br />
<br />
so here is my idea for an in-game money system that would work to that effect and in the mean time make the busines s of hosting and maintaining a game server a very profitable one:<br />
<br />
==A Currency that Pays a Divident==<br />
<br />
The OpenSim project should have a currency that pays a divident. If users earn a divident just by using the game currency this will be a great incentive not only to participate in the game but also to use the currency in real life. Thus this increases the possibility that a market of things of value will develop in the game and maybe the currency will be used for real life transactions as well. A currency that pays a divident will prevail over any other form of virtual currency by means of the strategic advantage of directly benefiting the user. Convertibility to real currencies will depend solely on free market ability of the currency to provide goods and services and not some convertibility obligation undertaken by the company that hosts the server.<br />
<br />
Implementing a currency that produces a divident would require suitable financial institutions, capital markets, and a mechanism to liquidate a part of current value of financial instruments. Through liquidating a sustainable part of current value of financial instruments the company that hosts the server would earn the game money funds which when converted to real currency would pay for its operational costs plus the funds needed to pay a divident. It would be in the best interest of the company that hosts the server to ensure that the financial structure operates efficiently for the benefit of the users so that the game currency has maximum value of convertibility to real life currencies.<br />
<br />
The financial structure required could be as follows:<br />
<br />
'''1. Central Bank'''<br />
<br />
THe Central Bank would oversee the monetary volume, the amount to be liquidated and the keeping of individual money accounts of users free of charge but free of interest as well.<br />
<br />
- All users would be shareholders to the Central Bank, owning no more and no less than one share each<br />
<br />
- The monetary volume would be a fixed amount of currency for each share, say 100.000 units, which would be the nominal value of the Central Bank share.<br />
<br />
- All financial transactions of users, Investment Banks and Capital Markets would be processed through the Central Bank's server software and console<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of Investment Bank's current stock value must be held in liquid reserves<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of those liquid reserves will be contributed to the Special Account in order to be distributed to the users as divident and to the company that hosts the server<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will have the power to dispense payments through the Special Account to the company that hosts the server, to shareholders and to in-game political institutions such as elected moderators <br />
<br />
- Ideally the Central Bank management would be ellected by users, even better by Invesment Bank managers <br />
<br />
- Any increase or decrease in monetary volume would be achieved solely by depositing or withdrawing funds to/from each user's account <br />
<br />
'''2. Investment Banks'''<br />
<br />
The Investment Banks would be the main user operated financial institution. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only financial instrument users would be able to directly buy shares of. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only vehicle available for investment in Capital Markets. <br />
<br />
- They would be able to structure and trade financial instruments through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be able to lend money for projects<br />
<br />
- Any user or group of users would able to open an Investment Bank through a console provided by the Central Bank if they provide capital equal to say 10 Central Bank Shares worth <br />
<br />
- An individual who wants to trade the financial markets with his own money, should come up with enough capital to open an Investment Bank<br />
<br />
- Investment Banks would freely be able to raise capital by issuing shares<br />
<br />
- Their shares would be floated and traded in a separate market than Capital Markets through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be under obligation to keep a part of their investment portfolio in cash so the Central Bank can deduct a contribution to the Special Account<br />
<br />
- The holdings in their investment portfolio would be open for every interested investor to audit<br />
<br />
'''3. Capital markets'''<br />
<br />
These would be the Exchanges where financial instruments are traded<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank would provide the console for the Exchanges and handle the payments<br />
<br />
- Anything of value could be traded on the Exchanges<br />
<br />
- The financial instruments would be structured freely by the Investment Banks<br />
<br />
- Individual loans would be structured as financial instruments and traded freely<br />
<br />
- The coding of financial instruments would be open for everyone to audit<br />
<br />
- An Exchange would be a user-managed institution, the user-managers would be able to charge a commision on transactions as compensation for managing the exchange<br />
