Good start. Now how about a brainstorming session on what more the community can do to help this coin develop?
1.
Mission (Most Important): This coin needs a mission statement. "What if governmental EBT were a coin?" is not compelling. Could we take advantage of the name "EBT" and work some sort of charitable mission? It may be difficult to fulfill such a mission now, since EBT has such low value, but a mission statement would be a first step. The community could agree on the scope and nature of the mission, or at least have some input.
2.
PR: The themes presented in this thread by some in the community seem to have some racist and misogynistic undertones. As someone who has accrued a lot of EBT, these themes don't resonate with me and may turn off the wider community. A highly successful coin needs a broad-base of adopters, not just the 18 to 29 year-old white males. I know this is basically the demographic for altcoins in general, but the theme of a coin should be more forward-thinking and strive to appeal to a wider community than just the lowest common denominator.
3.
Links: The website is not listed on the topic post at bitcointalk, unless I missed it. It should be more prominent.
4.
Website: The website is bare-bones. Although I like bare-bones myself, it looks a little "texty". To dress it up, it only needs some glossy/colorful buttons and a synopsis of the mission statement of the coin. For design, it would be good to emulate success. Several similar websites could serve as templates:
http://dogecoin.com/ ,
http://www.duckduckcoin.com/ , and
http://www.maxcoin.co.uk/ (down at the moment). Of these, probably the best design is maxcoin, although the website is having some problems ATM. Also, the new logo and font are really nice, but the website has a cyan border, which doesn't go with the green logo. The cyan border should be changed ASAP. The website needs to have an agreeable pallet that is based on the principle logo (which I assume is the green one). Also, the logo font should be complemented by the fonts on the rest of the website.
5.
Wallets: The wallets should be redesigned with the new logo and theme. Additionally, I can create a double-click windows installer that automatically adds a proper conf file and populates the start menu. This will reduce the effort required by windows adopters to get started. They would literally need to double-click the installer then, when it's done, watch their new wallet start syncing. Ease of getting started will go far towards wider adoption.
I've tried to give the most critical and easiest issues to address to improve the value of this coin over the long run. I'd be glad to help with any of them.
As I said, I have much invested in this coin now, so my desire is to help see it succeed.
Great Ideas. I love the idea of a refined mission statement. I've been researching EBT and SNAP(the foodstamp part of EBT) websites to see if there is an official mission statement for this program. I've been a little disappointed in that respect, but I have found some blurbs that may prove useful in inspiring and defining our out mission statement:
"the program rests on the assumption that households with restricted incomes may skimp on food purchases and live on diets that are inadequate in quantity and quality, or, alternatively skimp on other necessities to maintain an adequate diet".
"SNAP offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families and provides economic benefits to communities. SNAP is the largest program in the domestic hunger safety net. The Food and Nutrition Service works with State agencies, nutrition educators, and neighborhood and faith-based organizations to ensure that those eligible for nutrition assistance can make informed decisions about applying for the program and can access benefits. FNS also works with State partners and the retail community to improve program administration and ensure program integrity."
"Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) is an electronic system that allows a recipient to authorize transfer of their government benefits from a Federal account to a retailer account to pay for products received. EBT is used in all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam. EBT has been implemented in all States since June of 2004."
"The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as Food Stamps, helps low-income individuals and families afford the cost of food at grocery stores and farmers’ markets. You can apply for these benefits by completing a state application form. This form can be mailed, faxed, or dropped off at a local DSS Regional Office. Once the form is complete, you will be assigned an eligibility worker who will interview you to complete the application process. "
"EBT cards are a safe and easy way to use the benefits you receive from the Department for Children and Families"
" Advantages of EBT:
Food can be bought using a simple, conventional plastic debit card
If the EBT card is lost or stolen, the cardholder can report it and that card is immediately deactivated
EBT transactions are faster for the retailers to process and receive their funds
There are better audit trails to detect fraud and misuse of benefits
"
