JTcom
Newbie
- Jan 4, 2019
- 5
- 0
So I have been tossing around the idea of an anonymized message board for a while now in various places including Bitcointalk. In addition, I’ve gone ahead and built one and it’s called Giantbay. Which is currently a desktop application that allows users to participate in standard forum activities but with a dash of Reddit. In a sense that users can also create new message boards, subscribe to threads and search for items on Ebay as well as bid on them with any platform-supported cryptocurrency.
My goals going forward are mostly technical in that there are certain minor features that still need implementing. Obvious things, like actually converting the supported currencies to fiat for price referencing. Which is to say:
Joe wants to buy a rare pair of shoes off Ebay with X amount of Bitcoin. So he deposits that amount into Giantbay first. He knows the shoes are on Ebay but can simply search for them on the platform and get their price in Bitcoin, which in turn, will be visible alongside its USD (etc) conversion.
The entire stack was written in 98% good old ANSI C and about 2% R. The current user interface is entirely a TUI or ”text-user interface” which is something the older members here may remember from the good old days of BBS’
Which brings me to my first problem. Modernization of the platform.
I would LOVE to keep this thing niche and based on a CLI as this allows for extremely quick iterations and you bet I intend to maintain this version for the purest of hearts. But I know what year it is and what needs to be done.
That said, instead of focusing on the web I’m jumping straight to mobile and toward a more polished look for desktop. But yes there will still be a web-based landing page containing additional information and downloads.
Now we are on to the fun part, FAQs!
Why build this?
I was very content to just have a message board that allowed for crypto transactions but the use for that seems limited. This is the closest next useful application of that technology that was fairly easy to accomplish. It’s also easier to explain than what I had.
How long did this take to build?
Four years and I really don’t like to talk about them.
Why Ebay?
It’s in the name and they made it easiest.
Can I try this?
You could if I had a real server to run the back-end from. Right now this is restricted to close friends and partners. Oh wait, I’ve been in a cave for four years. But seriously, I’d like to continue running tests for security purposes. And get this up on something functional before I make even the CLI builds public.
What’s next?
I need to raise around 0.65BTC to seed this and looking for suggestions. The idea of any sort of ICO is ridiculous and high-maintenance in that regard. Unfortunately, raising any Bitcoin outside of that context is next to impossible for a nerd like me. Despite my minor PR background. So I should build a team to help out with this right? Except that suddenly increases costs and I’m just looking to build a small, viable and useful platform. Just tech, no bullshit.
Ask me anything else and I’ll respond.
My goals going forward are mostly technical in that there are certain minor features that still need implementing. Obvious things, like actually converting the supported currencies to fiat for price referencing. Which is to say:
Joe wants to buy a rare pair of shoes off Ebay with X amount of Bitcoin. So he deposits that amount into Giantbay first. He knows the shoes are on Ebay but can simply search for them on the platform and get their price in Bitcoin, which in turn, will be visible alongside its USD (etc) conversion.
The entire stack was written in 98% good old ANSI C and about 2% R. The current user interface is entirely a TUI or ”text-user interface” which is something the older members here may remember from the good old days of BBS’
Which brings me to my first problem. Modernization of the platform.
I would LOVE to keep this thing niche and based on a CLI as this allows for extremely quick iterations and you bet I intend to maintain this version for the purest of hearts. But I know what year it is and what needs to be done.
That said, instead of focusing on the web I’m jumping straight to mobile and toward a more polished look for desktop. But yes there will still be a web-based landing page containing additional information and downloads.
Now we are on to the fun part, FAQs!
Why build this?
I was very content to just have a message board that allowed for crypto transactions but the use for that seems limited. This is the closest next useful application of that technology that was fairly easy to accomplish. It’s also easier to explain than what I had.
How long did this take to build?
Four years and I really don’t like to talk about them.
Why Ebay?
It’s in the name and they made it easiest.
Can I try this?
You could if I had a real server to run the back-end from. Right now this is restricted to close friends and partners. Oh wait, I’ve been in a cave for four years. But seriously, I’d like to continue running tests for security purposes. And get this up on something functional before I make even the CLI builds public.
What’s next?
I need to raise around 0.65BTC to seed this and looking for suggestions. The idea of any sort of ICO is ridiculous and high-maintenance in that regard. Unfortunately, raising any Bitcoin outside of that context is next to impossible for a nerd like me. Despite my minor PR background. So I should build a team to help out with this right? Except that suddenly increases costs and I’m just looking to build a small, viable and useful platform. Just tech, no bullshit.
Ask me anything else and I’ll respond.
