Topic: zib / zibcoin / 'Ƶ' (Z-with-slash): friendlier terms for 'microbitcoin' (µBTC) (Read 2325 times)

I vote yes to zib

it's a million times better than bit

You convinced me: I will use the term zib from now on!

The problem is that 'bit' as binary-digit is an extremely meaningful, essential concept in what makes Bitcoin work. So important, in fact, that Satoshi named Bitcoin after the binary digit!

And, those bits are very different from a divisible-into-100 quantity. Binary digits are indivisible and work in a base-2 system. So, there are two conflicting senses right next to each other.

Then, you have the sense where 'bit' means a tiny, usually nonspecific quantity. You usually wouldn't give a precise count of 'bits' in this sense, and you certainly wouldn't say something like "45.99 bits" – because a strong connotation of the word 'bits' is 'approximate'. But in monetary amounts, precision to fractions matters... so 'bits' as a currency-value has to fight that dominant sense.

Then, you have the fact Bitcoin early adopters are already using 'bit' in places as an abbreviation for 'bitcoin' (as in 'millibits' or 'ubits'), and potential 'b'-abbreviations for 'bit' also overlap with existing 'bitcoin' abbreviations. So 'bit' is highly confusable inside this domain.

That's what 'zib' solves.


'Zib' and 'zebi' are not the same word, spelling, or sound. Also, zebibyte is a word outside of normal use, Bitcoin use, or normal scales. It's roughly equivalent to 'hextillion' (as compared to the far-more-common millions/billions/trillions).

The 'ZiB' abbreviation of zebibyte is similarly obscure/unused-in-practice, and the mixed-casing is important. If that's a problem for 'zib', then the problems for 'bit' are a hextillion times worse.


Right, these are the precedents for 'Ƶ' mentioned in the Zibcoin introductory essay and at "'zib': the friendlier name for µBTC" reference website.

They demonstrate people understand 'Ƶ' as a currency symbol, specifically a futuristic high-tech symbol, but that there are no conflicts with any real-world currency.


That's a research institute for applied mathematics and computer science, not a bank. And it's named after computing pioneer Konrad Zuse, who created the first programmable computer.

A Z.I.B. research institute is not going to be confused for a 'zib' currency unit. But a 'bit' binary-digit central to Bitcoin could be confused with a 'bit' currency unit central to Bitcoin.

I appreciate you sharing your confusion, though, as it offers a chance to clarify how 'zib' is much more distinctive (and within currency, unique) compared to 'bit'.

the idea of Zib is dead

the zib fanboys have tried to say bit is not worthy due to confusion that bit is already used.. well zib is already used too.. and even stranger zib is already used for the exact same excuses that were used to object to bit.

as binary measure
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zebibyte

as currency
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Z_with_stroke#As_currency

as a bank
https://www.zib.de/

Help test zib-denominated tipping via ChangeTip at Reddit (or on Twitter with an @zibcoin mention):

http://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/2502hc/who_wants_to_help_test_zib%C6%B6_tipping/

It's not a replacement, it's supplemental:

People can use Zib- and Bitcoin in combination, they are both valid.
"Bitcoin" would still be understood and used.

However, I think that it's quite clear that "zib" (= 100 satoshis) is the better-sized unit, and thus it will eventually be preferred.


Edit:

Oh, and: Accepting the new brand is not needed for using "zib" as a Bitcoin unit.

Keep in mind that "Yuan" is used as the primary Renminbi unit, even though they sound completely different.
Eventually, people will see that the name of the currency doesn't need to be the same like the name of its unit.

5 years of thousands of articles and millions of people hearing about Bitcoin...

and now people want to create some new brand name because...umm...they had a thought?

A highlight from the other Zibcoin thread:

Thanks! The space dog angle was pure luck, discovered after the first public posts. It kinda cries out for a "race to the moon" price graph, pitting ZIB vs a Shiba Inu, doesn't it?

 

Right, there's an extra initial explanation, but then it may become much easier in use. Though, for people further from math/finance/engineering worlds, the "micro-"/"mu" prefix is already pretty obscure... and if ever prices are mostly quoted in zib-sized units, the intervening "micro" and "millis" explanations may be skipped entirely.
 

Reddit, yes, though it hasn't triggered as much discussion as previous "we need to go to millis/micros" threads.

Other outlets, not yet, but want to, to trigger stories and discussion. Can you help with the pitch/approach? (The first floating of the zib idea, via the Medium essay, to begin collecting reactions and questions, was exactly one week ago.)

I don't expect it to be a slam-dunk, or even grab most people on first hearing. I instead expect as time goes on, and each person faces the mBTC/µBTC awkwardness repeatedly, the benefit of a unique new short name will grow on them... and 'zib' will be an available, well-documented, and unambiguous option.

I love your retroactive origin myths, especially the Soviet space dog, and the Z symbol is cool. The name isn't naturally sticky, if for no other reason than it will have to be explained to anyone who hasn't heard it before (unlike the admittedly unwieldy micro & millibitcoins).  I think it would need some kind of 'institutional' support to get the ball rolling, by which I just mean people in the community who can bring it attention.  I assume you've posted it to Reddit and reached out to the foundation/coindesk/let's talk bitcoin etc?

I did a search of letters/sounds that meshed well with "bitcoin" and "bit" – being vaguely evocative but still different enough to avoid confusion – and "zib", "zibcoin", and the 'Ƶ' (Z-with-slash) stuck out of the bunch.

