Micropayments For Forums?

[Xerographica]

In Satt's Paradox I brought up the idea of micropayments for forums.  Last week, after spending $60 dollars for some hosting, I modified the free phpbb forum software to create the world's first micropayments forum... RudeBagel.  Here's a merged screenshot...



$9.35 = the amount of money in my wallet
$0.57 = the amount of money allocated to the post

The way it works is pretty simple.  If you value a post at a nickle, then you click the nickle coin button... 

1. A nickle is transferred from your wallet to the poster's wallet
2. The value of the post is increased by a nickle 

Giving people money for their posts isn't required anymore than replying to posts is.  Right now it's entirely optional whether you reply to this topic.  This forum gives you the option to reply.  A micropayments forum gives you the option to donate. 

Do you feel obligated to reply to this post?  If this post had coin buttons beneath it... would you feel obligated to click them?  If this post had a poll... would you feel obligated to participate in it?

I'm pretty sure that most of you aren't fans of the idea of making it stupid easy to give people a penny for their posts.  Because... if most of you were fans of the idea then every forum would be a micropayments forum.  But if any of you do happen to be interested in the idea, then please feel free to sign up.  We'll give it a try and see what happens. 

Anybody want to make any predictions?  Am I barking up the wrong tree? 

If the owner of AtheistForums.com does happen to love the idea of micropayments... then these files contain the necessary code...

overall_header.html (1 line of code)
navbar_header.html (~2 lines of code)
viewtopic.php (~ 5 lines of code)
overall_footer.html (~ 1/4 page of code)
viewtopic_body.html (~ 1/2 page of code)
ajax_value.php (~ 1 page of code)

What does this have to do with governments?  Everything...

If the Nobel Prize winning liberal economist Paul Krugman is so certain that higher taxes, higher minimum wages, stronger unions, more regulations, more redistribution and more stimulus are necessary to help the US economy thrive... then he could easily help prove his theory simply by shelling out $60 bucks and starting a website/market where he applies the same policies that he champions. If his highly regulated, taxed, unionized, minwaged, redistributed and stimulated website/market thrives... then all the other other website/markets will adopt the same policies. When the evidence is so plain for everybody to see, then cities, states and countries will not encounter any resistance when they follow Krugman's advice.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I'm not paying anyone anything for posting..  period.

[Munch]

I'm not paying anyone anything for posting..  period.

Same, and same with sites if they've been free for years and then begin to open payment and donations. If I struggle enough to make money that I can't even give to a charity service, then i'm not giving it to a website just to keep it up and running.

[Xerographica]

I'm not paying anyone anything for posting..  period.

Have you ever given anybody a "like" before?  If so, how many likes does it take to equal a penny? 

[Xerographica]

Same, and same with sites if they've been free for years and then begin to open payment and donations. If I struggle enough to make money that I can't even give to a charity service, then i'm not giving it to a website just to keep it up and running.

Is everybody struggling so much that they can't even afford to give to charity?  Nope.  So what happens when it's stupid easy for people who aren't struggling to spend their money on struggling people's threads?  Less struggling. 

Think of it like this.  If we made it harder to give to charities... would more or less people struggle?  If we made it harder to give to the government... would more or less people struggle?  If we made it harder to give to companies... would more or less people struggle?

If micropayments catch on, then giving becomes stupid easy and less people will struggle. 

Struggling is a function of inadequate options.  Facilitating trade creates more options which means less struggling. 

[the_antithesis]

Have you ever given anybody a "like" before? 

No.

If so, how many likes does it take to equal a penny?

Do you enjoy hanging out with your friends?
How much enjoyment do others have to give you before its worth a penny?

An internet forum is a social setting, so unless you had to pay your friends to hang out with you because you were such an unlikable little cunt, this idea is so wrongheaded I can't even find the words.

When I first saw this topic I thought it was a method to earn money for the site, an idea I wasn't all that happy with. That is, while I see nothing wrong with donating to help maintain the site, paying for the privilege to post is not what I would want. And as little as I may like that idea, I like your actual idea even less.

I see that being a great way to simply ruin the social dynamic of an internet forum and all you'll have left by the end of a week is a bunch of self-important twats who only continue to post because of the hope of monetary award.

