[Opensim-users] Bitcoin [was Re: Opensim-users Digest, Vol 51, Issue 3]

[Edmund Edgar]

On 6 November 2011 17:54, DutchGlory <info at verwijs-pc.nl> wrote:
> i think bitcoin is THE WORST currency system there is...
> there's no security, no customer service, so if someone screws you
> over there's nothing you can do about is...
>
> and for "mining" (get bitcoins) you need CPU POWER..!!!!

- The Bitcoin network has quite a good security history, but people have
had security problems keeping money on their PC or entrusting it to a
third-party website. It'll become easier to protect your BitCoins as the
client software gets better, but it will always be possible for someone who
hacks your PC to steal your money if they try hard enough. But this is also
true of Linden Dollars and online banking. (See what happens if somebody
steals your Virwox password...)

- There's no TOS or (official) customer service, because it's cash, and
there's no organization responsible for it. This is a feature, not a bug.

- "Mining" is how new Bitcoins are originally minted, but as an ordinary
user you don't need to worry about it, any more than you'd care about how
US dollars are printed.

> no the safest currency for opensim basesd grids is "Open Metaverse
Currency (OMC)" <https://www.virwox.com/omc-open-metaverse-currency.php>
> all transfers (are / have to be) authorized by virwox.com so save.

I use the Virwox service myself and I don't doubt that they're nice people,
but if there's one thing we should have learned from Linden Lab's various
mood swings it's that it's a bad thing to let your infrastructure rely too
much on a single organization, especially a private company. You never know
when they're going to screw up, change direction or go out of business.

That said, since we're currently just talking about BitCoin rather than
actually implementing it, Virwox is probably one of the most  practical
options for people who need a Metaverse-ready currency system now.

-- 
Edmund Edgar
Founder, KK Social Minds
Educational Technology for the Web and Virtual Worlds

ed at socialminds.jp
+81 090 3912 3380
Skype: edmundedgar
Second Life: Edmund Earp
Linked In: edmundedgar
Twitter: @edmundedgar
http://www.socialminds.jp
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