Bitcoin Supernode System

[rpietila]

A supernode has to have a certain organization, and organizing things costs money. One of the things how to spot the top end of the supernodes is to follow the money trail:

Duke must spend minimum 200,000mBTC per month
Prince likewise must spend 60,000mBTC
Marquis likewise must spend 20,000mBTC
Earl likewise must spend 6,000mBTC
Viscount likewise must spend 2,000mBTC.

What sort of spending qualifies? Personal and your family jetset lifestyle, organisation and bitcoin marketing, everything that the royal houses do all around the world. If you make profit doing these things (like I could have sold bitcoins in the public mental institution but declined the bid because of the rules), the better. I personally think and aim to close the year richer in bitcoins, after speding all that much into what many would call senseless expenses.

[rpietila]

I would be careful with this project and the nobility and society aspects. You are creating a group that has every chance, even if it becomes only relatively successful, of turning to manipulation and powermonging rather than protection and promotion. This is rather antithetical to Bitcoin, IMO.

I think it is very important to safeguard the network first, by distributing wealth and hashing power to as many as possible, before trying to concentrate/organize the Bitcoiners. (and concentration != resilience)

Thanks for the comment. What exactly you mean by safeguarding the network, explain please?

There are certain laws of mathematics that distribute the wealth approximately as I have described here. You cannot fight that. I don't even try.

Yes, you can still hide your wealth. The best way to hide it is to underrepresent yourself in the Supernode Network, not to pretend that you never bought it in the first place and still don't know about bitcoin.

The network, by its small size (as in people and market cap), is very fragile. The hashing power is too unevenly concentrated as well, within that small group of people, with few very big miners. These two things need to change.

I'm not fighting the bell-curve, nor the fact that one would want to hide his/her wealth (or not), but the power is not even following a "natural" distribution yet (case in point: ASICMINER). What individual or company possesses 20-30% of the world's revenue?

You probably need some form of policing as well (misrepresentation can go both ways), maybe a knighthood? (but I fear this is a slippery slope - I like the honor system better, 90% of the time...)

What sort of measures against these problems are available for me to take? 

[KS]

I would be careful with this project and the nobility and society aspects. You are creating a group that has every chance, even if it becomes only relatively successful, of turning to manipulation and powermonging rather than protection and promotion. This is rather antithetical to Bitcoin, IMO.

I think it is very important to safeguard the network first, by distributing wealth and hashing power to as many as possible, before trying to concentrate/organize the Bitcoiners. (and concentration != resilience)

Thanks for the comment. What exactly you mean by safeguarding the network, explain please?

There are certain laws of mathematics that distribute the wealth approximately as I have described here. You cannot fight that. I don't even try.

Yes, you can still hide your wealth. The best way to hide it is to underrepresent yourself in the Supernode Network, not to pretend that you never bought it in the first place and still don't know about bitcoin.

The network, by its small size (as in people and market cap), is very fragile. The hashing power is too unevenly concentrated as well, within that small group of people, with few very big miners. These two things need to change.

I'm not fighting the bell-curve, nor the fact that one would want to hide his/her wealth (or not), but the power is not even following a "natural" distribution yet (case in point: ASICMINER). What individual or company possesses 20-30% of the world's revenue?

You probably need some form of policing as well (misrepresentation can go both ways), maybe a knighthood? (but I fear this is a slippery slope - I like the honor system better, 90% of the time...)

What sort of measures against these problems are available for me to take?  

For starters, choose to promote Bitcoin exchange (as in in/out-flux) rather than hoarding. You wanted to set some rules, make it a charter. (example should start at the top.)

Do you have a clear view of what the supernode classification's purpose might be? (apart the obvious classification bit) I'm interested in the societal aspect, wrt or in contrast with the BDNA.

edit: lack of sleep is definitely detrimental to brain activity...

[Este Nuno]

rpietlia, do you consider the noble titles a necessary part of the Supernode concept, or merely a fun addition to the core concept? Is the fundamental structure of the Bitcoin Capability Classification the segmentation of nodes by number and node title? i.e. level 25 Supernode, level 15 Hypernode etcetera.

If the push for widespread adoption of the concept focuses on the overall idea without drawing too much attention to the nobility concept(even though you make some valid points regarding the inevitability of these stratifications in human society), it might help prevent distractions. I think too many people will just latch on to the nobility issue and focus on only that, causing unnecessary distraction from the important concepts that should be addressed.

[Este Nuno]

Note carefully. You need to post a Bitcoin Supernode Network game fee, which goes up with the rank (0.5% of the noted wealth):

Duke: 50,000mBTC
Prince: 15,000mBTC
Marquis: 5,000mBTC
Earl: 1,500mBTC
Viscount: 600mBTC
Freeman: 300mBTC.

