money

Dear Si,

>what would help me would be an online character database to which
>income was automatically added and to which i could input purchases
>and deductions. it would also let refs keep track of characters and
>kit, especially special items.
>
>would this be so hard to do?

Not really, no. The web design/html aspect is more
time-consuming (for me) than the php/mysql interface.

>players need only update their records when they did stuff that
>changed their possession list - which they'd need to record somewhere
>anyway. maybe advanture refs could do this for saturday characters?

Login Module
Event Sign-Up Module
Character Database Module
Money/Possessions Module
Skills Module
Gallery Module

>nathan started a character database a couple of years ago
> beginning of such a good thing...

Tim's written quite a lot of one as well.

It hasn't happened so far because:
(i) Not a great deal of incentive for the person who'd give up
their time. Nor much to complete it once you've done a bit of work.
Can't think of effective incentives - perhaps people should make more
of an effort to be impressed when someone does something for the web
page?
(ii) PHP isn't object-oriented, so it's not as if someone else
can walk in and pick up where the last person left off. I'll have to
check Tim's PHP and see if he's commented it all now.
(iii) To do it properly, you should take a decent amount of
time to design it (so that you don't have to rehaul it all in a year's
time when everyone's taking money in a different currency type).
However, the longer you spend scribbling on bits of paper, the less
likely you are to knock out a working prototype.

Bored summer job for someone.
Marios
 >> Stay informed about: money 

The system this ref team has tried to go for (we've not got it how we
wanted it, but at least there is money now) is just physrep based. More
hands-off by the refs, but ultimately if a character can produce the
physreps for something, they get it. It's a bit of a trust-based system
(we trust players not to transfer money between characters), but refs
keeping total track of money is very hard. Items, items are a different
matter.

Our main problem at the moment is that we can't get ID-card sized
lammies and we've looked everywhere. I was hoping Tim could get us some
from DSU but he hasn't reported back yet.
 >> Stay informed about: money 

Incentive: pay....

Marcus


---
"Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage."
 >> Stay informed about: money 

A hands-off system is nice, but the money system as it stands requires an
extremely hands-on presence.

An online system of handling transactions (see the maelstrom kit buying
system for character creation) would take all the downtime spending work
off the refs, and would allow characters to walk into the bar with the kit
they can afford... it'd still be based on trust, but it would have a far
more formal backing.

As for transactions within the bar, I'd say go back to using the IOU
chits... they make transactions easier than the paper money.

What it amounts to is that with a money system in place, the ref team have
to be the bank. It'd be easier to manage by cheques and online banking
than by transfer of paper money and the refs thus having little idea of
how much money their characters actually have...

And cheques (chits) would take away all that work of handing out money
before an interactive.

Marcus

---
"Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage."
 >> Stay informed about: money 

Dear Marcus,

>Incentive: pay....

The society can't pay enough to make it worthwhile - certainly
not compared to knocking that sort of website for a company.
Marios
 >> Stay informed about: money 

Marcus Rich wrote:
> A hands-off system is nice, but the money system as it stands requires an
> extremely hands-on presence.
>
> An online system of handling transactions (see the maelstrom kit buying
> system for character creation) would take all the downtime spending work
> off the refs, and would allow characters to walk into the bar with the kit
> they can afford... it'd still be based on trust, but it would have a far
> more formal backing.
>
> As for transactions within the bar, I'd say go back to using the IOU
> chits... they make transactions easier than the paper money.
>
But isn't an iou chit just a piece of paper?

> What it amounts to is that with a money system in place, the ref team have
> to be the bank. It'd be easier to manage by cheques and online banking
> than by transfer of paper money and the refs thus having little idea of
> how much money their characters actually have...

As has been said if you have the phys rep then you have the money. If
you want to shank anither of your characters over by taking money from
them to give to another of your characters then who loses out?

> And cheques (chits) would take away all that work of handing out money
> before an interactive.
>

Also how do you enforce agaianst the bouncing of chits? Certain
individuals may be tempted to giove out chits for amounts which they
don't have and who wants to fight over imaginary money? Also we, the ref
team, think that your all old enough to know how to handle your own
finances.
 >> Stay informed about: money 

Managing our finances would be easier if we all understood how it works,
and how much money we have.

Marcus

---
"Pride is all very well, but a sausage is a sausage."
 >> Stay informed about: money 

Marcus Rich wrote:
> Managing our finances would be easier if we all understood how it works,
> and how much money we have.
>

Well you hand over money and receive goods in return...
 >> Stay informed about: money