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NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

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Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#551

Post by int_19h »

I can think of one genuinely useful application of NFTs for collectibles: fractal art, and (guaranteed reproducible) procedural art in general. In that case, the artwork itself can be fully on-chain, since it's defined entirely by its input parameters, which are rarely large - the real value comes from finding those parameters! And yet the visuals, once computed, can be stunning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cgp2WNNKmQ

For something like this, I can actually see the value of owning a token that represents "the original". And when the artwork is on-chain, this claim can be easily verified so long as the author immediately puts its on the chain: the one and only "true" NFT for it is the one that is the oldest in blockchain history.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#552

Post by rednerrus »

blurbleblurble wrote: post #544

There's a missing perspective in a lot of these comments: some people like to support artists and aren't that naive when it comes to "buying NFTs". They see stuff they like and want to support the creator. That's also an aspect of this. Some fraction of the art NFT space is people literally investing directly in artists with the possibility of getting a return on investment, but not necessarily an expectation of that…

Wouldn't it benefit everyone if you actually purchase something, even if it's just the rights to something?

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#553

Post by dmarcos »

Buttons840 wrote: post #539
dmarcos wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No infrastructure in venues integrating NFTs but it’s no different than a traditional ticket. Your NFT could have an associated QR code read at the door. In case of conflict there’s only one owner with access to the associated wallet and will be able to proof ownership via app / website…

Someone could make an app that only shows a QR code for NFTs you own. Someone else could make an app that shows QR codes for NFTs they don't own. I suppose your right that it usually wouldn't matter, but in case of conflict you better be prepared to sign something with your private key. If NFTs make most of society familiar with public and private keys, message signing, etc, it will be a win.

A QR code is a number too and not a very large one. Small enough I think to fit on-chain in the tokenURI field of an ERC721 contract. Not eve need of ipfs or arweave to store an image.

Yep, if someone else tries to access with your ticket you can always sign with your wallet somewhere to resolve the conflict.

We will probably see crypto wallets integrated in our phones and associated OSs pretty soon to make everything smooth.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#554

Post by jcelerier »

user-the-name wrote: post #403
miracle2k wrote: post #354

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If I understand correctly, an NFT is like if someone, not necessarily Warhol himself. No, the point is that the NFT is from the artist themselves.

It is not. Nothing about an NFT ensures it is from the artist, and not just from someone random scammer.

I mean, yes, but if you buy a painting you have the exact same issue no ?

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#555

Post by int_19h »

Traster wrote: post #521
int_19h wrote: post #512

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you can split NFT tokens and e.g. resell them separately?

Oh do I have a scam for you! So, no, obviously you can't divide an NFT, but what you can do is create a new fungible token (or smart contract not sure about the exact details) that represents partial ownership of the NFT. So you can issue 1000 of these fungible tokens that represent partial ownership of the NFT.

The whole thing feels like some kind of postmodernist performance art about property and ownership.

Actually, come to think of it, maybe that's a great idea. If people ask questions about NFTs, they might start asking more questions about intellectual property as well, and ultimately about property rights in general. In a sense, NFT is the ultimate absentee property - it's impossible to use or occupy. It's a title to itself.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#556

Post by tantalor »

I think of NFT as scrip; substitutes for money like gift cards, Disney Dollars, or Itchy & Scratchy Money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Dollars

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dErRj6V8_xQ

You can buy them with money and maybe redeem for goods/service where accepted. Or convert back to money by selling to some other sucker, probably at a loss.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#557

Post by blurbleblurble »

rednerrus wrote: post #552
blurbleblurble wrote: post #544

There's a missing perspective in a lot of these comments: some people like to support artists and aren't that naive when it comes to "buying NFTs". They see stuff they like and want to support the creator. That's also an aspect of this. Some fraction of the art NFT space is people literally investing directly in artists with the possibility of getting a return on investment, but not necessarily an expectation of that…

Wouldn't it benefit everyone if you actually purchase something, even if it's just the rights to something?

You are quite actually purchasing time and food for the artist to make more art.

That said I am interested in the possibility of NFTs being linked to a key that decrypts some openly licensed content or source files. I think that'd be really cool.

NFTs that sell art into the public domain.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#558

Post by jboy55 »

jrochkind1 wrote: post #542
BiteCode_dev wrote: post #446

NFT always felt ridiculous to me, but I though I understood the mechanism: "it's like baseball cards but in the blockchain". This week I learned it's not. NFT are Non Fungible Tokens, which means tokens that can't be divided, unlike crypto currencies like Bitcoin that can be divided in Satoshis. So you exchange the totality of it, or not. Basically it's a unique number in the blockchain you change ownership by applyi…

Did the early days of the internet have as much scams and money-laundering in the mix? Not in my neck of the early days of the internet woods.

The early days of online payments (paypal) maybe. Unless they're talking about usenet selling, in which case I don't remember it being 'thrilling' to get a money order in the mail.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#559

Post by tomtato »

BiteCode_dev wrote: post #446

NFT always felt ridiculous to me, but I though I understood the mechanism: "it's like baseball cards but in the blockchain". This week I learned it's not. NFT are Non Fungible Tokens, which means tokens that can't be divided, unlike crypto currencies like Bitcoin that can be divided in Satoshis. So you exchange the totality of it, or not. Basically it's a unique number in the blockchain you change ownership by applyi…

There are certainly a chunk of NFTs that the media only exists on one centralized server somewhere. Someone forgets to pay the bill and poof there goes your art. You can download the image but the contract's `tokenUri` function still points to that old location.

Then the next tier up would store their media on IPFS, if you purchase the NFT you're expected to be responsible for pinning that IPFS content somewhere. That's not communicated too well though. The benefit there is if the original minter stops paying for IPFS hosting but you still have yours pinned, it's still available. I think most of the "Mint as a service" platforms will use IPFS by default.

Then there are projects that are storing the images entirely on chain. These are obviously more costly to create but don't require another service/protocol/platform.

Re: NFT projects are just MLMs for tech elites

#560

Post by leifg »

The best comparison for NFTs I heard was the comparison with buying a star or a piece of land on the moon.

There are multiple providers that sell you various areas of space. But in the end it’s just a piece of paper that grants you nothing. Yes you can brag to your friends that you own a giant piece of land on the moon with earth view but not only is that pretty useless it also doesn’t matter ever. Because if the moon is ever colonized you won’t be able to claim the said land just because some private company said you own it.

When talking about NFTs I often hear that somehow ownership rights are attached to it. Which is only true if the rightful owner of the art explicitly states that ownership is defined by “whoever has access to the private key”.

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