<br />
- The Exchanges would all be interconected, so the most efficient ones get the most business<br />
<br />
'''Supporting Environment'''<br />
<br />
The financial structure's legitimacy and effectiveness would benefit the most by a functional political proccess within the game and the development of legal and political institutions that would oversee its implementation. In this way the company that hosts the server would have relegated most of the work too the user community. In a maybe utopian scenario the company itself could be owned by the users. A lot of reated economic activity could evolve alongside the main structure such as auditing companies, programmers etc<br />
<br />
'''Kickstarting a Project'''<br />
<br />
Once the software is implemented as above this could evolve as essentially a game where the collective purpose of the users would be to develop and increase the value of the game currency and spread its use. A group of people willing to kickstart such a project would need to set up a server and a rudimentary mechanism to buy and sell shares to the Central Bank and thus opening user accounts. Integration with a payment system such as Paypal would help. A new user would be able to either:<br />
<br />
- use real money to buy enough in-game currency from other users or the central bank as a provider of last resort to purchase his share to the Central Bank and so be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
- or start free and offer services or anything of value in-game so as to accumulate enough in-game currency to buy his share in the Central Bank and then be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
When a new user opens an account and purchases his share to the Central Bank, new in-game money is created up to the value of one Central Bank share and deposited to the Special Account for the benefit of all users. In this way the monetary volume is increased as new users come in and all all users benefit from attracting new users. A de facto mechanism for the convertibility of the in-game currency would thus be achieved and setting up a server for the game could prove profitable. Ideally various groups would be able to start different projects but all grids should be interconnected and maybe their currencies floated on a common exchange</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/MoneyMoney2008-03-26T06:34:27Z<p>Czubul: </p>
<hr />
<div>This page is intended as an open discussion board for ideas regarding an in-world financial system - Ezekiel.<br />
<br />
== Motivation ==<br />
In order to be successful, any new world simulator needs to allow for financial transactions. While many residents enjoy the creative and social aspects of virtual life, others are there to provide them with the necessary means - and usually intend to be compensated.<br />
Metaverses without a business component (allowing residents to make money) depend largely on the creativity of the makers and tend to fall into disuse as soon as competitive simulators with better graphics and better entertainment come along (e.g. Active Worlds).<br />
<br />
== Play Money vs. Serious Money ==<br />
There are two types of financial systems and currencies: one is purely an in-world affair (play money) and supports roleplay, the other is convertible into hard currencies (serious money).<br />
While it is commonly agreed that implementing a serious in-world currency system (with all the security implications) is out of scope at least for the current phase of the OpenSim development project, there are still some functional decisions to be made.<br />
<br />
There are several possible ways of handling money in a grid:<br />
* no money support<br />
* in-world play money for roleplay<br />
* in-world currency supported, protected and converted by the grid owner (like SL)<br />
* off-world payment implementation, no in-world currency<br />
* in-world play money plus off-world payment capabilities (might be confusing)<br />
<br />
OpenSim should allow for an implementation of any of those alternatives.<br />
<br />
== Off-World Implementation ==<br />
These are crucial in-world functions for off-world financial transactions:<br />
* put a price tag on a prim, specifying amount and currency<br />
* notification event (LSL) that resident X agrees to buy item / pay amount Y.<br />
<br />
These functions are not crucial, since they may be implemented off-world:<br />
* an in-world currency (use an internet payment provider or an e-currency instead)<br />
* avatar account (use an internet payment provider or an e-currency instead)<br />
* receive payment (can be handled off-world through osLoadURL - for most providers)<br />
* give money (can be handled off-world through osHTTPRequest - for some providers)<br />
* notify avatar of payment (can be done through IM or e-Mail)<br />
<br />
== Wallet Plugin ==<br />
It occurs to me that perhaps it isn't the job of the grid to keep track of every avatars financial transactions. Perhaps this should be left to banks and other financial organizations. I'm thinking that perhaps OpenSim should pull the money out of the grid and develop an independent bank server. Avatars could choose which "wallet" or "bank" to use for a transaction.<br />
<br />
<br />
== A Different Idea == <br />
<br />
(contact czubul to discuss)<br />
<br />
'''A Currency that Pays a Divident'''<br />
<br />
