Bitcoinize boards / forums

[HostFat]

The idea comes from this:
https://ogrr.com
They are integrating Bitcoin with the board to make it like a market ( even if it's not automatic right now, but they ware working on it ... )

I though that there are many forums on Internet, and many will born on next hours.

Some them have already some economic features, but they are also many dedicated to games/mmo and many other topics that can be good for starting markets.

So I thought that it will be very good to develop mods ( or convert others as weex did here with osCommerce ) to support Bitcoin currency.

This just to push Bitcoin even more all over the Internet.

Everyone will be able to add the free Bitcoin market on their boards just by adding a mod, and all users on the forum will know that there is a new currency in the world!

It should be good to have a mod for every common boards ( phpbb, smf, invision, vbulletin ... )

I just did a search and I found this mod about Invision that can be a good start to get an earlier result.
( I don't know if there are better mods, it's just the good first result that I found )
Do you know other good mods for other boards that can be easy to be modified to support Bitcoin?

If you like this idea, we can also start a bounty for every mods.

[Stephen Gornick]

And a fork to Reddit - see http://CoinSmack.com for how this would work.
 - https://github.com/reddit/reddit

[HostFat]

This seems a good mod for SMF:

SMFShop - Shop MOD
http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=65

[weex]

Nice thread HostFat and thanks for the mention.

One thing to consider with each of these is how they will function when Pow! people want to add or remove BTC to the system. These points systems were meant to encourage use of their respective boards but with Bitcoin all of the sudden they have a chance to become real economies with some folks even making a living with their time spent there.

The other thing to note is that all kinds of problems can arise just by providing a deposit and withdrawal mechanism so I would suggest any mod first allow only manual, though easy-to-use, facilities for both.

[Matthew N. Wright]

DCAO was talking about this the other day. I totally support it and wish it would happen, and since MtGox is hosting the servers that would have the wallets, why not! 

[weex]

DCAO was talking about this the other day. I totally support it and wish it would happen, and since MtGox is hosting the servers that would have the wallets, why not! 

It should be noted that this is not specifically about bitcointalk.org. HostFat is trying to make it easier for all boards that wish to have a points system to instead use BTC natively.

It is a good idea for a project but I think it also needs a benefactor in a forum that has the desire to do this, help with testing, and provide feedback.

[Stephen Gornick]

I see Flattr added something that looks like a Pinterest + Flattr mashup:
 - http://flattr.com/explore

The move to an internal currency is a concept that is gaining.  Quora has Quora Credits now where credits needed to post are earned as the result of participation on posts by others.  You can't buy Quora credits nor can you exchange them outside of Quora for items of value.

That's getting closer, but the concept is advancing towards a more direct-reward model.  For instance:

Klout has Perks:
 - http://klout.com/corp/perks

Calyp is a social media promotion service that gives agents rewards:
 - http://www.calyp.com/rewards.aspx (spendable using a prepaid debit card)

and then RedKonnect (pre-launch) is centered around the concept of compensating users for their participation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
 - http://redkonnect.com
 - http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/3/prweb9271211.htm

RedKonnect drives home the message: Online sites are making bank thanks to all of us doing Likes, Retweets, and Pinning.  How about they start paying us for that?

And once the breakthrough that users start expecting compensation for their participation, board and forum software will be pressured into enabling that capability as well.

[HostFat]

The main difference is that with Bitcoin we will be able to exchange between every forums/communities!

I really think that releasing mods for the most common boards ( phpbb, smf, invision, vbulletin ... ) will give an huge increase to the Bitcoin diffusion/circulation/propagation ... instantly!

There are many mods for all these boards available. ( they just create and use an "internal virtual currency" )
We just need that someone starts to modify them to support Bitcoin.

[weex]

Another site of interest in terms of internal points systems is http://open-org.com/

The interesting thing about this site is that the points are being used to build the site itself. They are interested in creating an exchange between btc and their Profit points(open-org.com/roadmap lower right branch of tree). I think this model, where the total Profit points supply and site governance structure are transparent, could lead to a new generation of sites, businesses, and organizations.

[finway]

Great idea!   

[weex]

Great idea!   

I agree, does anyone have a suggestion on which type of board to support first?

[HostFat]

My suggestion to you is to give an offer directly to Ogrr. ( maybe you can make some money ... )
They haven't automatic funds right now, they always need an admin that gives you a new address, and to confirm the transaction

I think that they are using Phpbb.

