transaction fee question

[notig]

I noticed that a transaction fee is something like .0005 bitcoins or something. I was wondering if in the future if bitcoin went up in value and more people started using the metric notations... would transaction fees also get smaller? So that they wouldn't cost large amounts of money?

[CIYAM]

The "minimum" transaction fee has been lowered before and if the "fiat value" of a bitcoin rises a lot more then I'd expect it to be lowered again.

Note that provided you aren't receiving tons of small payments (which if you don't mine with a pool or play SD you aren't likely to have) then you can set your client to pay 0 fees and that will work provided your coins are "old enough" (although txs with zero fees can take longer to be initially "confirmed").

[ProfMac]

The "minimum" transaction fee has been lowered before and if the "fiat value" of a bitcoin rises a lot more then I'd expect it to be lowered again.

Note that provided you aren't receiving tons of small payments (which if you don't mine with a pool or play SD you aren't likely to have) then you can set your client to pay 0 fees and that will work provided your coins are "old enough" (although txs with zero fees can take longer to be initially "confirmed").

Who receives the fees?
Is this an income opportunity?
Will this post let me out of newbie-jail?

[Foxpup]

Who receives the fees?

Miners receive the transaction fees in additional to newly mined bitcoins. This is to ensure that mining (which is necessary for the security of the network) will still continue even after all 21 million bitcoins have been mined, with mining then being supported entirely by transaction fees.

Is this an income opportunity?

Yes, anyone can mine, though powerful hardware is required if you expect to make a decent amount, and you have to consider your electricity costs as well. Mining is not a get-rich-quick scheme, and in fact you are likely to make a net loss unless you have very cheap electricity or specialised mining hardware.

[Atruk]

As a public service announcement, attach fees to any transaction that might be remotely considered time sensitive. If you coins get stuck in what seems like a permanent state of limbo, it is a real pain in the ass to try to fix your wallet. What is also painful is when a transaction just sits out in the open waiting for its first confirmation and block after block goes by, especially when you are on the receiving end.