More Q&A clarification for Prowl ++ Business-at-the-core-of-Design

[els]

Thanks for the prompt reply.

1) Publication could be in a private space and no one could prevent
such a scenario from happening anyway. But in that case, there is no
auditability except to rely on the internal system to keep everything
reconciled. I realize there is such a thing as ACID transaction
processing, but that does not provide transparency. My expectation
from a set of open interface specifications is that it would generate
interoperable systems that anyone could develop parsers for and
independently audit/report on. If the majority of transaction data are
expected to remain hidden, why bother with interoperability?

2) My diagram does not illustrate restrictions, but general
expectations that has tremendous impact on information system design.
I also understand that rules would be important when using currency
between members of different currency entities. That's why I developed
the OCAUP accounting model to address specific requirements when most
trades are going to be between currency brands. Believe me, I have
thought extensively about inter-domain trades as the bases for my
design approach.

I want to spare you from having to read some of my analysis that would
definitely come up in a potential collaboration, but read the PS if
you are still interested and have time.

Edgar

***PS:
To me, future currency diversity will primarily represent the
diversity of entities that each specialize in serving a market need -
that's the only way each independent currency brand could have
accountable value. Most people would not hesitate in identifying who
they work for, but asking them to identify with a community is a
challenge. I plan to build on what most people already identify with
and the public recognizes as providing sustained value. I don't expect
people to go back to a time when community standing and harmony was a
daily concern - that will come naturally from fulfilling one's self-
determined duties. Effective currency design is about making working
employees accountable to their responsibilities, like companies,
nonprofits or government unit that already try to cultivate a sincere,
positive 'brand' reputation.

There have been extensive examples in the past of rooting currency
value within community boundaries, real or virtual, and most have
failed or are languishing. I just don't believe that approach will
have much promise. You cannot build business/organizational
considerations on top of a currency design that primarily addresses
personal account holder requirements - the business aspect has to be
at the core of the design. In a good design, a business would be able
to use currency transaction data to build its case for public support
and gain improved market access with its own currency brand.

If a person relies on a currency brand that is based on an entity that
he works for, it would be unlikely that he'll trade with coworkers for
most needs. Instead, he will likely use his currency brand to access
products from other brands. Interentity trade will not be an
afterthought, but will be the dominant type of currency activity. Just
like hypertext taking off with interdomain links, currency should
primarily be designed to address interdomain transactions. From my
perspective, community-oriented currencies are conceptually similar to
creating isolated information islands, whose boundaries the web
standards had to overcome.

These are just opinions, of course, but I look at the excitement that
Twollars is generating and see that my intuition is accurate on the
publishing aspect. I had that hunch and was working on it since last
year, even before Twollars came out. I'm sure the next excitement will
be how people could graph trends using those data, something that I
tried to demo already.

Edgar
***