Yeah I want to use Open-Transactions for my asset (RSM) if I can figure out how to and its not too difficult for shareholders.
Things can be made as easy for shareholders as their friendly neighborhood broker cares to make it.
Really the only way to make it easy for them is to make it even easier for hackers/thieves, since you know any security is going to be considered inconvenient and "too hard" and so on. Heck a lot of people complain at simple use of PGP signed messages "too hard" yet it is pretty much the bare minimum needed to prove their identity in a portable manner.
-MarkM-
I don't mind getting the elbow grease out to learn something new. My only concern is the difficulty would minimize new investment.
What does a user need to start using open transaction?
A user just needs either a client or to be accustomed to using command-lines and scripts.
An issuer would in addition need the ability to actually issue an asset on a server, which might require them to run their own server depending on what kinds of liability a "software as a service" vendor could be open to by allowing someone else to issue an asset on a server that they host.
I have been thinking of setting up a "test server" or "demo server" on which anyone can issue assets just so people can try out the system and get used to it and so on, but as no one has put up money to pay for a lawyer to check with about "safe harbour" laws relating to "being just a common carrier who does not examine the details of what data people use the software to process" I do not know yet if that would be free of liability.
(I am hoping it might be like the copyright acts: if we get informed one of the demo/pretend/game/test items on the server is some kind of illegal unregistered security we de-list it on receipt of a court order to do so kind of thing.)
But for a mere user, all you need is the client (if you insist on a GUI) or just the basic Open Transactions system (so you can interact through scripts / command-line).
-MarkM-
Please do I'm very interested in OT and if a I2p and/or Tor clone of the GLBSE doesn't pop up then it's my only option for RSM long term.
I don't know exactly Open Transactions, but if it requires something like signing documents with PGP, then it is both
1) quite scary the first time you see it
2) easy, after you spend 5 minutes figuring it out with a good howto.
Maybe, having money to recover is just what it takes to push people to make that little mental effort, and move in the realm of serious security at once; so, a great opportunity
It requires running Open Transactions, optionally with a GUI client to provide a GUI interface for you.
It signs similar in concept to PGP / GPG but actually it uses OpenSSL libraries to do it, and it does it itself instead of making you go to an external application outside of OT itself to do your signing.
Basically it communicates via a similar to PGP type of encrypted-to-a-specific-recipient system so it also provides its own secure communication line to and from the server.
-MarkM-
If you could right an idiots guide for your demo server that'd be great.