[Opensim-users] Opensim-users Digest, Vol 51, Issue 3

[Ric Moore]

On 11/03/2011 06:55 PM, Cider Jack wrote:
> Bitcoin (or a similar system) would be ideal for OpenSim, IMO. The
> need for a "universal" virtual currency for use among virtual worlds
> is real. Bitcoin is a system already in place, with the advantages
> Edgar mentioned and some caveats such as Simon mentions as well. It's
> also already had a few other issues, including hoarding, rumors of
> theft&  counterfeiting, not to mention the recent collapse in exchange
> value.
>
> I personally expect that a single currency that works seamlessly in
> both virtual&  real world will happen eventually. It's just a question
> of when&  how.
>
> OpenSim appears to be an ideal community to introduce a system and
> work out the bugs before taking it to the next step (into the
> real-world side of things).

As a long time supporter of open source, it seems strange to expect to 
charge small sums of money for small improvements, when you sit on top 
of a totally selfless free gift of a huge project like OpenSim. Everyone 
of us are in "gift debt" to OpenSim and the cast of people who have 
freely contributed code improvements, especially to Second Life for 
releasing code to the Open Source community and to Darren Guard for 
busting his hump with it.

How to repay that debt?? By offering up some improvement without 
expectation of repayment, in the like manner you received the "gift". 
That's pretty much the sum total of the GPL and OpenSource notions.

Then, there is the matter of bookkeeping, and then someone will want a 
percentage of that to administer it, creating another IMF style banking 
system with it's burden of administrative executive ~leeches~ who will 
inevitably either live lavishly at the expense of others or run off with 
the money ala Wall Street. You SURE you want to go there?? In the long 
run, it might be better to pay off on the gift-debt to the group first 
before thinking about individual minuscule profits. That might not be a 
bad notion to teach kids, too.

Suppose OpenSim decided to charge a site license fee, if there were 
profits to be made? Wouldn't that be fair? Would you be open to paying a 
fee up-front first? Or, should the devels just bend over for anyone 
wishing to make a buck from their gift, while pissing on their shoes? In 
the real world, profits are what's left after expenses and taxes. Up 
until now we're thankfully free of both, thanks to the OpenSim 
development group. My two-cents, Ric

-- 
My father, Victor Moore (Vic) used to say:
"There are two Great Sins in the world...
..the Sin of Ignorance, and the Sin of Stupidity.
Only the former may be overcome." R.I.P. Dad.
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