The OpenSim project should have a currency that pays a divident. If users earn a divident just by using the game currency this will be a great incentive not only to participate in the game but also to use the currency in real life. Thus this increases the possibility that a market of things of value will develop in the game and maybe the currency will be used for real life transactions as well. A currency that pays a divident will prevail over any other form of virtual currency by means of the strategic advantage of directly benefiting the user. Convertibility to real currencies will depend solely on free market ability of the currency to provide goods and services and not some convertibility obligation undertaken by the company that hosts the server.<br />
<br />
Implementing a currency that produces a divident would require suitable financial institutions, capital markets, and a mechanism to liquidate a part of current value of financial instruments. Through liquidating a sustainable part of current value of financial instruments the company that hosts the server would earn the game money funds which when converted to real currency would pay for its operational costs plus the funds needed to pay a divident. It would be in the best interest of the company that hosts the server to ensure that the financial structure operates efficiently for the benefit of the users so that the game currency has maximum value of convertibility to real life currencies.<br />
<br />
The financial structure required could be as follows:<br />
<br />
'''1. Central Bank'''<br />
<br />
THe Central Bank would oversee the monetary volume, the amount to be liquidated and the keeping of individual money accounts of users free of charge but free of interest as well.<br />
<br />
- All users would be shareholders to the Central Bank, owning no more and no less than one share each<br />
<br />
- The monetary volume would be a fixed amount of currency for each share, say 100.000 units, which would be the nominal value of the Central Bank share.<br />
<br />
- All financial transactions of users, Investment Banks and Capital Markets would be processed through the Central Bank's server software and console<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of Investment Bank's current stock value must be held in liquid reserves<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will determine how much of those liquid reserves will be contributed to the Special Account in order to be distributed to the users as divident and to the company that hosts the server<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank will have the power to dispense payments through the Special Account to the company that hosts the server, to shareholders and to in-game political institutions such as elected moderators <br />
<br />
- Ideally the Central Bank management would be ellected by users, even better by Invesment Bank managers <br />
<br />
- Any increase or decrease in monetary volume would be achieved solely by depositing or withdrawing funds to/from each user's account <br />
<br />
'''2. Investment Banks'''<br />
<br />
The Investment Banks would be the main user operated financial institution. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only financial instrument users would be able to directly buy shares of. <br />
<br />
- They would be the only vehicle available for investment in Capital Markets. <br />
<br />
- They would be able to structure and trade financial instruments through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be able to lend money for projects<br />
<br />
- Any user or group of users would able to open an Investment Bank through a console provided by the Central Bank if they provide capital equal to say 10 Central Bank Shares worth <br />
<br />
- An individual who wants to trade the financial markets with his own money, should come up with enough capital to open an Investment Bank<br />
<br />
- Investment Banks would freely be able to raise capital by issuing shares<br />
<br />
- Their shares would be floated and traded in a separate market than Capital Markets through the Central Bank console<br />
<br />
- They would be under obligation to keep a part of their investment portfolio in cash so the Central Bank can deduct a contribution to the Special Account<br />
<br />
- The holdings in their investment portfolio would be open for every interested investor to audit<br />
<br />
'''3. Capital markets'''<br />
<br />
These would be the Exchanges where financial instruments are traded<br />
<br />
- The Central Bank would provide the console for the Exchanges and handle the payments<br />
<br />
- Anything of value could be traded on the Exchanges<br />
<br />
- The financial instruments would be structured freely by the Investment Banks<br />
<br />
- Individual loans would be structured as financial instruments and traded freely<br />
<br />
- The coding of financial instruments would be open for everyone to audit<br />
<br />
- An Exchange would be a user-managed institution, the user-managers would be able to charge a commision on transactions as compensation for managing the exchange<br />
<br />
- The Exchanges would all be interconected, so the most efficient ones get the most business<br />
<br />
'''Supporting Environment'''<br />
<br />