The price includes entrance to Internet resources, plastic name tag/(ID card) and printed promotion materials incl posters, T-shirt, millibitcoin notes.The plastic materials are actually quite nice. In a separate thread I will start asking for admissions. (Until now, this is all in planning stage.)

Do you think that the Supernodes who pay their game fee to join the network should also have a limited number of invitations(amount based on rank) so that they can expand the network to people they deem worthy of joining? Like, say for example a level 21 Earl has someone that works for them and they want to have them join the network, they can burn one of their invites and have the fee waived and the person included in the network(the fees can possibly be included in the Supernodes' fee to offset the cost. I would view this more of a promotional concept and also one where the Supernodes have the ability to single out individuals who they think would bring value to the network and include them.

[rpietila]

My house sigil has been created.

Started as a freeman with a single miner.  Now commanding a mining operation, long and short term trading positions, and 1st level face to face arbitrage network, with the goal of increasing BTC holdings to hypernode level within a year.  Seeking vassals, bannermen, and other supernodes for diplomatic relations.
 

+1.

[rpietila]

Note carefully. You need to post a Bitcoin Supernode Network game fee, which goes up with the rank (0.5% of the noted wealth):

Duke: 50,000mBTC
Prince: 15,000mBTC
Marquis: 5,000mBTC
Earl: 1,500mBTC
Viscount: 600mBTC
Freeman: 300mBTC.

The price includes entrance to Internet resources, plastic name tag/(ID card) and printed promotion materials incl posters, T-shirt, millibitcoin notes.The plastic materials are actually quite nice. In a separate thread I will start asking for admissions. (Until now, this is all in planning stage.)

Do you think that the Supernodes who pay their game fee to join the network should also have a limited number of invitations(amount based on rank) so that they can expand the network to people they deem worthy of joining? Like, say for example a level 21 Earl has someone that works for them and they want to have them join the network, they can burn one of their invites and have the fee waived and the person included in the network(the fees can possibly be included in the Supernodes' fee to offset the cost. I would view this more of a promotional concept and also one where the Supernodes have the ability to single out individuals who they think would bring value to the network and include them.

Right now, I believe we want to start this as a worldwide real-life based game. The final mission is that the whole world uses bitcoin as money, so we have hundreds of millions of members. We start from 1. Everything we do is to try to make more members in our Supernode System, becuase that is real fun, it is the most fun GAME in the world. That bitcoin also becomes very valuable is a sidenote.

What if we just summoned 3 people as the gamemaster team and wrote the 1st rulebook. Then send the first invitation out. Divide the world to our most capable people. Then make fun that the Viscount of Ukraine (based in some town) needs his title downgraded when a Duke rises up in Kiev. These ceremonies make up a great part of fun, because they are eating, drinking and smoking events, small and cosy, and directly intertwined with bitcoin. How can you NOT make your money back with these connections.

Wow, trying to sleep..

[JimCGSavings]

* I noticed some people are having trouble with the titles being likened to nobility. I think some people might have a visceral reaction towards the association of bitcoin and nobility, and that might turn some people off who would probably be interested in the idea of a Supernode network otherwise. Nevertheless, I personally find it an interesting metaphor.

I tried out all systems (military, business) that came to my mind, and Nobility seemed to be a good system with established rules, and underused, and mathematically suitable to the task (armed forces could have been another one, with 1.0 Supernode as a 4 star General). 

I think Nobility is perfect. Think of the myth of King Arthur and the round table. Nobility has the responsibility to be Noble, to define Nobility with Noble actions. To rule in a Noble fashion. To be humble before God and man, yet powerful in the face of avarice, corruption and evil intentions. Bitcoin is a tool that can be used for good and evil. It needs Noblemen to use it so that it isn't perceived as merely another way for evil to overcome good men.

[KS]

Note carefully. You need to post a Bitcoin Supernode Network game fee, which goes up with the rank (0.5% of the noted wealth):

Duke: 50,000mBTC
Prince: 15,000mBTC
Marquis: 5,000mBTC
Earl: 1,500mBTC
Viscount: 600mBTC
Freeman: 300mBTC.

The price includes entrance to Internet resources, plastic name tag/(ID card) and printed promotion materials incl posters, T-shirt, millibitcoin notes.The plastic materials are actually quite nice. In a separate thread I will start asking for admissions. (Until now, this is all in planning stage.)

