[cap-talk] Capability accounting

[Sandro Magi]

Norman Hardy wrote:
> On Jun 25, 2006, at 5:15 PM, Sandro Magi wrote:
>   
>> I think the problem, is that metered resources like water and
>> electricity have:
>>
>> 1. sufficiently course-grained controls, power switches and  
>> faucets, so
>> the user can mentally track/estimate how much these resources were
>> actually used (should he so choose).
>>
>> 2. sufficiently stable, or at least slowly-varying, prices (so there's
>> no shocking "surprise" after the fact).
>>     
>
> If prices had actually risen during the recent California power
> crises it would have been less painful than the blackouts.
> Since the PUC has a reaction time expressed in years instead of minutes
> we had blackouts, which is like the price going to infinity.
>   

I agree. My goal is that the user's expectation of the price be aligned 
with reality. Stable prices like electricity only change during 
disasters or are at least widely publicized, so users will be informed 
of price changes and can change their habits accordingly. My point was 
that the user stay informed; stable prices are merely one way.

If I were notified that the comic I was about to view was 10c instead of 
3c as I originall supposed, then that would also achieve the goal. But 
as Nick Szabo pointed out, the mental transaction costs may outweigh the 
benefits of staying informed.

Sandro