The financial structure's legitimacy and effectiveness would benefit the most by a functional political proccess within the game and the development of legal and political institutions that would oversee its implementation. In this way the company that hosts the server would have relegated most of the work too the user community. In a maybe utopian scenario the company itself could be owned by the users. A lot of reated economic activity could evolve alongside the main structure such as auditing companies, programmers etc<br />
<br />
'''Kickstarting a Project'''<br />
<br />
Once the software is implemented as above this could evolve as essentially a game where the collective purpose of the users would be to develop and increase the value of the game currency and spread its use. A group of people willing to kickstart such a project would need to set up a server and a rudimentary mechanism to buy and sell shares to the Central Bank and thus opening user accounts. Integration with a payment system such as Paypal would help. A new user would be able to either:<br />
<br />
- use real money to buy enough in-game currency from other users or the central bank as a provider of last resort to purchase his share to the Central Bank and so be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
- or start free and offer services or anything of value in-game so as to accumulate enough in-game currency to buy his share in the Central Bank and then be entitled to a divident<br />
<br />
When a new user opens an account and purchases his share to the Central Bank, new in-game money is created up to the value of one Central Bank share and deposited to the Special Account for the benefit of all users. In this way the monetary volume is increased as new users come in and all all users benefit from attracting new users. A de facto mechanism for the convertibility of the in-game currency would thus be achieved and setting up a server for the game could prove profitable. Ideally various groups would be able to start different projects but all grids should be interconnected and maybe their currencies floated on a common exchange</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/OpenSimulator:Future_Release_DiscussionOpenSimulator:Future Release Discussion2008-03-25T14:47:15Z<p>Czubul: /* Political Governance System */</p>
<hr />
<div>A collection of ideas for additional functionality in OpenSim. Please add your thoughts - anyone may contribute.<br />
<br />
== 3D grid structure ==<br />
I have always wanted to see a grid where you could have regions not only to the north, south, east west of a region but also above and below. This would enable space above for orbiting space stations and the like and depth below for underwater worlds and tunnels. - Garth FairChang<br />
<br />
== Governance System ==<br />
The online world would have to provide a means for communities to develop legal and political systems of governance. I can think of voting systems as a start.<br />
<br />
== Scripting ==<br />
See the list of [[LSL_osFunctions|OSL Proposals]].<br />
<br />
== Payment System ==<br />
OpenSim will need to support micropayment. See [[Money]] for details on how this could be achieved.<br />
<br />
== Upload of existing 3D models ==<br />
OpenSim should support common standards for 3D modelling. This would allow the upload of existing 3D models and make OpenSim immediately attractive for architects and project developers and their customers (walk through models). <br />
<br />
== Free-form Avatars ==<br />
OpenSim should, at some point in time, support the design and animation of free-form avatars (e.g. animals, monsters, robots).<br />
<br />
== In-World console maintenance ==<br />
Terrain manipulations, statistics and some SIM administration related tasks are not available using the Viewer - they are only available on the command line application console where OpenSim is running. It would be nice to have this same console available in-world, using an Instant Messaging window with the simulator itself, the same way as we do with thoses old command line terminals.<br />
<br />
== Externally Scripted Objects ==<br />
A prim with the script contents something along the line of //external:somehost:someport.<br />
Have the simulator connect to this host:port and relay data from it to the prim.<br />
Example, have a simple library that maps the LSL functions to a simple binary protocol, which can be used from various programming languages, not neccessarily .NET, and have it act like a server.<br />
This would allow scripts to be hosted outside the Simulator while adding security, as no code would be running on the Simulator. People could code Prim scripts using C if they wished, and the library would simply send the LSL commands to the server for relaying to the clients. If this could go straight to the client then even better. The next step after that would be for the script to be able to send Prim data aswell.<br />
This also gives the possibility of using one running script on several different Simulators at once.<br />
- HashBox<br />
<br />
==Object Inventory Source Control==<br />
* This wish list feature starts with the premise that "I HATE working on scripting and objects within SL". Basically, allow users to checkout an object and its contents to an SVN repository. Work on the object and contents locally in whatever application they wish. Later, they can checkin the changes, and update the object inside the simulator.<br />
* [http://www.softec.st/en/OpenSource/ClrProjects/SubversionSharp/SubversionSharp.html SubversionSharp]<br />
