Poll of the Day > I don't understand these NFT things

(+) Yeah! (+)

Crypto I understand, that makes sense. But NFTs look like a scam to me? Like owning physical art, that makes sense to me. How do you own a piece of art that is 100% digital and can be copied essentially infinite times? How does that possibly have value? And I can buy an NFT on a piece of art, flip the art change one color, and make a new NFT on it? I don't get it. And the prices for these things are outrageous. Millions of dollars for gifs and videos that can be copied for free?

Am I crazy or are the people buying these things crazy?

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Youre basically buying the certificate of authenticity for something without actually owning any rights to it.

So it has value as long as enough other people agree that it has value. Same way with a lot of things actually.

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Mead posted...

Youre basically buying the certificate of authenticity for something without actually owning any rights to it.

This, it's a super simple concept. Just like cash, it's a symbol with an agreed value between those who trade it.
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imagine a token that can never grow fungus. thats the basic idea

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papercup posted...

But NFTs look like a scam to me?

That's because its a scam.

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NFTs seem to serve the same purpose as real art by allowing rich people a way to legally launder their money.

While anyone can see the token and its contents, they are like collector's items

PMarth2002 posted...

That's because its a scam.

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do pokemon cards have any intrinsic value? most people would say no. there are some people that would say that certain cards are rarer or more valuable for whatever reason so they are assigned an arbitrary value based on others' shared interest in pokemon cards.

same thing with these NFTs. unless I'm grossly oversimplifying it, they're like trading cards...just without the physical aspect. You own a unique digital item (though there may be several copies of it made by the same producer) but you only own that item itself. You don't own any copyrights or licenses to use the product. Just like owning a holographic Charizard is nothing more than owning a holographic Charizard. You can't really do anything with it other than say "hey look at what I have!" and hope that people think it's something worth owning.

It's a scam. You're not even buying the art or any actual rights over the art, you're just buying a certificate of ownership for the art that comes with no real privileges.

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Blightzkrieg posted...

It's a scam. You're not even buying the art or any actual rights over the art, you're just buying a certificate of ownership for the art that comes with no real privileges.

which is what makes it a NFT

it isnt a scam, its just an option to purchase bragging rights

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They can have a purpose in video games. Cosmetics or even OP items.

sodium-chloride posted...

do pokemon cards have any intrinsic value? most people would say no. there are some people that would say that certain cards are rarer or more valuable for whatever reason so they are assigned an arbitrary value based on others' shared interest in pokemon cards.

I disagree, most would say Pokemon cards DO have value. First edition holo Charizard has value because Charizard is a popular character, and the card itself was rare. And the number of unopened packs from that era decreased dramatically in the past year from youtubers and streamers like Arin Grump, Logan Paul and aDrive. Thus the value of these old cards exploded. Demand is high, and supply will only decrease, so the value increases. And modern day Pokemon cards STILL have value. People actually play the card game, and different cards and decks are intrinsically more valuable to competitive players and collectors than other cards and decks, because they're more useful, thus increasing your odds of winning a tournament. And even if a card isn't useful, like Shiny Charizard, people still want it, because Shiny Charizard is a black, fire breathing dragon, and that's fucking metal as fuck bro. I collect Pokemon cards, and I have pulled cards that I know for a fact are sought after and thus have value.

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Mead posted...

which is what makes it a NFT

it isnt a scam, its just an option to purchase bragging rights

How is a fake certificate of ownership not a scam?

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papercup posted...

Crypto I understand, that makes sense. But NFTs look like a scam to me?

They're the same thing. Digital coin you own or a digital video you own. Both are just collectors items.

PMarth2002 posted...

How is a fake certificate of ownership not a scam?

well it isnt a fake certificate for one thing, and it doesnt claim that you have ownership of the piece of media

it merely shows that you are the person that purchased the NFT or bragging rights to be the owner of the NFT attached to a particular thing or event

people are well within their rights to think NFTs are dumb and I certainly dont think I would ever want to purchase one, but for it to be a scam there would have to be some group going out of their way to trick people into thinking NFTs are gonna go up in value over time or that theyll be able to use them for something

But its really in the name. Non fungible token. They are telling you upfront that it isnt something that is an investment or meant to be traded for other things like currency or a valuable commodity. Its literally just something someone could purchase to show off to others that signifies how much they like something and what they were willing to pay to show it.

