Is calling it a "wallet" the wrong thing?

[marcus_of_augustus]

Call it a Man Bag ... and people will throw it away!

[CCCMikey]

While there is an issue with the name bitcoin implying it can't be divided, I think it also serves as a good way to identify that it's a currency in the same manner a gold coin is currency.

I dare say in time there'll be mbc (milliBitCoins) and ubc (microbitcoins) as time goes by, but for now the term 'bit coin' is about as easy as we'll get to be able to explain this weird thing to the uninitiated

I'm happy with the wallet analogy since it forms a container for your bitcoins. Traditional wallets may contain cards that unlock ATM transactions, so a wallet need not contain actual coins - just the portal to get to them

How heavy is a BitCoin anyway? I guess they're measured in CO2 from energy generation?

[compro01]

While there is an issue with the name bitcoin implying it can't be divided

coins work fine.  they'e pieces of eight (decimal places)!

 

[gohan]

While there is an issue with the name bitcoin implying it can't be divided, I think it also serves as a good way to identify that it's a currency in the same manner a gold coin is currency.

I dare say in time there'll be mbc (milliBitCoins) and ubc (microbitcoins) as time goes by, but for now the term 'bit coin' is about as easy as we'll get to be able to explain this weird thing to the uninitiated

I'm happy with the wallet analogy since it forms a container for your bitcoins. Traditional wallets may contain cards that unlock ATM transactions, so a wallet need not contain actual coins - just the portal to get to them

Agreed.

[deadlizard]

While there is an issue with the name bitcoin implying it can't be divided

coins work fine.  they'e pieces of eight (decimal places)!

 

mind=blown

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

While there is an issue with the name bitcoin implying it can't be divided

coins work fine.  they'e pieces of eight (decimal places)!

 

mind=blown

  funny how that worked out.  Hadn't ever thought of it.

[Jim Hyslop]

I think "wallet" is just fine, and conveys the sense of what it holds. It also does mesh nicely with the physical world.

A physical wallet stores not only money but ATM cards. That's the parallel to draw with Bitcoin.

Physical world: your money is not stored in your wallet, it's in a bank.
Bitcoin: your money is not stored in your wallet.dat, it's in the block chain.

Physical world: you access your money using the ATM card, which you store in your wallet.
Bitcoin: you access your money using the encryption keys, which you store in your wallet.

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

I think "wallet" is just fine, and conveys the sense of what it holds. It also does mesh nicely with the physical world.

A physical wallet stores not only money but ATM cards. That's the parallel to draw with Bitcoin.

Physical world: your money is not stored in your wallet, it's in a bank.
Bitcoin: your money is not stored in your wallet.dat, it's in the block chain.

Physical world: you access your money using the ATM card, which you store in your wallet.
Bitcoin: you access your money using the encryption keys, which you store in your wallet.

Yeah I agree, wallet doesn't need to be changed in my opinion but I'm voting key file if it is changed.

[abstraction]

The block chain is really a history of common knowledge. A private key is just a tool used to uniquely interpret that common knowledge, which has personal value or worth in the form of credit.

What else is this interpretation analogous to?

[gigabytecoin]

I like keychain too, but what about chainkey? Isn't that exactly what it is? A block chain key?

[marcus_of_augustus]

I like keychain too, but what about chainkey? Isn't that exactly what it is? A block chain key?

Keys, plural. There is more than one in there, hence key-chain ... how about 'keys file' or too obvious?

[abstraction]

I warn you. This is going to be abstract, and you need to think outside of the box to properly understand it.

The "key" term y'all are looking for is located outside of the jail you are locked in side of. Your jail is your perception of humanity. If you want to "humanize" Bitcoin, find a hippie and learn from him. He will tell you what karma is. So name it after something that a human with a heart can understand. Call it a tip jar. Tipping is good karma. You can have all sorts of tip jars on the internet and they all accept the same kind of karma. Karma is karma and it doesn't really matter where it comes from, but specializing each tip jar for a different gift I give helps me maximize my good karma.

They understand intuitively how free markets work. They just call it a different thing. Tip jar implies charity. Key implies prison. Think about that last part until you really understand.

[deadlizard]

I warn you. This is going to be abstract, and you need to think outside of the box to properly understand it.

The "key" term y'all are looking for is located outside of the jail you are locked in side of. Your jail is your perception of humanity. If you want to "humanize" Bitcoin, find a hippie and learn from him. He will tell you what karma is. So name it after something that a human with a heart can understand. Call it a tip jar. Tipping is good karma. You can have all sorts of tip jars on the internet and they all accept the same kind of karma. Karma is karma and it doesn't really matter where it comes from, but specializing each tip jar for a different gift I give helps me maximize my good karma.

They understand intuitively how free markets work. They just call it a different thing. Tip jar implies charity. Key implies prison. Think about that last part until you really understand.

I always thought tip jar implied emotional extortion .... and just because I lock my car door doesn't mean I'm not free to leave. Think about that last part until you really understand double negatives 

[abstraction]

I always thought tip jar implied emotional extortion .... and just because I lock my car door doesn't mean I'm not free to leave. Think about that last part until you really understand double negatives 

I'll match your jest and I will raise you this: which is worse, emotional extortion or physical extortion?

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

I always thought tip jar implied emotional extortion .... and just because I lock my car door doesn't mean I'm not free to leave. Think about that last part until you really understand double negatives 

I'll match your jest and I will raise you this: which is worse, emotional extortion or physical extortion?

Emotional, or was that a hypothetical question?

[abstraction]

I always thought tip jar implied emotional extortion .... and just because I lock my car door doesn't mean I'm not free to leave. Think about that last part until you really understand double negatives 

I'll match your jest and I will raise you this: which is worse, emotional extortion or physical extortion?

Emotional, or was that a hypothetical question?

It was an exploratory hypothetical, a thought experiment perhaps.

Which one occurs before the other? It seems like a chicken and the egg problem.

Physical extortion happens because emotional extortion happened previously, and physical extortion happened before all of that, and so on and so forth. It's kind of like Mises' regression theorem. I think ultimately, physical extortion could only be induced from emotional extortion, and emotional extortion comes from a lack of understanding... emotions, ideas, anything. So if we can find a way to fix emotional extortion, we can build an emotional base to fix (end) physical extortion. It seems to me like we can do that by excelling and specializing in our own personal craft or trade, give it away for free and in abundance, and let others figure out how to give credit where credit is due, possibly by tipping us with good karma, I mean bitcoins. Isn't the point of a sound money to teach us the value of scarcity? What is more scarce than money? A unique life. And what is more scarce than that unique life? A moment in time with that unique life. So maybe every moment of our lives are scarce and we must figure out a way to maximize each moment's value.

[BitterTea]

I liked key chain, but it is possibly too similar to block chain.

How about key ring? Too similar to the Gnome keyring? Bitkey ring?

[gigabytecoin]

I like keychain too, but what about chainkey? Isn't that exactly what it is? A block chain key?

Keys, plural. There is more than one in there, hence key-chain ... how about 'keys file' or too obvious?

Sure there might be numerous keys in there in the literal/digital sense. But your wallet.dat file is currently the "chain's key" in a sense.

Hence chainkey.