<br />
==Arbitrary-sized regions==<br />
<br />
I am thinking stand-alone regions here, though being able to set a single arbitrary size for all regions on a particular grid might be useful to some (or rowspan and colspan-like attributes in the region table if someone was feeling ''really'' masochistic ;-).<br />
<br />
Would require much client-side work too as the 256m sim-size is hard-coded in many places I believe (Rob Linden was lamenting this decision in a blog some time back and talking about slow steps to replace the hard-coding as bits of the client/server code came up for review as a matter-of-course, IIRC). Some of the quick positioning client-server comms protocols are probably byte-dependent too. Any ideas? ;-)<br />
<br />
Very useful for my own free-standing simulator as I want a lot of area but not much built on it, and would rather avoid the inter-region comms overheads if possible.<br />
<br />
Arbitrary origin would be nice too, so I could set (x,y,z:0,0,0) at the middle of my sim on sea level making my maths for several things I plan much simpler (yes, I want I want I want the whole world - and sundry satelites thrown in too!!! But not in any hurry ;-)<br />
<br />
==Tide Server==<br />
<br />
It might be interesting to support tides in OGS. It should be doable without any mods to the SL client and probably wouldn't be even a big project (possibly a good teeth-cutting project for someone who wants to get into OGS server coding but isn't confident to tackle parts of a big or critical server component).<br />
<br />
A few things to consider:<br />
<br />
* The tide server just periodically updates the water level in a grid's sims.<br />
* Would need to be grid-wide or dis-synchronised tides would have ocean-edge alignment issues (so no rolling tides across huge grids, sorry) so it would be a server operating at the grid level talking to regions.<br />
* Needs to be over-ridable as inland regions often use water level for things other than ocean and wouldn't want to follow the tides.<br />
* By using plug-in servers, different complexities of tide can be implemented depending on grid needs.<br />
<br />
===Some example tide servers===<br />
<br />
* Null tide - simply a way to globally set sea-level in a grid. Takes a single sea-level value.<br />
* Simple Periodic - set the max, min and period and starting time values and let it roll.<br />
* Sun (and moon) locked - uses the position of the sun/moon to place tides realistically (presently rather easy as the sun and moon are always 180deg apart, but they might get unlocked from eachother later, extra suns/moons might also crop up long-term - presently it would be the same as Simple Periodic, but time-synced with whatever the day cycle is). Can day-cycles be enforced (or at least a default set) region-wide? Otherwise this would not be feasible.<br />
<br />
===SL Client compatibility===<br />
<br />
When the client sends a water-level request to the region, the region does one of two things:<br />
<br />
* if the water level is -32768 (assuming this value is stored as signed32) or 65535 (if it is a u32) or whatever represents the most 'insane' value possible, then the region refers back upstream to the grid tide server, gets the present tide level, and returns that (sane) value to the client.<br />
* if waterlevel set for the region is in the 'sane' range, that (region-local) value is returned without referring to the tide server.<br />
<br />
(A region-server console command to set the water level outside what the current SL viewer allows is assumed).<br />
<br />
===Updating the tides.===<br />
<br />
(I assume the region is capable of informing attached clients when water level changes so that on-the-fly changes by region admins are reflected reasonably immediately in clients already).<br />
<br />
* tide server periodically multicasts a tide update signal to all regions.<br />
* if the region water level is in the 'insane' setting, it passes the update on to the attached (and neighbour-attached) clients.<br />
* if the region water level is 'sane' it does nothing, leaving the region-manager's water-level alone.<br />
<br />
===One known Client issue===<br />
<br />
The 'extended' water off the edge of actual regions is a problem, as this is probably hard-coded into the client. Probably should have its own setting which can be either fixed per grid (or region for stand-alone) or track the tide server as per region water level.<br />
<br />
==Grid to Grid Travel==<br />
<br />
Going to each grid seems to require setting up an account there. Someone may specialize in 'passport authentication' allowing an avatar to hop from grid to grid (possibly with just a wallet and a small 'suitcase' inventory) as one would go from country to country in rl. Grids get control of who and how may pass through their grid.</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/OpenSimulator:Future_Release_DiscussionOpenSimulator:Future Release Discussion2008-03-25T14:38:00Z<p>Czubul: </p>
<hr />
<div>A collection of ideas for additional functionality in OpenSim. Please add your thoughts - anyone may contribute.<br />
<br />
== 3D grid structure ==<br />
I have always wanted to see a grid where you could have regions not only to the north, south, east west of a region but also above and below. This would enable space above for orbiting space stations and the like and depth below for underwater worlds and tunnels. - Garth FairChang<br />
