Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

MWD
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by MWD »

drllau wrote: there's a distinction between protocols and firms ... economists note that a stable market segment exists with 3-5 oliopolists, if anything the monopoly are niche like when........
Seriously, I meant no disrespect. You have to picture me smiling while typing all of this.

I am not a programmer, I'm just an idea guy. I was just throwing out some ideas, some new, some not, some good, some probably not.

I'm an idea guy, and a very very libertarian idea guy. And unlike some libertarians, I'm not a trained economist. When you ask me "How will this work?" I'll just say "THE FREE MARKET WILL TAKE CARE OF IT!" Which sounds like a cop out, but it was also my answer four years ago when trained economists told me "Bitcoin will never work. How the hell will Bitcoin ever work?"

The last line in my sigline is how it will all work. And that's the free market at work.


Hey, you're in Singapore, do you speak Mandarin? We're looking for translators for our 3-minute FreeSpeechMe promo video.
http://www.freespeechme.org/looking-for ... hme-video/

Doesn't pay much (I can give you one NMC to translate, one NMC to record the translation, plus you'll get credit and a link). But it's a really easy way to help spread a vital new technology that will make NMC universal.

MWD
Namecoin, Dot-Bit and MeowBit are a complete new Internet ecosystem, building the roads to Web 4.0. http://www.meowbit.com
Dot-Bit Kitty Pix! The ONLY .bit-only kitty cat website in the world! http://dotbitkittypix.bit

drllau
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by drllau »

MWD-FreeSpeechMe wrote:
drllau wrote:
Seriously, I meant no disrespect. You have to picture me smiling while typing all of this.

I am not a programmer, I'm just an idea guy. I was just throwing out some ideas, some new, some not, some good, some probably not.

Hey, you're in Singapore, do you speak Mandarin? We're looking for translators for our 3-minute FreeSpeechMe promo video.
http://www.freespeechme.org/looking-for ... hme-video/

Doesn't pay much (I can give you one NMC to translate, one NMC to record the translation, plus you'll get credit and a link). But it's a really easy way to help spread a vital new technology that will make NMC universal.

MWD
Sorry ... without emoticons, it's hard to tell the speech mode. As for mandarin, I had a quick listen to the video and it'll need some cultural contextualisation, keeping in mind the Great Firewall and careful not to create political waves (perhaps a tad less technical if trying to appeal to a broader base). Keep in mind that property rights were only enshrined in the constitution only a few years back. Let me think about the points of confluence a bit before accepting or not.

MWD
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by MWD »

drllau wrote: Sorry ... without emoticons, it's hard to tell the speech mode.
No prob.
drllau wrote: As for mandarin, I had a quick listen to the video and it'll need some cultural contextualisation, keeping in mind the Great Firewall and careful not to create political waves (perhaps a tad less technical if trying to appeal to a broader base). Keep in mind that property rights were only enshrined in the constitution only a few years back. Let me think about the points of confluence a bit before accepting or not.
All very good points. Thank you. I hadn't thought of that.

And thank you for considering it. I look forward to your reply, regardless of whether it's yes or no. I appreciate you taking consideration on it.

MWD
Namecoin, Dot-Bit and MeowBit are a complete new Internet ecosystem, building the roads to Web 4.0. http://www.meowbit.com
Dot-Bit Kitty Pix! The ONLY .bit-only kitty cat website in the world! http://dotbitkittypix.bit

drllau
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by drllau »

I think the essence of the problem in my mind is what does name coin translate to. Chinese is a symbolic language in the sense that each character is more like a concept of which stringing them together creates concrete meaning. So name-coin could be interpreted in different ways like 钱姓 (lit money surname). Another interpretation is 金名 (lit golden name) with its connotations of solidity and indirect concept of ancestry/face. Yet a closer analogy would be a placename (位) which is what the DNS is. Emphasing worth or value would substitute 值 for coin.

So it would help if do some free association and then select the concept closest to the "brand" that namecoin is supposed to represent. Don't underestimate the value of symbols and myths/beliefs are to social trust. Milton Friedman, in his book Money Mischief, noted Pacific island where the inhabitants used stone wheels as a medium of exchange and as a store of wealth. The colonial government imposed "fees" on disobedient district chiefs by painting black crosses on these stone wheels, thus "confiscating" them. This induced the locals to change their ways and work harder, in order to have these marks erased (representing "defaced" value) and get their "wealth" back. A lot of this cultural interpretation is documented in "Debt: The First 5,000 Years".
Last edited by drllau on Sat Feb 15, 2014 2:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

MWD
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by MWD »

drllau wrote:I think the essence of the problem in my mind is what does name coin translate to. Chinese is a symbolic language in the sense that each character is more like a concept of which stringing them together creates concrete meaning. So name-coin could be interpreted in different ways like 钱姓 (lit money surname). Another interpretation is 金名 (lit golden name) with its connotations of solidity and indirect concept of ancestry/face. Yet a closer analogy would be a placename (位) which is what the DNS is. Emphasing worth or value would substitute 值 for coin.

