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With a browser extension you could intercept actual HN upvotes. The tricky part is the feedback, since that's one of the most valued and also despised parts of

With a browser extension you could intercept actual HN upvotes. The tricky part is the feedback, since that's one of the most valued and also despised parts of a tipping system. Some people really like to see how much others tip, and others hate the "noise". It could be that only those who have installed the extension would see how much others are tipping (via discrete text appended somewhere near username).

gfodor 13y ago
don't forget about the onboarding process. if user A tips user B some doge, how do you notify user B and get their wallet set up? you either a) have to assume user B will notice and reach out pro-actively (unlikely) or b) have to have a way to contact user B. on HN, the best avenue is likely to assume their HN handle is the same as their twitter handle, so you can send them an @ message on twitter. (and have a verification setup via having them put a token in their HN profile.) ad hoc testing shows that some non-trivial % of hn users this works. but it isn't enough for it to be a strong assumption, you'd need a plan B. also, if you build something where tips are not public (which likely would get the extension banned anyway from pg, since it would clutter up the comments) then you literally have no possible way for user B to get setup sans the twitter trick, since they won't see the tip either. the other way to do it is to make it so you can only tip other users who have the plugin installed. but this kills off the network effects and i'd guess the thing would be DOA after it drops off the front page. (yeah, I thought of this too a while ago but abandoned the idea :))
eric_bullington 13y ago
gfodor: I've thought of a clever, easy way to send the coins to new users that doesn't require a sign-up. But I still don't know how to notify new users, unless they've already installed the extension. Your idea of Twitter handles is a good hack, but as you point out, it misses a non-trivial number of users. Hmm... PS: By the way, to viach, mrfussion, and gfodor: I've already got a backend system built using Tornado and ZeroMQ for a Bitcoin POS that could be adapted to this scenario fairly easily, and it would scale well. But how to notify new users without pissing everyone else off....
- mrfusion 13y ago
  My philosophy is that when you're giving people free money you shouldn't have to make much effort to notify them. If people want the money let them come to you. If it's unclaimed after a year the policy could be that you'd donate it to charity. Which would keep with the spirit of tipping. (Or unclaimed funds could be divided between existing users each year, or returned.) There are lots of things you could do. Another interesting idea is to have a finders fee. So If an existing user helps track down the owner of an unclaimed account, they get a fee like 10%.
  - viach 13y ago
    >> My philosophy is that when you're giving people free money you shouldn't have to make much effort to notify them. Completely agree with that. It is enough to reply with "dogetip+1" for example, where "dogetip" is the bots website name. >> easy way to send the coins to new users that doesn't require a sign-up HN has "about me" field, right? What if user puts his wallet id there? We don't need him to sign up then.

gfodor 13y ago

don't forget about the onboarding process. if user A tips user B some doge, how do you notify user B and get their wallet set up? you either a) have to assume user B will notice and reach out pro-actively (unlikely) or b) have to have a way to contact user B. on HN, the best avenue is likely to assume their HN handle is the same as their twitter handle, so you can send them an @ message on twitter. (and have a verification setup via having them put a token in their HN profile.) ad hoc testing shows that some non-trivial % of hn users this works. but it isn't enough for it to be a strong assumption, you'd need a plan B. also, if you build something where tips are not public (which likely would get the extension banned anyway from pg, since it would clutter up the comments) then you literally have no possible way for user B to get setup sans the twitter trick, since they won't see the tip either. the other way to do it is to make it so you can only tip other users who have the plugin installed. but this kills off the network effects and i'd guess the thing would be DOA after it drops off the front page. (yeah, I thought of this too a while ago but abandoned the idea :))

eric_bullington 13y ago

gfodor: I've thought of a clever, easy way to send the coins to new users that doesn't require a sign-up. But I still don't know how to notify new users, unless they've already installed the extension. Your idea of Twitter handles is a good hack, but as you point out, it misses a non-trivial number of users. Hmm... PS: By the way, to viach, mrfussion, and gfodor: I've already got a backend system built using Tornado and ZeroMQ for a Bitcoin POS that could be adapted to this scenario fairly easily, and it would scale well. But how to notify new users without pissing everyone else off....

mrfusion 13y ago
My philosophy is that when you're giving people free money you shouldn't have to make much effort to notify them. If people want the money let them come to you. If it's unclaimed after a year the policy could be that you'd donate it to charity. Which would keep with the spirit of tipping. (Or unclaimed funds could be divided between existing users each year, or returned.) There are lots of things you could do. Another interesting idea is to have a finders fee. So If an existing user helps track down the owner of an unclaimed account, they get a fee like 10%.
- viach 13y ago
  >> My philosophy is that when you're giving people free money you shouldn't have to make much effort to notify them. Completely agree with that. It is enough to reply with "dogetip+1" for example, where "dogetip" is the bots website name. >> easy way to send the coins to new users that doesn't require a sign-up HN has "about me" field, right? What if user puts his wallet id there? We don't need him to sign up then.