<br />
== Political Governance System ==<br />
The online world would have to provide a means for communities to develop legal and political systems of governance. I can think of voting systems as a start.<br />
<br />
== Scripting ==<br />
See the list of [[LSL_osFunctions|OSL Proposals]].<br />
<br />
== Payment System ==<br />
OpenSim will need to support micropayment. See [[Money]] for details on how this could be achieved.<br />
<br />
== Upload of existing 3D models ==<br />
OpenSim should support common standards for 3D modelling. This would allow the upload of existing 3D models and make OpenSim immediately attractive for architects and project developers and their customers (walk through models). <br />
<br />
== Free-form Avatars ==<br />
OpenSim should, at some point in time, support the design and animation of free-form avatars (e.g. animals, monsters, robots).<br />
<br />
== In-World console maintenance ==<br />
Terrain manipulations, statistics and some SIM administration related tasks are not available using the Viewer - they are only available on the command line application console where OpenSim is running. It would be nice to have this same console available in-world, using an Instant Messaging window with the simulator itself, the same way as we do with thoses old command line terminals.<br />
<br />
== Externally Scripted Objects ==<br />
A prim with the script contents something along the line of //external:somehost:someport.<br />
Have the simulator connect to this host:port and relay data from it to the prim.<br />
Example, have a simple library that maps the LSL functions to a simple binary protocol, which can be used from various programming languages, not neccessarily .NET, and have it act like a server.<br />
This would allow scripts to be hosted outside the Simulator while adding security, as no code would be running on the Simulator. People could code Prim scripts using C if they wished, and the library would simply send the LSL commands to the server for relaying to the clients. If this could go straight to the client then even better. The next step after that would be for the script to be able to send Prim data aswell.<br />
This also gives the possibility of using one running script on several different Simulators at once.<br />
- HashBox<br />
<br />
==Object Inventory Source Control==<br />
* This wish list feature starts with the premise that "I HATE working on scripting and objects within SL". Basically, allow users to checkout an object and its contents to an SVN repository. Work on the object and contents locally in whatever application they wish. Later, they can checkin the changes, and update the object inside the simulator.<br />
* [http://www.softec.st/en/OpenSource/ClrProjects/SubversionSharp/SubversionSharp.html SubversionSharp]<br />
<br />
==Arbitrary-sized regions==<br />
<br />
I am thinking stand-alone regions here, though being able to set a single arbitrary size for all regions on a particular grid might be useful to some (or rowspan and colspan-like attributes in the region table if someone was feeling ''really'' masochistic ;-).<br />
<br />
Would require much client-side work too as the 256m sim-size is hard-coded in many places I believe (Rob Linden was lamenting this decision in a blog some time back and talking about slow steps to replace the hard-coding as bits of the client/server code came up for review as a matter-of-course, IIRC). Some of the quick positioning client-server comms protocols are probably byte-dependent too. Any ideas? ;-)<br />
<br />
Very useful for my own free-standing simulator as I want a lot of area but not much built on it, and would rather avoid the inter-region comms overheads if possible.<br />
<br />
Arbitrary origin would be nice too, so I could set (x,y,z:0,0,0) at the middle of my sim on sea level making my maths for several things I plan much simpler (yes, I want I want I want the whole world - and sundry satelites thrown in too!!! But not in any hurry ;-)<br />
<br />
==Tide Server==<br />
<br />
It might be interesting to support tides in OGS. It should be doable without any mods to the SL client and probably wouldn't be even a big project (possibly a good teeth-cutting project for someone who wants to get into OGS server coding but isn't confident to tackle parts of a big or critical server component).<br />
<br />
A few things to consider:<br />
<br />
* The tide server just periodically updates the water level in a grid's sims.<br />
* Would need to be grid-wide or dis-synchronised tides would have ocean-edge alignment issues (so no rolling tides across huge grids, sorry) so it would be a server operating at the grid level talking to regions.<br />
* Needs to be over-ridable as inland regions often use water level for things other than ocean and wouldn't want to follow the tides.<br />
* By using plug-in servers, different complexities of tide can be implemented depending on grid needs.<br />
<br />
===Some example tide servers===<br />
<br />
* Null tide - simply a way to globally set sea-level in a grid. Takes a single sea-level value.<br />
* Simple Periodic - set the max, min and period and starting time values and let it roll.<br />
