Proposal for a tipbot system using cryptocurreny

[Handruin]

I'm floating you guys an idea to get your feedback. Would a tipbot service built and managed by us here be of any interest? For a quick summary of what I'm proposing, a tipbot is basically a plugin or service that would allow each of us to tip our peers on the forum using a cryptocurrency (ala Dogecoin, Litecoin, Bitcoin, etc for example) to reward helpful and interesting posts or just for the heck of it. I'm not suggesting anyone needs to get paid to post but there have been times people have put in extra effort to help others with their issues and it might be a nice way to thank them. The same tipbot concept is used on Reddit for individuals to share their appreciation for people's time and effort in helping each other.

With this idea of a tipbot system it doesn't have to be a displayed status symbol which could alter the way we interact. I would envision it as a way to click a button next to a forum user's post and send some coins to their wallet. The act of the transaction could either be public or private depending on how we want to manage it. Since these cryptocurrencies can be exchanged for actual local fiat currency it could be a fun way to reward or help our fellow forum members.

I haven't done a search yet but I don't think there is a system out there for forums to do this with cryptocurrencies. I figured it could be a more anonymous way to support and encourage our fellow forum members without having to share personal bank, Paypal, information.

 

[CougTek]

I'm not too fund about the idea. Since my income is ok, but I'm still tight, I would pass for a cheap dude (which I have to be, unless I want to have money problems). And there's a risk that many will try to put extra efforts to help Ddrueding every time he has a question to suck him dry since we all know he has a confortable income.

I'm worried that such a system would change the way we interact. I understand the appeal it might have, but I see too much of a derailment risk.

Sorry, but it's my view.

 

[ddrueding]

Coug had nearly the same thought I did, but that would only be a concern until everyone noticed that I would pretty much never pay anyone for posts. Not that I haven't paid for products and consulting services from a number of members (and would hope that they've all considered it a fair transaction), but that tipping is a fuzzy thing. Societies where tipping is more common tend to be more corrupt. That lack of transparency complicates everything.

Having an ability to send money to other members would be fine, I'd use it for products and services if the other party wanted, but I don't think it would necessarily benefit the forum.

 

[mubs]

There is only one other forum I sort of frequent (at a lesser frequency than SF). They have a "Thank You" button for each post that you can click (except your own posts). When you thank somebody, you can see all the others who have thanked that poster for that post. The # times a person has been thanked also appears below their post count.

My current post count is 247, and I've been thanked 147 times.

Overall I don't know if this idea is more acceptable than the tipping. If need be, I can find out what forum sw is being used at the other place.

My $0.02.

 

[mubs]

There is only one other forum I sort of frequent (at a lesser frequency than SF). They have a "Thank You" button for each post (except your own posts) that you can click. When you thank somebody, you can see all the others who have thanked that poster for that post. The # times a person has been thanked also appears below their post count.

My current post count is 247, and I've been thanked 147 times.

Overall I don't know if this idea is more acceptable than the tipping. If need be, I can find out what forum sw is being used at the other place.

My $0.02.

 

[CougTek]

My $0.02.

I SAID NO CASH!!;-)

 

[Bozo]

No thanks. It seems to me that it would just cause alot of problems.

 

[LunarMist]

It's too complicated for me. I can donate to help the site, if it is anonymous.

This whole online currency fad seems like a ponzi scheme or money laundering scam. I'll stick with dollars or euros, etc.

 

[Chewy509]

Agree with the others - not needed. My enjoyment comes from helping others and having a sense of being part of a community. Don't need financial incentives for that...

If you are still interested in some sort of feedback system, I like Mubs recommendation.

 

[Stereodude]

No thanks. It seems to me that it would just cause alot of problems.

Ditto

 

[Clocker]

Even though I think it would be cool because I'm into mining now like you, it probably would not work as intended here.

 

[sechs]

I don't see how this would add to the site. We already have a communist utopia.

 

[Howell]

Sechs, I do not think that word means what you think it means.

I'm with DD. I don't think a tip system among friends will work, though developing a site monetary system where stuff can be exchanged for services might increase expert information exchange. After all, there is only so much time in the day.

 

[LunarMist]

Sechs, I do not think that word means what you think it means.

Communist utopia, WTF?

 

[Handruin]

Thanks for listening to my idea and giving me the feedback. I won't pursue this.

 

[sechs]

Communist utopia, WTF?

Paradise lost....

 

[BezsmexasLig]

Voted no, as I think theres too many sections sub-sections in mkiii/mkiv, off-topics, spitting of for sale/wanted. Having said that, I pretty much just browse the forums using the New posts view, so a change wouldnt really bother me.

 

[Tannin]

Wow.

Much of the rest of the world (outside America) regards tipping as demeaning, which it is. The last thing any sensible person would want to do is encourage it.

If you want somebody's services, or if you want to provide a service to someone, negotiate an honest price and stick to it. If you don't trust them to provide decent value, don't buy the service. If you think you deserve more than the amount it says on the price list, charge more in the first place. There is only one thing more cringe-worthy than the way tip-hungry workers fawn over you, and that is the superior attitude of so many of the people giving tips. In sensible, modern places, tipping went out with kneeling, kissing the floor, and tugging the forelock.

 

[Tea]

Tannin, you are hopeless. What you wrote has got practically nothing to do with what Doug proposed. It was just an excuse for an off-topic rant.

 

[Tannin]

So?

 

[Tea]

It's not even as if the thread was current, it's years and years out of date.

 

[Tannin]

Well? So am I.

By the way, what is a cryptocurrency anyway?

 

[Tea]

Sigh.

It's sort of like money, except that it doesn't exist or have any actual value and nobody uses it. At least not for anything worth mentioning other than speculation, gambling, bribery, drugs, and crime.

 

[Tannin]

So it's basically just the same as money then?

 

[LunarMist]

It's not even as if the thread was current, it's years and years out of date.

I assumed it was a spammer even if it isn't cryptolithic currently.