So it would help if do some free association and then select the concept closest to the "brand" that namecoin is supposed to represent.
Well, from what you say, it sounds like for someone in China (Including Hong Kong) to do the translation, the brand would have to be toned down. The brand now is basically "IT WILL KEEP THE GOVERNMENT FROM TAKING YOUR WEBSITE, and it's more secure against hackers." I think to have someone in China translate it, the brand would have to be "It is more secure against hackers."

Someone who loves the project told me today, "I'd recommend anyone in China not associate themselves with FreeSpeechMe, for their own safety." That's a really horrifying thought to me, but I did feel I needed to bring it up.

Maybe I should look for someone in America that could translate it and voice it, so we could keep the "TEAR DOWN THE WALLS!" feel to the branding and not get in trouble? You'd know more than me, and I value your opinion on this, because you'd be much more informed than I.

Thank you!
MWD
Last edited by MWD on Sat Feb 15, 2014 2:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
Namecoin, Dot-Bit and MeowBit are a complete new Internet ecosystem, building the roads to Web 4.0. http://www.meowbit.com
Dot-Bit Kitty Pix! The ONLY .bit-only kitty cat website in the world! http://dotbitkittypix.bit

MWD
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by MWD »

While I'm not completely opposed to toning it down to get through The Great Firewall, I think as soon as the central scruitinzers controlling that firewall notice what FreeSpeechMe IS, they'll try to crush it every chance they get.

So I'm thinking maybe keep the translation as feisty as possible, and know that there are giant holes in the Firewall.

I live in America. I have a friend from here I went to college with. He's married to a Chinese national woman, they live in China. He uses simple VPNs and surfs any site he wants, all the time, even having accounts on social networks that are blocked by the Firewall. He says most younger people he knows there do that all the time, and never get in trouble for it.

MWD
Namecoin, Dot-Bit and MeowBit are a complete new Internet ecosystem, building the roads to Web 4.0. http://www.meowbit.com
Dot-Bit Kitty Pix! The ONLY .bit-only kitty cat website in the world! http://dotbitkittypix.bit

MWD
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by MWD »

drllau wrote:So name-coin could be interpreted in different ways like 钱姓 (lit money surname). Another interpretation is 金名 (lit golden name) with its connotations of solidity and indirect concept of ancestry/face. Yet a closer analogy would be a placename (位) which is what the DNS is. Emphasing worth or value would substitute 值 for coin. ...
I know it's different with different languages, but I already have the text (but not the spoken audio recordings yet) for the Japanese, German, and Spanish translations. All of them left "Namecoin", "Firefox" "Windows" "Plug-in", Dot-Bit and "Linux" untranslated. Here are excerpts:

FreeSpeechMeは、より自由なインターネットを世界に先立って普及させるゲームチェンジャーです。FreeSpeechmeのオープンソースプラグインをより完全にし、利用の拡大を図り、そしてインターネットを世界の中央監視システムから救済するために必要な5万ドルの資金調達に是非ご協力ください。

ドットビットサイトはすでに存在しています。まずは、最大限にこのプラグインのユーザー拡大を図り、サイトオーナーに 「.bit」 バージョンを既存のサイトに追加するよう伝授していかなければなりません。このプラグインとドットビットの使用方法、Namecoinでのドットビットネームの登録方法についても、分かりやすいチュートリアルを作成しましたので、そちらをご利用いただけます。
=-=-=-=-
Ya existen páginas Punto-bit. Pero, ahora, necesitamos la más amplia adopción posible de la extensión y enseñar a más propietarios de webs a añadir la versión .bit de ellas. Escribímos tutoriales claros acerca de cómo usar el plugin y cómo registrar nuevos dominios Punto-bit usando Namecoin.

FreeSpeechMe está cambiando las reglas del juego, es un salto hacía el avance a la libertad en todo el mundo. Pofavor, ayúdanos a conseguir los 50.000 dólares para perfección aún más nuestra extensión, difundir su adopción y salvar Internet del los fisgones del mundo.
-=-=-=-=-=-=
Vor der Erfindung des FreeSpeechMe plug-ins war das Anzeigen von Dot-Bit domains nur auf komplizierte Weise zu bewerkstelligen und machte Änderungen an den DNS Einstellungen des Computers notwendig, was wiederum Admin-Berechtigungen und einiges an Know-how voraussetzte, und ausserdem ein Sicherheitsrisiko darstellte.

