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Because then we'd have to pay for everything directly, and payment is incompatible with anonymity. In other words, I don't want to give my credit card to porn

Because then we'd have to pay for everything directly, and payment is incompatible with anonymity. In other words, I don't want to give my credit card to porn sites.

gnode 9y ago
Anonymity and fluidity of payments is something which technology can potentially address, but I agree that this is currently not the case. I see no reason why this couldn't change in the future. Wanting everything online for free is, in my opinion, a cultural matter. In the physical world, we're used to paying for almost everything; food, transport, housing, (indirectly) the street lights, etc. very few things are provided gratis through advertising.
FussyZeus 9y ago
In defense of porn sites: That's one of the seemingly vanishingly rare instances these days where you pay the fee and they knock it off completely. No more ads, no more upselling, no prompting for reviews or comments whatever the hell. It just becomes a functioning site in which to watch porn. Yeah I know it's sad that this is so remarkable, but at the same time, it's one of the rare instances where you're actually getting what you pay for.
- gnode 9y ago
  My experience with most / all paid services has been grievance free. Admittedly in the case of Netflix I only use it on my smart TV; I have no experience of how it behaves on other platforms.
- fauigerzigerk 9y ago
  I'm not concerned about the porn sites themselves. I'm concerned about the increasingly intolerant sentiment towards anything sexual in our society. There is a tendency to criminalise, censor or otherwise punish voluntary sexual activity between adults, and its coming from all political sides with different excuses and wording.
Zak 9y ago
> payment is incompatible with anonymity Monero was designed to solve this problem. I hope that something based on those ideas becomes a popular or dominant means of payment in the future.
- fauigerzigerk 9y ago
  It's not a technical design problem. Governments will never allow a widely used anonymous digital payment system. There is absolutely not a shred of doubt in my mind about that.
  - Zak 9y ago
    They'd have a hard time banning it. Bitcoin can already be used anonymously if you're careful and an attempt to ban that in countries that are something resembling democratic would be an uphill battle at a minimum.
    - fauigerzigerk 9y ago
      Bitcoin is anything but widely used. Democratic countries tightly regulate everything that is usable for money laundering as soon as it reaches a size that makes it relevant. Bitcoin is insignificant at this point and the push for regulation has already started.
jasonkostempski 9y ago
We just need cash that works online. We can already buy gift cards with cash and use those online, maybe a similar process could be streamlined and designed specifically around anonymity.
- TACIXAT 9y ago
  Unfortunately there is a ton of regulation around any sort of electronic payments. In the US there are federal regulations as well as individual state licenses. If it is possible, anonymity will not be a feature.

Because then we'd have to pay for everything directly, and payment is incompatible with anonymity. In other words, I don't want to give my credit card to porn sites.

gnode 9y ago

Anonymity and fluidity of payments is something which technology can potentially address, but I agree that this is currently not the case. I see no reason why this couldn't change in the future. Wanting everything online for free is, in my opinion, a cultural matter. In the physical world, we're used to paying for almost everything; food, transport, housing, (indirectly) the street lights, etc. very few things are provided gratis through advertising.

FussyZeus 9y ago

In defense of porn sites: That's one of the seemingly vanishingly rare instances these days where you pay the fee and they knock it off completely. No more ads, no more upselling, no prompting for reviews or comments whatever the hell. It just becomes a functioning site in which to watch porn. Yeah I know it's sad that this is so remarkable, but at the same time, it's one of the rare instances where you're actually getting what you pay for.

gnode 9y ago
My experience with most / all paid services has been grievance free. Admittedly in the case of Netflix I only use it on my smart TV; I have no experience of how it behaves on other platforms.
fauigerzigerk 9y ago
I'm not concerned about the porn sites themselves. I'm concerned about the increasingly intolerant sentiment towards anything sexual in our society. There is a tendency to criminalise, censor or otherwise punish voluntary sexual activity between adults, and its coming from all political sides with different excuses and wording.

Zak 9y ago

> payment is incompatible with anonymity Monero was designed to solve this problem. I hope that something based on those ideas becomes a popular or dominant means of payment in the future.

fauigerzigerk 9y ago
It's not a technical design problem. Governments will never allow a widely used anonymous digital payment system. There is absolutely not a shred of doubt in my mind about that.
- Zak 9y ago
  They'd have a hard time banning it. Bitcoin can already be used anonymously if you're careful and an attempt to ban that in countries that are something resembling democratic would be an uphill battle at a minimum.
  - fauigerzigerk 9y ago
    Bitcoin is anything but widely used. Democratic countries tightly regulate everything that is usable for money laundering as soon as it reaches a size that makes it relevant. Bitcoin is insignificant at this point and the push for regulation has already started.

jasonkostempski 9y ago

We just need cash that works online. We can already buy gift cards with cash and use those online, maybe a similar process could be streamlined and designed specifically around anonymity.

TACIXAT 9y ago
Unfortunately there is a ton of regulation around any sort of electronic payments. In the US there are federal regulations as well as individual state licenses. If it is possible, anonymity will not be a feature.