Just for my sake, I was referring to a shutdown of pay to ad-generated levels only...it would probably still grow, but it might take a very long time to become a world player. It's difficult to market that, though.
I think you raise a good point about optimizing the devtome payout...do you have any ideas (or anyone else) on other strategies to try? Are the elder admins willing to reconsider it? Do they already have goals in mind with pre-planned payout dropping to non-subsidy levels? Is any of this written down anywhere? Just how exactly are the high level decisions made at the moment? I understand UTB is founding administrator, and has the final nod on everything, but is that as intended? I'm not having a go or anything, just trying to understand what the process is. I know what devcoins are, but what is devcoins?
In that vein...are there any long term strategic pages (on devtome or otherwise) for the intended growth or public charter on the administration of devcoin?
One of the things I like about the devcoin project is that it actually has a system of leadership. It behaves like a benefit corporation, but even those have investors, shares and directors, and don't have their own currency. Alternatively, a regular government has its own currency, performs services for its members and charges a tax to fund it, which devcoins has elements of. Is it sitting in the middle of the two?
I've been making these points since I learned of devcoin. If someone assesses dvc -> btc -> $ payout at greater/equal what they think their work is worth they'll sell. If that worth is 'low' then the price will be in line, whatever anyone else's self-assessed worth may be. DVC like any other means of compensation should be paid in line with work done, value.
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Optimisation - market price acts as a good guide. Max per round pay was recently cut from 85 to 50 (I think mostly b/c the rating methodology now bounds from 0.5 to 1.5 rather than an absolute new appraisal). Selling is obviously everyone's prerogative but writers in particular need to be honest with themselves. How many people buy or have bought dvc to support devtome specifically? It's the writers who should be building and supporting devtome, so any subsidy should be from a devtome pot.
This could be done by giving devtome a fixed % of total generation. Then subsidy and any resolutions are forced upon those to who it should be directed. Another way (simplified) is to just cut the max-per-round until a level reached where no writers submit, then raise it a bit. I'd be fascinated to know how many submit b/c they want to share with the world vs how many know it's overpaid and act likewise. There's overlap there but just making a point.
My opinion is that devtome shouldn't pay at all, aside from perhaps a token sum for the effort to format & deal with syntax etc - compensation tied 100% to prospective revenue or simply for recognition and creation's sake. I think there'd be completely different quality, collaboration and marketing. Next best would be if developers get 1 share per round, writers should get the same. It cuts payments but as total shares would be lower not that much if at all for most. I'd be interested to hear why writing is worth more than programming, or software development, or graphic design etc. If it's just a marketing tool then (1) is it working? (2) why are those paying for it everybody except those benefiting?
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Leadership - agreed. Regardless of aspirations to total decentralisation that's just not workable. Bitcoin is basically managed by major holders and miners. Devcoin opens that to everyone with a decent contribution, effectively a mining-for-creation network. Achieving that requires a system, decisions and leadership - but ones that are always accountable because at the end of the day we could all just sell and log off.
I don't know if there are other goals. There's an inevitable conflict of interest in change. Writers don't generally want to change the status quo because it's a gravy train, others want change because without it everything's undermined and there won't even be a gravy train. I understand that current winners want to ride this for as long as possible (and I also understand that it's the 'system' so just availing oneself of the system isn't personally blameworthy) but as someone who ultimately pays for it (like every other dvc buyer, owner, earner, trader) it hugely bothers me. I would say exactly the same thing if the situation was with regards to programmers or artists or whatever, rather than writers.
People need to be honest with themselves. I'd like to contact some OS projects and people about devcoin. But I know one of the first things they're going to ask is how we account for and justify relative payouts - and I don't have a good answer. I appreciate that decisions taken are gradual and considered, but as I've said before if something isn't working then it should be changed. Massively changed.
This is good and id like to point out what markm said that we can use to help motivate writers more
by offering goals to devtome like he said in his post before yours... if we define clear metrics then devtome will look for efficiency which is what we want out of any bounty just like a corporation.
So questuon is where would the rest ofthe coins go? ie now we would have more for bounties but not many bounties to cover that much?
I also think new bounties to be made which focus of revenue generation as crucial to devcoins success.. if we allow more shares for bounties by nudging devtome metrics then this will be possible. Once we have revenue generating things put in place we will see sustained rises of interest in the project.
Hunterbunter said this wont work because its a race to the bottom.. I dont agree. If devcoin owns these ventures then only they benefit and any competition is a healthy process of making better service or products.. its a deflationary process just like bitcoin itself. Think consumer electronics... but devcoin is able to improve and get better while others may not have funding and left behind.
The market advantage to use a devcoim funded revenue generating service is that it is just that. The consumer will know it will be improved and be leader if competition arises since devcoin has gauranteed funding through shares.
