Post AFpDPk4NGLN4SdRNbM by danny@fosstodon.org
 (DIR) More posts by danny@fosstodon.org
 (DIR) Post #AFofZnjP6e5gGvFzOa by urusan@fosstodon.org
       2022-01-26T00:58:14Z
       
       1 likes, 0 repeats
       
       I was talking with my wife about a video she saw about NFTs, I thought of a good analogy for the blockchain, which I call The Brickchain.We were talking about what exactly it is you're buying when you buy a NFT (since it's not actually the piece of media). I made a comparison to buying a fundraiser brick. https://www.fundraiserhelp.com/fundraising-with-engraved-bricks.htmBasically, the blockchain is like a machine that makes one of these bricks every hour, and people compete to earn the right to inscribe the brick.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFofjEO1N9aDY0kfmi by urusan@fosstodon.org
       2022-01-26T01:06:05Z
       
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       While not perfect, there's a lot going for this analogy.You don't really own the brick or any part of the building it's used in. It ends up in a public space (though not necessarily one that's getting a lot of attention).NFT inscriptions say something like "PERSON owns X" or "PERSON transferred X to PERSON2".You admittedly can't write literally anything, you can't say you transferred something owned by someone else, at least in a way that anyone else will take seriously.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFogHCAi74HgWaimQK by urusan@fosstodon.org
       2022-01-26T01:10:49Z
       
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       It also makes the environmental impact easier to grasp.People are really making a lot of bricks and spending a lot of effort fighting over them.
       
 (DIR) Post #AForUewlXQgX1sozbc by TerryHancock@mastodon.art
       2022-01-26T03:17:11Z
       
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       @urusan Thing is, I find it more compelling to buy a brick. There's something tangible there. You can "visit your brick".Another comparison is to a certificate. But I like that better, too: the certificate is a tangible thing you can hold in your hand, frame and mount on your wall, etc. And the certificate may be art in itself.By comparison, the NFT seems kind of empty.
       
 (DIR) Post #AForV56EIrhi8lRuy0 by TerryHancock@mastodon.art
       2022-01-26T03:18:28Z
       
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       @urusan The one thing that IS kind of appealing is the "smart contracts" thing where you can effectively earn a percentage anytime the NFT is sold again.But I'm not sure how much that is really worth, especially with the volatility of cryptocurrency.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFp9R4J76ZjZhSiCEi by urusan@fosstodon.org
       2022-01-26T06:40:13Z
       
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       @TerryHancock Stuff like smart contracts made me hold out hope that it would become more useful for quite some time.However, there's too many too fundamental problems with the technology.The biggest problem is that with even with a modicum of trust, there's vastly better solutions to the problems it tries to solve. Worse yet, humans just don't function well in an environment where trust is impossible anyway, so slip-ups are inevitable.
       
 (DIR) Post #AFpDPk4NGLN4SdRNbM by danny@fosstodon.org
       2022-01-26T07:24:49Z
       
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       @urusan interesting analogy, although at least fundraising bricks generally lead to something useful like a children’s hospital or a better cancer ward. Sponsoring those is a way of contributing to something bigger than yourself. NFTs seem to add little value to anything. I just can’t get as excited about trading monkey avatars as I can about sponsoring a seat to keep a local indie cinema afloat.