Scoring the Billion Hero Challenge

Thanks to community feedback, we've continued to refine the Billion Hero Challenge - especially how the winner will be chosen and some possible rule refinements. Nothing is final yet, but we continue the discussion here.

Recall that the Billion Hero Challenge is where we give away a billion dollars worth of BitShares to twelve good causes at the end of a grueling competition to raise awareness of the BitShares network and its flagship new HERO - honest money for a superconductive new global financial system.

First and foremost, we would like the contest to be open to anyone - no purchase necessary - and be able to bypass limitations in current on/off ramps that make it challenging for noobs to get started. Further, we want to encourage everyone to learn about all the things you can do with the BitShares platform - the more you learn, the more influential you become in choosing how the prize money is awarded.

Another desirement is to be able to grow the ways you can gain influence throughout the contest without changing the contest rules in mid-stream. The rules have to remain fixed and consistent while the ways you can participate is able to freely grow as our own ability to think up and implement them grows.

This sounds like a job for a special-purpose game token!

Enter the FREEro.

The FREEro works exactly like a HERO except it is not backed by anything other than the right to influence who the contest winners are. You get a bunch for just registering an account. You get more for registering for our newsletter. As training activities are completed, you get FREEros for that. We'd like to hear more ideas for all the ways to earn points and training tasks that should be developed. In many cases, you can use FREEros instead of HEROs to try out features with little risk.

I suspect that a market might develop where you can trade your FREEros for HEROs or vice versa. I wonder what value FREEros might have as the contest progresses?

Of course, we want all user types to be incentivized, not just the rare savvy HERO-shorting speculators. So ownership of FREEros, HEROs and BTS should also count in some weighted way. Naturally, those who serve humanity by borrowing HEROs into existence using their own BTS collateral will have the most influence on the final score. But, we might even throw in course credit for holders of BROWNIE.PTS. They've already attended the School of Hard Knocks back in the Day, and shouldn't have to take the entry level training all over again.

But vast populations with little wealth can band together to win something for their cause - by sheer numbers alone. No purchase necessary.

Figuring out the right weighting for all this is critical. So I'd like to hear everyone's opinion about it.

"Void where prohibited - no purchase necessary - your actual mileage may vary!"

Cheers!

Stan Larimer, President
Cryptonomex
The Godfather of BitShares and the Sovereign Hero

Key Links to Heroic Content

Here are some of the best links for inquiring about us:

The Original HERO Definition Post - “The Hero from BitShares Island"
The HERO from BitShares Island

The Billion Hero Challenge Announcement
The Billion Hero Challenge

The Avant Garde Magazine Special Issue
Will Bitcoin Survive the HERO?

The Video
By far the best resource for new people is our “TED Talk” in front of a live studio audience in Hollywood. Everyone (that we respect) loves it for some reason. There is no better way to know all about us in one sitting.

Tutorials on How to Participate
How to Join the Hero Challenge as a Leader and Participant
Borrow HERO and Short It!

The Marketing Campaign Behind the Billion Hero Challenge

Key Web Sites
BitShares.org - Features of BitShares Overview
SovereignHero.com - A collection of information about the Hero currency offered on the BitShares platform.
The Hero Story - Nice Summary on one Web Page
Fabian's Heroic Wiki - Great documentation
Cryptofresh's Heroic Stats
Telegram Group of Heroic Proportions

Contrarian Articles - Risks, Special Case and Exceptions
Will HERO work or can you brute force the free market?
Who will pay the interest on HERO?

Elevator Speech
It's all about Honest Money. The hero is a stable, fast, appreciating market pegged asset that is backed by the equity of the platform which manages it. No counter party risk like other currencies backed by government debt or gold that may or may not be in a vault. And it grows, by definition, by 5% APR against the dollar. The Hero is borrowed into existence by someone who uses BTS as collateral - like a home equity loan uses your house as collateral. Except you can sell, trade, spend or hold the Hero like a coin.