Do you think that the Supernodes who pay their game fee to join the network should also have a limited number of invitations(amount based on rank) so that they can expand the network to people they deem worthy of joining? Like, say for example a level 21 Earl has someone that works for them and they want to have them join the network, they can burn one of their invites and have the fee waived and the person included in the network(the fees can possibly be included in the Supernodes' fee to offset the cost. I would view this more of a promotional concept and also one where the Supernodes have the ability to single out individuals who they think would bring value to the network and include them.

Right now, I believe we want to start this as a worldwide real-life based game. The final mission is that the whole world uses bitcoin as money, so we have hundreds of millions of members. We start from 1. Everything we do is to try to make more members in our Supernode System, becuase that is real fun, it is the most fun GAME in the world. That bitcoin also becomes very valuable is a sidenote.

What if we just summoned 3 people as the gamemaster team and wrote the 1st rulebook. Then send the first invitation out. Divide the world to our most capable people. Then make fun that the Viscount of Ukraine (based in some town) needs his title downgraded when a Duke rises up in Kiev. These ceremonies make up a great part of fun, because they are eating, drinking and smoking events, small and cosy, and directly intertwined with bitcoin. How can you NOT make your money back with these connections.

Wow, trying to sleep..

+1 on the gamemaster team.

They should not be part of the game itself though, IMO. Segregation of power/interest.

[JimCGSavings]

If gamemaster and roleplay are segregated, which role you want me into?

The gamemaster plays the role of gamemaster. (grin)

That means I will play the Risto Pietilä, First Gamemaster and Viceroy of the Earth. The title is equivalent to 05 so it's above Duke and below Satoshi. I will only attend to events organized by Princes and above, and even then it has to be a special occasion.

Will there be a role for vassals?

[rpietila]

One possibility is that there is nobody (in the beginning) above Duke. So if you buy yourself a Duke, you are also a gamemaster by the virtue. You get to spend the money you yourselves have invested. (I think my level should be between Prince and Duke.) Later as the number of dukes grows to perhaps 4, there will be reason to denominate a primus inter pares, Elector.
 
Anyone can buy the titles between Prince...Knight. There will be opportunity to be a vassal of a higher title. Freeman is an objection - because he is free, he cannot be a vassal of anyone. So in this sense Knight is the lowest title, because he is always a vassal of someone and never is anyone vassal of a knight.

Also if you are newly created Marquis, for eaxmple, and there are nobody around you, you can make diplomatic missions and exchange of letters to nearby power centers and end up forming Alliance or Friendly relations.

I think it is funny how these systems always tend to repeat the number 3 between the number of people in classes etc...

[rpietila]

(I think my level should be between Prince and Duke.)

Didn't you have more than 10M mBTC?

I have publicly claimed to have between 2,4M and 35M mBTC since 2012. I still do. Maybe I don't feel I want the pressure of Duke even though I have the coins, or maybe I don't have the coins or want to show off. You never know.

[Este Nuno]

(I think my level should be between Prince and Duke.)

Didn't you have more than 10M mBTC?

I have publicly claimed to have between 2,4M and 35M mBTC since 2012. I still do. Maybe I don't feel I want the pressure of Duke even though I have the coins, or maybe I don't have the coins or want to show off. You never know.

When I decide to qualify myself for Knight/Baronet/Baron status(assuming someone is willing to bestow the title upon me of course), is part of the procedure going to be signing a message with a bitcoin address that holds the required number of coins? Or do you have something else in mind?

[Este Nuno]

Also, I was wondering if you were expecting nodes to conform to some sort of predefined moral standard? Like a code of conduct. Or is everyone free to act as they wish according to their own personal standards?

[rpietila]

I have publicly claimed to have between 2,4M and 35M mBTC since 2012. I still do. Maybe I don't feel I want the pressure of Duke even though I have the coins, or maybe I don't have the coins or want to show off. You never know.

When I decide to qualify myself for Knight/Baronet/Baron status(assuming someone is willing to bestow the title upon me of course), is part of the procedure going to be signing a message with a bitcoin address that holds the required number of coins? Or do you have something else in mind?

No. My thinking goes more like "if you need to pay 0.5% of your claimed bitcoins as a registration fee + be willing to spend 0.5% per month in the supernode meetings, marketing and the like, you should be able to decide whether to claim the actual rank or +/- 1".

[wachtwoord]

Just to give you some insight on my take on this. I would not participate, primarily because I would not like to publically disclose my net worth and secondly, because I would dislike paying 0.5%.

Good luck though

[rpietila]

BITCOIN SUPERNODE ACTIVITIES

Most of the things supernodes do (as supernodes) would be centered on meeting (each other), eating, drinking, smoking and dancing.

