News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Wikipedia Editors Have Voted Not to Classify NFTs as Art, Sparking Outrage. Parent comment

Re:Wikipedia Editors Have Voted Not to Classify NFTs as Art,... by version_five on Friday January 14, 2022 @07:11PM (#29942225)
There is a distinction for multilevel marketing schemes, I believe, that basically says if the majority of the incentive structure is about signing up new people, then it's still a pyramid scheme, even if some token product changes hands.

The law isn't there yet, but NFTs are analogous: There is some putative "art" involved, but it's basically variations of ponzi or pump-and-dump where the value comes from convincing people that the value will be higher later. The fact that something (generously) tangible is involved does not alter the nature of the scheme.

So for that reason, they are not art, the same way some phone card pyramid scheme is not a sales business.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Wikipedia Editors Have Voted Not to Classify NFTs as Art,... by aufhebung on Friday January 14, 2022 @07:20PM (#29942288)
When we say pyramid schemes are not sales businesses, or NFTs are not art, I think we sneak value judgements into what should be objective definitions. If we were to have a definition of a sales business in the dictionary, it would not read: 'A business based around sales. Except for pyramid schemes because they are bad.'
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Wikipedia Editors Have Voted Not to Classify NFTs as Art,... by antifa on Friday January 14, 2022 @11:02PM (#29943411)
The pyramid scheme allegory was bad.

A non value judgement allegory would be receipts. Receipts are not art. You can have art of a receipt, you can make a receipt into art, but receipts are categorically not art.

NFTs are basically digital receipts.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Wikipedia Editors Have Voted Not to Classify NFTs as Art,... by BoiledCabbage on Friday January 14, 2022 @08:34PM (#29942731)
Except the real world is messy and doesn't fall into the perfectly neat definitions like the algorithmic or mathematical world does.
[ Parent | on HN ]