3) Codes expire and get recycled, yes?


I think the codes should be long enough so that we keep creating them
and never have to recycle.


Why? For programming reasons? For ease of use in a particular case?

With 5 characters, that's probably enough (11,881,376), and with 7 definitely enough (8,031,810,176) to never repeat on that network.

Would it save processor energy on the router? Or maybe it would fill up memory on the router?


I think it would be easier if you don't have to keep track of expired vouchers, but I guess it's question for the coders.





    7) When a voucher expires, keep the code reserved in the system for
    10% of the time it was valid, in case the person wants to renew the
    voucher. Examples:
    -- A 1 hour voucher of a library/ciber visitor expires, and they
    have a 6-minute grace period to request another hour on their
    voucher. The admin interface makes extending the voucher easy.
    -- A 1 month voucher has a 3-day grace period. The device doesn't
    have access once the voucher expires, but renewing is easy: the
    admin doesn't have to create a new voucher, and the person doesn't
    have to enter a new code.


Are you thinking of an online payment system to get the vouchers? Then
perhaps the access to the merchant page could be always open (filter by
domain). Or the merchant page could be in the captive portal, which is
always accessible.

Money in Caimito is all cash, with an occasional check, and no cards or online payment so far. I can imagine some tourists paying by card or some online system if it were available. Some (maybe most) of the people here don't even have bank accounts (beyond the Caimito community bank). I can imagine a community currency being created and used to pay for Internet access.



Yes, most of the communities I work with will use cash instead of plastic. I just got curious because if that is the case, how can you extend the voucher just by the admin interface? The user will go physically to the admin and pay him? I was thinking more of the case where the admin might not be available, and it will be faster for the user to get a new voucher from a local shop. I think it's very interesting to understand the different scenarios of community networks.

A community currency would be awesome, and I wonder how can the local network be a facilitator for it -  blockchains running on routers?






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