The Network (as its Communicating nodes) would use the following means of communicating with outside world:
Twitter, Facebook, BCT-Forum, Own forum (outsiders can read but not write all but the gamemaster side)

Internal communication would be held by phone + by Letters. A Letter is an important concept, it can be a forum post or email, but also physical mail. Letters have certain form that is almost forgotten. My Orders of the Day can be classified Letters.

Diplomatic happenings can be classified as following:
Audience - one supernode meets another physically
Reception - several supernodes are invited by one
Dinner - Ahh... these are the important parts of all diplomacy
Summit - Quite few are invited but they spend some serious high quality time together

Public events are important as marketing the supernode movement to fellow bitcoiners + bitcoin to outsiders
Meeting - anything classifies
Meetup - prearranged; more people come and there will be more impact
Retreat - rather few (5-20) people, lax program
Conference - big, like the one in San Jose
Congress - big and the program there is more strict the in conference

Large Supernode happenings consume most of the monetary resources, but also require strict planning
Ceremony - A prince is not promoted Duke without the associating pomp, no way
Feast - a common gathering of all great and small who belong to the system (freemen also invited), akin to conference but only for the SN network
Grand Feast - Now I must use a Bible reference: Esther 1: 3-8.

Training serves as an opportunity to know the things so that the social code doesn't hit so hard Also if there is anything else that requires training in the bitcoin services, how to do efficient marketing etc.

[Este Nuno]

Just to give you some insight on my take on this. I would not participate, primarily because I would not like to publically disclose my net worth and secondly, because I would dislike paying 0.5%.

Good luck though

I suspect that the fees will go towards the benefit of the Supernode network as a whole. In such a way that the nodes will be happy to pay the fee because it will provide value to the network and also them.

[rpietila]

DIPLOMATS AND THEIR RANKINGS

10 Duke - Ambassador
15 Prince - Ambassador
20 Marquis - Ambassador
25 Earl - Special Envoy
30 Viscount - Envoy
35 Baron - Attaché 1 class
40 Baronet - Attaché 2 class
45 Knight - Attaché 3 class

There are many meetings as specified by above post. Sometimes a supernode cannot attend himself despite of invitation. It is good that we know from previously that a Duke is only a real Duke if he has 5-10 people in his command structure. If he is invited to Ducal Summit, he may decide to send an Ambassador Plenipotentiary instead. For example I have rontus, whom I can send wherever I want, and bestow on him as many bitcoins as may be necessary.

Ambassadors can be of different classes, highest is Extraordinary&Plenipotentiary, but such can be sent by Sovereign only, and in my understanding Dukes are not sovereigns (they may be if they are Duke D.G. but that is a concept still open). Ambassador-at-Large can be sent by anyone who himself is Marquis or higher, if the invitation was for Marquis-level.

So when fulfilling the meeting invitation standards, we need to evaluate, how high person was invited, and then whether he has somebody at his disposal who can be sent as high enough person. The meeting may also be such a low standard that the Duke himself is not qualified to enter (his presence would lead to e.g. security concerns, or problems with etiquette). Then he must send a delegate/-ion that contains only the right level people. For example the San Jose, I did not go, but sent Roni as Ambassador and Annina as Secretary. Their later conduct (both are still in the States, separately on their own) is also very fitting for my supernode, which is currently dissolved.

So only the Supernode himself possesses the Ducal/Princely/etc title. All his staff do not possess a title, (or if they do, they are vassal supernodes). A hypernode should have at least some people in his organization and an ultranode needs several people to work for him, so that his ultranode has a decent working. For this reason also, 3kBTC may very well be enough for a Duke, if he has actual business in multiple countries and makes money, 30kBTC may not entitle you to a Duke, if your only operation is the 100 graphics cards that you used for mining your stash, and now make litecoins.  

[rpietila]

DELEGATION TO A SUPERNODE MEETING - esp. "how to find ladies"

The Supernode diplomatic invitation tells whether it is only for supernodes or with ladies. If with ladies, then it is a good conduct to bring a delegation which has equal number of both genders (like I did in Haikko and San José). It may be difficult to find ladies, but they need not be part of your supernode's backbone staff. The delegation may consist of:
- SN or his ambassador
- Attachés, who are directed by the SN
- Any family members of the above
- A Lady-in-waiting (I had 2 of these, assigned to serve my family, during the time we lived in Haikko)
- Other ladies who are invited but do not belong to SN staff (In Haikko my voice instructor was part of the Romanov gala dinner and also performed a gig with piano+voice later on the night)
- Other ladies who travel single or in groups and "happen to be there"