From: Mike Duvos <enoch@zipcon.net>
Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 02:55:20 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: write up AP for FC++
In-Reply-To: <199708181632.SAA09272@xs2.xs4all.nl>
Message-ID: <19970818184200.31703.qmail@zipcon.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



A Visitor Writes:

>  A million monkeys operating under the pseudonym
>  "Steve Schear <azur@netcom.com>" typed:

> > May I suggest that we abandon the term AP, as being too narrowly focused,
> > and use something more academic (looks better in FC's proceedings, anyway)
> > such as Anonymous Betting Pools, or some such?

I've always been fond of the term "Non-Traditional Wagering" myself. :)

> Um, as soon as you broaden AP from libertarian fantasy into 
> rigorous hypothesis, it turns out that it _isn't_ _anything_
> but Idea Futures/insurance/ABPs/(payee-anonymous) contract 
> markets plus the murderous daydream junk.

How are Idea Futures doing these days?  Have they upgraded to real money
yet?  I recall they used to have a few interesting things in there, like
the first explicit frontal nudity on American television, and a good
algorithm for solving Max 2-SAT. 

> TCMay has mentioned before that AP is nothing new...

AP brings to anonymous contract assassinations the ability of a very large
number of people to contribute small amounts of money to a pool without
explicit collaboration.  As you have said, this is Idea Futures in a
nutshell.  Of course, I suspect the Idea Futures folk would balk at
writing options on the lives of Clinton, Reno, Freeh, or Potts.  Then
again, if armed Federal Agents shot their families, maybe not. :) 

We do really need to put something together on Jim Bell soon.  People have
been asking about my .sig and I am getting tired of relating the long tale
to each and every one of them. 

Could someone take responsibility for getting all the publicly released
documents together in one place and perhaps posting a "Jim Bell Home Page"
to Eternity?

--
     Mike Duvos         $    PGP 2.6 Public Key available     $
     enoch@zipcon.com   $    via Finger                       $
         {Free Cypherpunk Political Prisoner Jim Bell}