I wish to trial a content subscription system with BTC for media content

[film2240]

A D&T PSA:

film2240 0-confirm is possible but be sure you understand the potential risks, losses, and countermeasures.   It is possible to be double spent but there are mechanisms to detect that double spend attempt.  Accepting 0-confirm isn't something to just do on a whim.  I was just pointing that properly implemented allowing micro tx based on 0-confirms is viable.  No need to have user pay 2 cents for an article and then have to wait 60 minutes to make sure they aren't a thief.

I think 1 confirm is the effective solution as there's security as well as speed.I wonder how long a 1 confirm would take over the BTC network for a transaction compared with 0 confirm (insecure)? Thanks for the extra info DeathAndTaxes

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[FreeMoney]

I'm keeping an eye on this thread as I'm interested in seeing how this develops.I look forward to this being in action.The price is amazing compared to this:  https://mynews.secure.force.com/webjourney/webj_subscription?url=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.thesundaytimes.co.uk%252Fsto%252Fnews%252Fuk_news%252FTech%252Farticle1007220.ece

I hope you succeed film2240 so I can have access to great value media with a wider range of content that the media in my home country

Thanks for that gorgo1. Wow the Times really love ripping you off for memberships that don't even last a lifetime.

I have no love for the Times, but this is unfair.

The downside of a lifetime subscription is that existing users can't exert any financial pressure on the provider. Normally if quality suffers some existing users will buy less, and just the threat of that keeps quality up. There is a reason we don't see many "All you can eat forever" diners. Granted content consumption is very different.

Another downside is that no one knows how long 'lifetime' really is. How long do most brands last? And this is a downside for both parties. You can't charge nearly what 100 years of good content would be worth because no one believes you'll really produce good content for 100 years. But people will rightly be reluctant to pay even the value of 1 year upfront.

[FreeMoney]

The vast vast majority of people would rather pay 2 bitcents than figure out how to spoof a 0 conf. Your downside isn't even the 2 cents it's at most 2 cents, that assumes a 100% chance that the attacker would have bought the thing if he had to wait 1 confirm. You will absolutely lose 10% or more business for making people wait 10+ minutes.

[DeathAndTaxes]

I think 1 confirm is the effective solution as there's security as well as speed.I wonder how long a 1 confirm would take over the BTC network for a transaction compared with 0 confirm (insecure)? Thanks for the extra info DeathAndTaxes

Theoretically, it should take six ten minutes (on average) but only if the miner finding the block accepts transactions.

Avg 1-confirm times is 10 minutes (assuming 100% of miners include tx in next block) however block time variance is somewhat significant.  About 25% of the time it will take 15 minutes or longer.  About 10% of the time it will take 22 minutes or longer.  About 5% of the time it will take 30 minutes or longer.  About 1% of the time it will take 45 minutes or longer.   The longest stretch between blocks I have ever seen was 3.5 hours.

0-confirm times will be roughly 1 to 5 seconds depending on network propagation.  You likely would want a custom solution which relays the tx directly to major hashing pools and then waits 20 sec to see if a double spend is forwarded.

[film2240]

I have no love for the Times, but this is unfair.

The downside of a lifetime subscription is that existing users can't exert any financial pressure on the provider. Normally if quality suffers some existing users will buy less, and just the threat of that keeps quality up. There is a reason we don't see many "All you can eat forever" diners. Granted content consumption is very different.

Another downside is that no one knows how long 'lifetime' really is. How long do most brands last? And this is a downside for both parties. You can't charge nearly what 100 years of good content would be worth because no one believes you'll really produce good content for 100 years. But people will rightly be reluctant to pay even the value of 1 year upfront.

Hmm interesting feedback.I guess I'll have to look at more Pay Per view style methods as it looks like lifetime subscriptions may not meet the needs of consumers. The way I see though is that offering a good,consistent user experience is important.That's why I thought the one off fee for access to all content would be better as once the person pays the fee,that person would have a lifetime of access to all content (existing and upcoming). I'm rather interested in knowing more about the 'all you can eat' type models as well as Per per view.

I do think that people are moving away from subscriptions so I'll need to make sure my offerings can keep up. I think the best thing to do is offer both subscription (tiered) as well as pay per view style options so that (nearly) everyone can be happy.

Thanks for the useful info on how long a 1 confirm transaction can take DeathAndTaxes.