MaidSafe as an alternative to Dropbox/cloud storage?

Beginners
21

@Melvin & @happybeing,

I’ll try to clear the confusion with examples, assuming I understood “The Safe Network’s economics” thread correctly.

  • Currently, the smallest transferable unit is 1 Safecoin… no decimals.
  • We plan to switch to decimal Safecoin after the Network grows bigger… maybe in 1 year?

This means storage pricing must be expressed in the following way.

1 Safecoin = X (GB) Available

Here’s an example of fluctuating pricing, based on Network Utilization (supply/demand).

(March 5 2015)
1 Safecoin = 1 GB Available
Paying 1 Safecoin allows you to store up to 1 GB… at that moment.

(December 25 2015)
1 Safecoin = 500 MB Available
Paying 1 Safecoin, allows you to store up to 500 MB… at that moment.

Here’s where the confusion comes from.

If a consumer pays 1 Safecoin on (March 5 2015) but never actually stores (PUTS) anything, their available space is reduced down to 500 MB when they try to store on (December 25 2015).

This is what I referred to as the “use it or lose it” approach. This discourages hoarding and encourages consumers to buy only as much as they need… at that moment.

There are some points to consider.

  1. If the user sees 1 GB “available” today then 500 MB later, will they feel ripped off?
  2. Is there a way to manage this negative feedback?
  3. Is there a better way to do storage pricing?

1A. Probably. Most people will “assume” if they pay 1 Safecoin, the displayed storage amount is what they will get.

2A. Yes. Since the smallest unit is 1 Safecoin, that should be the default block amount purchasable at the moment a user tries to PUT data. In other words, they cannot buy more than what they upload on a “Pay-on-Put” basis.

Example. (Pay On Put)

  • Consumer first tries to PUT 250 MB of data. The Network gives them a message (Accept / Decline), charging them 1 Safecoin, which gives them 1 GB… at that moment. They can either use the remaining 750 MB or leave it as credit. But they do run the risk of their 750 MB reducing if prices go up.

  • The Network only charges for data when a consumer tries to upload (PUT). The consumer cannot arbitrarily spend 100 Safecoins to buy 100GB and upload at a later time.

  • This process makes it very simple for the consumer. Try to upload, get a message of how much it costs. Or better yet, have a real-time display of how much 1 Safecoin = X (GB) in the SAFE App Launcher.

3A. Yes. Once we switch to decimal Safecoin, the PUT charging can be made more granular (cost per 1 MB), instead of charging for batch amounts (1 Safecoin per X GB).

@dirvine & @nicklambert if you feel any of this is wrong, or need clarification, I’ll be happy to edit it based on your input. I hope this is helpful.

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