“If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.” — Alexander Hamilton

OpenBazaar Moderators acting like Bitcoin Miners

The most difficult part of any decentralized network is to find ways of securing it and reducing fraud when no one person or institution can control or influence the outcome. With bitcoin, there are miners who compete with one another to earn the reward for ensuring the accuracy of the shared ledger, with OpenBazaar (OB) the moderators will compete with one another to promote honesty between buyers and sellers and earn fees for securing the network by being the third party if any disputes arise. While impossible to have a perfect system where absolutely no fraud takes place, the moderators and user reviews will play in important part in making it as safe as possible to use.

Why use a Moderator?

Using a moderator gives both buyer and seller peace of mind knowing that if a problem arises at least there is someone they can plead their case to in order to protect them from dishonest users. For buyers, it is especially important because by using bitcoin there is no way to reverse the transaction so it is essentially like buying something on Craigslist from a complete stranger in another part of the world and mailing them cash beforereceiving the products. Personally, I have wanted to buy from various vendors on OB, but since they were unwilling to add a moderator I did not go through with the purchase for this reason alone. Adding a third party to settle disputes can boost confidence in buyers and lead to more sales for your store. Solving the dispute resolution issue is going to be the most important step in making this platform a success and the best way to solve all the issues will be through trial and error and letting the market come up with solutions, so working through these issues early on will help the network grow faster and reduce bad user experiences that could deter people from using OB in the future.

The Uber of Customer Service: Becoming a Moderator

Anyone can be a moderator and set up their own unique business to fit their goals and expectations and see if they can find customers that find value in what they are offering. With OB, if the transaction goes according to plan there is no fee to use the platform unlike when using something like Ebay. The only time a fee is taken out is when there is some problem in the transaction and then a preselected moderator looks at any evidence and decides, to the best of their knowledge, who was the bad actor (if any)and acts accordingly to best mitigate the situation and then earns a predetermined fee in exchange for their service.

There is no limit to the variety of specialties or business models that could be offered in terms of fee structure, product or service knowledge and many other skills that set them apart from other moderators. This could be a great opportunity for people with experience with other ecommerce platforms, previous work in customer service or have specialized knowledge in any number of related products or services that are sold on OB. Being a self employed moderator could also be a great opportunity for people who work from home or have a physical disability that restricts the jobs they can do or the number of hours they are able to work and provide them with a new stream of income.

While I’m excited to see all the various products and services sold on OB, I feel the most interesting aspect will be how the moderation market will play out and the new business models and opportunities that it will create. With infinite possibilities, it is logical to conclude that eventually the most efficient ways of doing ecommerce will be discovered over time as we figure out the best fee market for large or small transactions, digital or physical goods, white, grey or black market merchandise and what moderators and vendors are trustworthy and provide the best service. It will be fascinating to watch and be apart of this experiment as a whole new online peer to peer system of trade is attempted for the first time in history and without fair and effective moderators the road ahead will be much more difficult. Come join the fun! Free the market! Free the World!

If you have any questions or critiques join the discussion at: https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenBazaar/comments/5vjbtx/openbazaar_everything_in_moderation/