Since I linked this as a slight improvement over regular ponzis in another thread Im going to address some problems I see.
#1 you (the operator) picks the seed, thus you know in advance which spots are winning and can thus play without risk
#2 you (the operator) do not publish a hash of the seed to make sure you do not change the seed at a later date
#3 the players could analyse the possible outcomes via random.org API for the last X of the 25 digit seed. X here depends on your API key as random.org limits API requests unless you pay for them. Paying for them just to get an advantage in the game might not be worth it, but someone might have access to such a key from other sources (university, job, etc)
#1 you (the operator) picks the seed, thus you know in advance which spots are winning and can thus play without risk
#2 you (the operator) do not publish a hash of the seed to make sure you do not change the seed at a later date
#3 the players could analyse the possible outcomes via random.org API for the last X of the 25 digit seed. X here depends on your API key as random.org limits API requests unless you pay for them. Paying for them just to get an advantage in the game might not be worth it, but someone might have access to such a key from other sources (university, job, etc)
Thank you for the feedback. I will do my best to respond to each of your points.
1. Technically, I don't PICK the seed, the seed is generated as 2 GUIDs and then the first 25 characters of that become the seed. And technically, I do know the seed (because it is stored in the database until the game ends), but the only other thing we could have done is pick it at the end - the argument would then be "well you just find a seed that let's you win".
Use something you can not predict. E.g. the hash of the bitcoin block that confirms the last transaction. Something that is very hard to predict for those participating as well as for you.
2. By publishing the seed we are offering transparency to ensure we don't "change the seed at a later date" and doing so slowly ensures noone has an undesirable advantage.
My point was that you are publishing only parts of the seed and thus can influence it until the end. If you would publish a hash in advance along with it, the players could confirm (by hashing the seed) that you did not change it.
3. We release the digits in sequence, one letter at a time, after each 4 shares purchased, so everyone has the same advantage if they are that determined. However, the real advantage would be if we release the sequence all at once. Then everyone would know which shares will be dissolved. This way, there are many possible combinations. Furthermore if you get to where there is only one letter left, 96 shares will have already been purchased. All that would protect you from is the last 4 shares. And at that point, the odds would be astronomical that you would find the right X with the last 4 shares.
With my suggestion under #2 it would be possible to be certain, but thats besides the point. A UUID has only 16 symbols, thus I can easily check by hand if the last digit gives me an advantage. If all 16 possibilties would result in a win for e.g. slot 99 and a high chance for 98 and 97 I could invest at a higher chance of success than those that do not analyse the seed. Thus it gives an advantage and your "well anyone can do it" will certainly not cut it for those that did not think about this in advance. You are marketing it as a fair game, thus it should be solely based on chance and not partly on skill.
I don't know of another way to be more transparent and/or fair. I am open to any suggestions.
As I suggested, use something random that can not be predicted as a seed. There is loads of data available and you could even combine several sources. If you insist to generate the seed yourself at least publish a hash of it instead of slowly revealing it.
-snip-
I know that my intent is honorable, and noone is going to change that, especially you.
I know that my intent is honorable, and noone is going to change that, especially you.
Your premise is flawed. Your intend or your words do not matter here, only what you can prove. You should not take any of this as an attack on you as a person. Frankly many here do not care about the person behind the nickname, we do care about your actions though. Saying "Im a trustworthy person" reminds me of joffrey. Trustworthiness can not be decalred.
The last part makes me think that you are using an alt, which makes you look more shady. This might very well be my paranoid though.
-snip-
With regards to the seed, it doesn't matter where it comes from.
With regards to the seed, it doesn't matter where it comes from.
It does. The seed decides who wins and who loses, thus it is of prime importance where it originated.
What if the seed were a mathematical calculation (perhaps an MD5 Hash of the 100 transaction ids of the shares)?
Maybe not MD5 since its broken. The advantage is very slim though and would only work for the last person that creates a transaction. That person would also have to know how to use transaction malleability[1] as an advantage here.
As long as its clear how to repeat the process and that the data used could not have been known in advance it should be fine though.
[1] https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Transaction_Malleability