After that ( if they accept your offer ), you will probably learn more about the phpbb board.

[realnowhereman]

I'd rather not have every random forum holding coins.  They are screaming to be hacked.

Instead the "integration" should be the ability to look up the current balance of an address registered in the account details section, and post that balance under the avatar (or wherever)

To be honest though, it sounds like a non-problem.  Bitcoin is already capable of transferring value from anyone to anyone; and what is the advantage to me of having my balance published for all to see?

Bitcoin integration?  Just put an address in your signature.

Better is a reputation system.  And that doesn't require bitcoin at all.

[moocow1452]

Would be nice if you could get a Bitcoin magnet/html link that could outbound to your client and prepopulate the address. Can someone work that into a Firefox/Chrome extension, maybe make it compatible with instawallet?

[weex]

I'd rather not have every random forum holding coins.  They are screaming to be hacked.

Valid point. Steps can and should be taken to reduce risk. As it stands lots of folks have value stored in many sites with much less transparency in their account balances than what Bitcoin integration might bring. Holding Bitcoin (or something Bitcoin-backed) increases the likelihood of attack but it also increases the economic impact of a site, potential for trade, and even folks making a living from a site.

Instead the "integration" should be the ability to look up the current balance of an address registered in the account details section, and post that balance under the avatar (or wherever)

Right. One could even require a small payment or that a string be signed by that address to prove ownership.

To be honest though, it sounds like a non-problem.  Bitcoin is already capable of transferring value from anyone to anyone; and what is the advantage to me of having my balance published for all to see?

You like social contests that improve the demand for an asset you hold?    This can be an option per site. It would probably be rarely used but in the case that a site owner really wants to encourage commerce, it can be shown. An additional option might be to have a public amount and a private one.

Bitcoin integration?  Just put an address in your signature.

I like this idea and it's easy enough to do wherever one might want to. Still some users are funny about their addresses and may not want to publish them any more widely than necessary. It's also a little better for privacy if you generate a new address for each transaction.

Better is a reputation system.  And that doesn't require bitcoin at all.

The original idea of this thread is to increase the number of places where Bitcoin is used by recognizing the opportunity in replacing proprietary/fiat points systems. I'm sure any site that has any significant amount of commerce has a reputation system.

You bring up a good point though in that efforts encouraged by this thread should attempt to improve upon existing reputation systems. This could entice folks to integrate BTC into their economic model just to get the best reputation system available.

[Andrew Vorobyov]

Ok people, we need to think hard how to make it viable....

1. Who receives BTC?
2. Who sends BTC?
3. What every transaction means?
4. How BTC is connected to karma?
5. Incentives...

Can somebody lay down basic strategy so we can start discussing it?

[finway]

Maybe combine django-bitcoin and some python-bbs will be very easy.

[weex]

Maybe combine django-bitcoin and some python-bbs will be very easy.

Our goal is not to create another bbs or a bb platform that includes a Bitcoin economy component. Our goal is to make it as easy and straightforward as possible for admins to implement a Bitcoin-based points system/economy.

[weex]

Ok people, we need to think hard how to make it viable....

1. Who receives BTC?
2. Who sends BTC?
3. What every transaction means?
4. How BTC is connected to karma?
5. Incentives...

Can somebody lay down basic strategy so we can start discussing it?

The numbered points here seem to be targeted at a specific site that isn't clear. When I think of Karma, I think of /. but perhaps you have a different idea Andrew?

At this early state, we could really use a survey of the available points and reputation systems. If we create a matrix of features that are currently available by CMS/site/bulletin board platform, we can prioritize features to be developed first.

I'm not sure where this matrix should live but a wiki is probably best. If someone wants to create this, link it here so we can work on it together.

[Stephen Gornick]

At this early state, we could really use a survey of the available points and reputation systems. If we create a matrix of features that are currently available by CMS/site/bulletin board platform, we can prioritize features to be developed first.

Our goal is to make it as easy and straightforward as possible for admins to implement a Bitcoin-based points system/economy.

Related:

Read about "PieTrust" in:
 - http://mwhite.calepin.co/the-emerging-wisdom-revolution/

And earlier, a "bounty" system for FOSS projects:
 - http://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4435.0