What a shit idea!

[Xerographica]

I see that being a great way to simply ruin the social dynamic of an internet forum and all you'll have left by the end of a week is a bunch of self-important twats who only continue to post because of the hope of monetary award.

What a shit idea!

It's a shit idea... so you should have to spend a penny on it?  Or maybe a dollar?  Or maybe ten dollars?  Or maybe hundred dollars?

This is a market.  You have the choice not to put shit ideas in your shopping cart.  This is how and why markets work.

Do you think pragmatarianism is a shit idea?  Pragmatarianism is the idea that taxpayers should be free to not put shitty government ideas in their shopping cart. 

Do you think it's a shitty idea for you to spend $100 on my shitty idea but it's a good idea for a pacifist to spend $100 on some shitty war? 

The shittiest of all ideas is the idea that you shouldn't be free to boycott shitty ideas. 

[the_antithesis]

Non-sequiturs are not helping your case.

Make sense or go fuck yourself.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I'd mail you a penny if for one second I thought it would turn you into a sensible human being,  but that horse left the barn long ago.  I'm damned sure not giving you money just to read your libertarian bullshit ideas..

[Xerographica]

Non-sequiturs are not helping your case.

Make sense or go fuck yourself.

1. Is it a shitty idea to force people to sponsor shitty ideas?
A. Yes
B. No

[Xerographica]

I'd mail you a penny if for one second I thought it would turn you into a sensible human being,  but that horse left the barn long ago.  I'm damned sure not giving you money just to read your libertarian bullshit ideas..

What's nonsensical about facilitating donations?  Is patreon nonsensical? 

[AllPurposeAtheist]

I get it Zero.. You don't think you should have to pay for anything you don't want.. Let's make it easier.. The next time your house catches on fire don't call the fire department because you shouldn't have to pay for the service of having the fire put out..

[Xerographica]

I get it Zero.. You don't think you should have to pay for anything you don't want.. Let's make it easier.. The next time your house catches on fire don't call the fire department because you shouldn't have to pay for the service of having the fire put out..

I'm not paying anyone anything for posting..  period.

If it wasn't for democracy, your economic incoherence would be funny. 

allocation > valuation = forced-rider problem (-> surplus)
allocation < valuation = free-rider problem (-> shortage)

If you allocate 50 cents to a post that you value at 0 cents... then you're a forced-rider.  The logical result will be that more (than you truly wanted) of these types of threads will be supplied... aka "surplus".  You're giving people too much of an incentive to supply x. 

If you allocate 0 cents to a post that you value at 50 cents... then you're a free-rider.  The logical result will be that less (than you truly wanted) of these types of threads will be supplied... aka "shortage".   You're giving people too little of an incentive to supply x. 

My micropayments forum helps chip away at the free-rider problem by making it stupid easy for people to pay for posts/threads that they positively value.  And what are posts/threads?  Public goods. 

So you're economically incoherent because you start off by saying that you'll never pay for posts/threads (a public good) but then turn around and accuse me of not wanting to pay for public goods (safety from fire). 

[Aletheia]

Hm... you do realize that money would influence the expression of ideas? A forum is a place in which to freely share ideas. When you have to pay to share your idea, you will be less likely to do so. Social content of the forum will be stifled... fewer or less striking topics won't draw in additional participation, and the forum will fade away to a silent grave or become a reanimated corpse mouthing only the topics posited by the highest bidder.

Capitalism doesn't solve everything and neither is it expected to. Remember that capitalism when left unrestrained is extremely susceptible to greed and can fail to take into account repercussions not readily apparent outside the scope of financial value. Monetary gains are unlikely when the consumers becomes sparse, less diversified, and the incentive to spend money no longer exists.

No, I do not support your idea in the slightest. People do not place a financial value on services rendered on typical forums. Yes there is value, but little to none that greed such as yours can capitalize.

As time goes on, I can't help but to wonder if you are slowly becoming morally bankrupt.

[AllPurposeAtheist]

Look man, if you're broke just say so.  Someone might just help you out,  but I have to tell you that your posts ain't gonna get you any money on this forum and it has nothing really to do with capital or allocation or any of that.. You're just a nitwit and if someone did pay for your post they're even dumber than you and that's a really high bar to reach..