The search started with "tibcoin" - "bitcoin but with a differently-jumbled base unit" - but the sound and abbreviation are a bit too close for clarity in speech and writing. Still, having the internal 'b' was helpfully suggestive. Then, cycled through the alphabet for other leading letters for a "_ib" sound, and 'Z' stuck out as having a minimum number of spelling/meaning/speaking collisions with other English words, being symbolically distinctive and memorable, and offering the available Z-with-slash currency-like unicode character. The com/org domains were also available, so the reasoned case for the terms and examples could be placed in the easiest possible place to find and return to, for boosters to collect symbols/graphics/calculations.

As it turns out, though, alternate derivations can be chosen retroactively. A recursive backronym is one possibility:

"ZIB = ZIB Is Bitcoin" - emphasizing it's just another convenience denomination

Also, ZIB was the name given to a stray dog drafted by the Soviet space program in 1951 for a suborbital test flight. (Apparently ZIB made it back successfully.) Since many cryptocoin enthusiasts like the idea of dog mascots going to the moon, why not honor a common mutt that's been closer to the moon than any purebred?

My fellow promoter of the 'zibcoin' term, klabaki, has also suggested:


They all work to help cement the term's meaning in different ways...

Just curious, where did the name "zibcoin" come from?

No, I don't have a reddit account.  I PM'ed you a link, just for your information.

Thanks!  "Most parasitic altcoin ever" – might work as a slogan for us.


That's a nice sound, too! I hadn't seen your suggestion last year, but someone had mentioned 'zub' from the same XUB currency-code reasoning on one of the recent zibcoin reddit threads. (Was that you?)


Sure, just give 'zib' a few fair trials to see if it resonates better than the "mikes"/"microbits"/"crobits"/"eubits"/etc... which of course all can be used interchangeably.

Lol.  Most parasitic altcoin ever!

Still, sounds like fun.  I might give it a go.

I recall that at some point last year, I submitted the term "zub" for 100 satoshi.  This was based in looking for ISO currency codes for Bitcoin (XBT) and the problems some legacy financial software would have with more than 2 decimals.  With the established need for non-clashing currency codes for mBTC and uBTC, I suggested XMB and XUB, the latter naturally looking as though it ought to be pronounced "zub".

Overall, I'm pretty confident that I'll ultimately continue with "mills" and "mikes".

Millibit and Microbit is the easiest form and rolls off the tongue the best.

It's what Andreas Antonopolous goes by, so it's what I go by.   

If you've spoken or written many fractional bitcoin values, you've noticed that all of the options – decimalized full bitcoin ("BTC0.0017"), millibitcoin ("1.7 mBTC"), and microbitcoin ("1,700 µBTC") – can be a little awkward.

They're logical, yes, but unlike how people usually think about money: as countable whole numbers, with a short fractional portion that's often so trifling is can be ignored.

We early adopters who have a natural enthusiasm and familiarity for math/finance details can manage with the scientific-measurement milli-/micro- units. But the next wave of potential Bitcoin users, who lean more on approximations and folk rules-of-thumb, will have more problems.

A focused solution could be to popularize a short and simple new term for the microbitcoin unit (100 satoshi), to allow everyday economic values to be expressed in whole numbers (or whole thousands), now and for the foreseeable future.

The term should be something that's easy to say and easy to abbreviate. Something that alludes to 'bitcoin' and 'bit' without overloading those terms. Something that's unambiguous-by-design, and resistant to likely causes of confusion from similarly spelled or said terms.

It should be something that can be incrementally adopted, as needed, alongside existing units - rather than requiring a big consensus or centralized decision, or a discontinuous definitional break with the past.

To meet those goals, last week I proposed a new unit name called a "zibcoin", or "zib", synonymous with microbitcoin/µBTC (100 satoshi).

In a nutshell, it gives:

  BTC1           = 1,000,000    zib = 100,000,000 satoshi
  BTC0.000001    =         1    zib =         100 satoshi           
  BTC0.00000001  =         0.01 zib =           1 satoshi

For reference at today's USD exchange rate ($575/BTC) and also adding dogecoin for comparison ($669/MegaDoge):

   $1 =   1,739.13 zib = BTC0.00173913 =   1,494.77 doge
  $10 =  17,391.30 zib = BTC0.0173913  =  14,947.68 doge 
 $100 = 173,913.04 zib = BTC0.17391304 = 149,476.83 doge

Of course, given usual practices rounding monetary values, those zib values would more likely be said as "1700 zib", "17k zib", and "173k zib".

A longer case for the term is made at:

Medium: Ƶibcoin: Your New Favorite Altcoin

Other supporting materials and Q&A/news can be found at:

http://zibcoin.org
Twitter: @zibcoin

A forum thread promoting zibcoin in the mock style of an altcoin – "The world's first altcoin that's 100% binary-compatible with Bitcoin!" - is at:

[ANN] [ZBC] Zibcoin: Bitcoin for everyone. Redeem your zibcoins now!

To get started, just try using "zib" when quoting small bitcoin values.

These threads and the zibcoin.org website will make it easy for people seeing the term/abbreviation to figure out its meaning.

It will either seem natural and better than millibitcoin/microbitcoin after a few tries, or not. Software and services will follow what people adopt.

There's no need for big up-front consensus or 'official' decision... this is an anarchic distributed project, stuff happens & thrives or withers via the sum over time of many individual decisions, and through slow-moving shared language/culture.