Das alles ist kein Hirngespinst. Es stehend bereits funktionierende Versionen des Freespeechme plugins für Windows und GNU-plus-Linux für ihre sofortige Verwendung zur Verfügung.
Namecoin, Dot-Bit and MeowBit are a complete new Internet ecosystem, building the roads to Web 4.0. http://www.meowbit.com
Dot-Bit Kitty Pix! The ONLY .bit-only kitty cat website in the world! http://dotbitkittypix.bit

drllau
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by drllau »

MWD-FreeSpeechMe wrote: Someone told me today, someone who loves the project "I'd recommend anyone in China not associate themselves with FreeSpeechMe, for their own safety." That's a really horrifying thought to me, but I did feel I needed to bring it up.

I know it's different with different languages, but I already have the text (but not the spoken audio recordings yet) for the Japanese, German, and Spanish translations. All of them left "Namecoin", "Firefox" "Windows" "Plug-in", Dot-Bit and "Linux" untranslated.
MWD
Because of population density there has never been the premium on the individual, just like there are bounds on speech in the US (don't cry "Fire" in crowded theatre). So free speech as interpreted in the minds of govt censors means potential social subversion and leads to the slippery slope of nation fragmentation. Not saying right or wrong but that is the interpretation and the govt has justification in trying to keep social cohesion though the methods are not to the taste of outsiders.

For a neutral translation, you might go for "place value" which is closer to the technical definition of DNS and sidesteps the currency issue. Technically, bitcoin and by extension namecoin is not banned (outright), it can be considered in the same category as virtual goods within an online game. But they don't want it contaminating the mainstream financial system (they preserve the monopoly rights to screw it up themselves) ... the Asian crisis in late 90s with speculative attacks is still fresh in the minds of many policy makers.

By focusing on location/position concept, then the argument is that if you put a stake in the noosphere (space of ideas), then it "belongs" to the person who created it leading to the notion of personalty or personal property rights. Thus you can create extrinsic "value" outside of a credit based banking system because it is a shadow extension of personhood. UN Declaration of Human rights is that nobody should "own" a person.

Leaving it untranslated would defer the issue but a rather clever approach is that if you turn the logo 90 degrees and squint, it could be interpreted loosely as 位

MWD
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by MWD »

drllau wrote: there has never been the premium on the individual, ...So free speech as interpreted in the minds of govt censors means potential social subversion and leads to the slippery slope of nation fragmentation.
The US is about five years behind that in the tyranny parade of the world. Though I really believe things like Bitcoin and FreeSpeechMe can help turn that around. I'm LITERALLY on a mission to help save the world.

The only thing that can REALLY turn it around is reducing the demand for the "services" the State provides, anywhere and everywhere.

And things like Bitcoin, Namecoin (and the Internet, and Open Source / Free Software / Linux, and my radio show: http://www.freedomfeens.com
)

can help reduce that demand. That's what I devote every waking hour to.
drllau wrote: By focusing on location/position concept, then the argument is that if you put a stake in the noosphere (space of ideas), then it "belongs" to the person who created it leading to the notion of personalty or personal property rights. Thus you can create extrinsic "value" outside of a credit based banking system because it is a shadow extension of personhood.
I like that.
drllau wrote: UN Declaration of Human rights is that nobody should "own" a person.
Yes it does. And ironically, the UN probably contributes more "soft slavery" in the world in the long run then the amount of actual slavery and Human Rights abuses they prevent.

Just my six cents. And I do know that you have worked for UN NGOs. I'm not picking on you. I say stuff like this all day every day to anyone who will listen. Check out my radio show and see....

Peace,
MWD
Namecoin, Dot-Bit and MeowBit are a complete new Internet ecosystem, building the roads to Web 4.0. http://www.meowbit.com
Dot-Bit Kitty Pix! The ONLY .bit-only kitty cat website in the world! http://dotbitkittypix.bit

drllau
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Re: Idea for a new utility-based non-currency coin

Post by drllau »

MWD-FreeSpeechMe wrote:
drllau wrote:
Just my six cents. And I do know that you have worked for UN NGOs. I'm not picking on you. I say stuff like this all day every day to anyone who will listen. Check out my radio show and see....
Huh? If you've checked my LinkedIn profile, I've worked in academia and as individual consultant but never for an NGO (unless there's an evil twin clone I'm not aware of) ... not that I can see what the connection is. In any form of dialectic, the focus should always on the issues and not the person, in fact, one reason why I see the internet being more progressive is that with tools such as rbutr and loomio it is possible for groups to come to consensual decision making much more quicker than before.

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