* Sun (and moon) locked - uses the position of the sun/moon to place tides realistically (presently rather easy as the sun and moon are always 180deg apart, but they might get unlocked from eachother later, extra suns/moons might also crop up long-term - presently it would be the same as Simple Periodic, but time-synced with whatever the day cycle is). Can day-cycles be enforced (or at least a default set) region-wide? Otherwise this would not be feasible.<br />
<br />
===SL Client compatibility===<br />
<br />
When the client sends a water-level request to the region, the region does one of two things:<br />
<br />
* if the water level is -32768 (assuming this value is stored as signed32) or 65535 (if it is a u32) or whatever represents the most 'insane' value possible, then the region refers back upstream to the grid tide server, gets the present tide level, and returns that (sane) value to the client.<br />
* if waterlevel set for the region is in the 'sane' range, that (region-local) value is returned without referring to the tide server.<br />
<br />
(A region-server console command to set the water level outside what the current SL viewer allows is assumed).<br />
<br />
===Updating the tides.===<br />
<br />
(I assume the region is capable of informing attached clients when water level changes so that on-the-fly changes by region admins are reflected reasonably immediately in clients already).<br />
<br />
* tide server periodically multicasts a tide update signal to all regions.<br />
* if the region water level is in the 'insane' setting, it passes the update on to the attached (and neighbour-attached) clients.<br />
* if the region water level is 'sane' it does nothing, leaving the region-manager's water-level alone.<br />
<br />
===One known Client issue===<br />
<br />
The 'extended' water off the edge of actual regions is a problem, as this is probably hard-coded into the client. Probably should have its own setting which can be either fixed per grid (or region for stand-alone) or track the tide server as per region water level.<br />
<br />
==Grid to Grid Travel==<br />
<br />
Going to each grid seems to require setting up an account there. Someone may specialize in 'passport authentication' allowing an avatar to hop from grid to grid (possibly with just a wallet and a small 'suitcase' inventory) as one would go from country to country in rl. Grids get control of who and how may pass through their grid.</div>Czubulhttp://opensimulator.org/wiki/User_talk:CzubulUser talk:Czubul2008-03-22T04:21:57Z<p>Czubul: Open Financial Institutions</p>
<hr />
<div>My interest is in creating open financial mechanisms and a currency that pays a divident to its users, here is how I tried to put it on a forum:<br />
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Suppose you find a financial mechanism to liquidate a percentage of world GDP through capital markets on a monthly say basis and distribute it to 6.500.000.000 people so that every one gets something like 2.000 usd per year on top and regardless of whatever else they earn. That means a familly of 4 would have a very good income in countries like India - Africa - China etc. What would the effects of such a measure be on the environment and the economy?<br />
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My take:<br />
- Eliminate or minimize the need for Social Security, maybe solve this problem.<br />
- Eliminate the need for a lot of public sector jobs and public economic activity aimed only in providing a pretence for employment.<br />
- Maybe eliminate the need for a lot of consumer waste<br />
- Eliminate a lot of natural resource and energy waste associated with these activities<br />
- Minimize the wave of economic refugees from undeveloped coutries and get rid of the cost and waste of resources used to police immigration.<br />
- Maybe be able to open all borders<br />
- Maybe get rid of a couple of costly and destructive wars too<br />
- Ensure the solvency of the economic system<br />
- Minimize a great deal of criminal activities such as human trafficing, child labor, theft etc<br />
- Minimal employment will be enough for someone to advance financialy<br />
- Maybe also people leave expensive cities and reinhabit the countryside<br />
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And it could even go a bit further... Suppose also that maybe you increase a bit this "divident" and use it as the sole source of taxation. Abolish all other taxation on any form of productive economic activity, thus achieve an ideal productive economy. Couple this with the ability of persons to freely choose their country of residence and then only the optimal political and social organisms will attract residents and be able to increase their resources by taxing the resident's "divident" and employing their resources.<br />
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You can also couple that with a non inflationary central bank where the monetary base is comprised solely of say 100.000 usd per capita (no fractional reserve lending) and every person has an account and a share through which the divident is payed. There would be space for supply-side economics by abjusting the monetary base per share/capita, but only through depositing the increase in every persons account. The central bank could have limited intervention powers by adjusting the percentage of GDP to be liquidated and distributed each month. The Central Banker should be elected by business heads instead of government. Capital Markets should otherwise be free to create financial instruments and regulation proccesses according to needs.</div>Czubul