Project Greta: an art experiment using bitcoins

[ElectricGoat]

Hello everyone

I'm launching an art experiment, where users work together to create pictures through an auction system to determine the color of the pixels. For the auction part, I decided to use bictoins (or more precisely, milli-bitcoins, because I don't want this to be expensive).

I have no idea how the concept will be received, but I believe it could be a good way to advertise the use of bitcoins for very small payments. If you're willing to try it, here's the address: http://greta.electricgoat.net.

Before I release this in the wild, I'd like your opinion, as early adopters of the bitcoin, both regarding the art experiment and the phrasing of the texts about bitcoin. If you can spare a few cents of a bitcoin, please try it ! Of course, you can also watch without participating, but there's not much to watch yet. In the future, I intend on releasing animations showing the evolution of the drawings over time, and I will post again here when it is available.

Please note that, even though I tested the website, it might still have a few bugs. If you load bitcoins on your account, please write the transaction number somewhere so I can reimburse you if something goes really really wrong and the website looses the transaction logs.

Alexis, for Electric Goat

[1714876962]

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[1714876962]

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[kiba]

This is surely one of those "high art ivory tower" project.

Why don't you draw us some pretty picture...or stop calling it an "art experiment"...and just call it an experiment.

[ElectricGoat]

I'm not the one who's supposed to draw, at least not the only one. The visitors are supposed to draw. It's somewhat related to this other (art) experiment: http://poietic-generator.net/. However, the poietic generator has some shortcomings: it's a bit difficult to use, and the drawings never reach an end.

[kiba]

I'm not the one who's supposed to draw, at least not the only one. The visitors are supposed to draw. It's somewhat related to this other (art) experiment: http://poietic-generator.net/

Clearly, this is not related to promoting bitcoin at all. Marketplace is where you want to post your project.

[ElectricGoat]

It was made in part as a way to promote bitcoins for such things, but I admit I wasn't sure where to post. Is there a way for me to move the thread ?
EDIT: found the link, sorry.

[FatherMcGruder]

You don't have to pay real money, because we use bitcoins. You can buy bitcoins with real money, but you can also get some for free, so anyone can participate.

Bitcoins are real money. Will the winning bidders have ownership over the artwork at the end of the auction?

[ElectricGoat]

You're right, this should be clarified in the FAQ. I think a good rule would be that anyone who participates has ownership (and thus no-one can sell the drawing as his own.)

You're right too about bitcoins being money; what I meant was that you didn't have to spend money because you could get a few bitcoin cents for free and then try the website. It's to push people to register to MyBitcoin, in the hope that when they have an account there, they're more likely to use it for other things. If someone has a better phrasing in mind, I'll change it.

[FatherMcGruder]

Will ownership be determined on pixels won, or bitcoins spent? I suggest that you either set an irrevocable license or create a mechanism to let the winning bidders vote on a license when the auction is over. What about allowing winning bidders to sell off their pixels?

[ElectricGoat]

Good points. I updated the FAQ accordingly. For now, I've written that any participant owns a share of the picture, relative to the amount of bitcoins (s)he spent. I've also decided that the drawings would be under a CreativeCommons BY-SA license by default. All of the owners can agree on a different license, but it seems hard to gather all the owners for a vote.

If the website becomes successful, I could add options or make a vote, but for now it seems that not many people care about it at all

I've also realized that the exchange rate of 1 BTC has risen quite a lot since I discovered the concept. I feel that a minimum raise of 1 cent is too expensive, so I've allowed users to use milli-BTC (0.001 BTC) instead of centi-BTC (0.01 BTC).

[davux]

This is surely one of those "high art ivory tower" project.

Why don't you draw us some pretty picture...or stop calling it an "art experiment"...and just call it an experiment.

Please. There's no need to be rude.