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Mead posted...

but for it to be a scam there would have to be some group going out of their way to trick people into thinking NFTs are gonna go up in value over time or that theyll be able to use them for something

This is absolutely happening

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Zareth posted...

This is absolutely happening

Then those groups or individuals are totally scammers, but that doesnt make NFTs themselves a scam

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Okay actually, thinking of it like a Pokemon card, now I think I kind of get it. But it's still weird to me.

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hypothetically, they could create TMs as NFTs and import them into the game, and have them burned on use.

Collector set of armor for WoW or another MMO.

These tokens can also be used for things like digital contracts and certificates

Yes, the art world has caught on, and it seems like a lot of money is flying around. Art dealers and collectors are always spending money on art, and this is a new medium, so once it caught on it caught on quickly as the new thing. Interest has already began to fall from the initial hype, but NFTs aren't going anywhere.

think of it as a pokemon card that uses more energy than many small countries to create and maintain

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PMarth2002 posted...

That's because its a scam.

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papercup posted...

Okay actually, thinking of it like a Pokemon card, now I think I kind of get it. But it's still weird to me.

It is weird but I really can't see how it's that much different than anything people just collect (sports cards, pokemon cards, art, posters, video games). Sure there is probably some intrinsic value for stuff like coins and stamps but otherwise it's really the quality, rarity, and supply/demand that makes these things valuable. NFTs just seem like a digital form of this, kind of like character or gun model skins you can get from loot boxes or outright buy.

Idk it's all weird to me but hopefully this makes sense because this is how I view it. If anyone knowledgeable on this thinks otherwise I'd love to learn more.

It's a scam.
Technically all of crypto is a scam, but this is especially scummy.
Think of it as even more scummy than people selling Pokemon cards for over $20,000 each.

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From what I understand: Someone could make an NFT for something that they don't... own?

shadowsword87 posted...

From what I understand: Someone could make an NFT for something that they don't... own?

This has already been done iirc

NFTs have nothing to do with actual ownership

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For example, you can't own a Twitter Post, as it's data that is stirred on twitter's server.

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I'm holding auctions for NFTs of every post in this thread if anyone's interested.

papercup posted...

Am I crazy or are the people buying these things crazy?

I don't really get it either, but there are some weird concepts nowadays.

sodium-chloride posted...

do pokemon cards have any intrinsic value? most people would say no. there are some people that would say that certain cards are rarer or more valuable for whatever reason so they are assigned an arbitrary value based on others' shared interest in pokemon cards.

That's physical ownership based on scarcity.

sodium-chloride posted...

same thing with these NFTs.

Literally nothing alike because, again, those cards involve physical ownership. In that way Pokemon cards are no different than gold, precious gems, and everything else people value. NFTs aren't even the equivalent of owning a copyright or trademark, because you don't enjoy exclusive use of the thing.

Blightzkrieg posted...

It's a scam. You're not even buying the art or any actual rights over the art, you're just buying a certificate of ownership for the art that comes with no real privileges.

It's rare for me to say Blight is right about something, but yeah, basically this. There are no real advantages and therefore no value. The person with the certificate has as much ownership as somebody who claims to own the thing.

Judgmenl posted... Technically all of crypto is a scam,

Crypto is sketchy, but ultimately it's a form of currency and, like any other currency, operates so long as people have faith in it and agree to use it. Even fiat currencies could become worthless if people lost faith in the currency and stopped using it.

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^lol

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Physical art is inherently worthless too. You can copy the mona lisa as much as you want and have the same picture. Hell people can recreate paintings practically stroke for stroke. But there's a practically intangible allure of owning the original I suppose in the same way as an NFT.

I would never buy an NFT for the same reason I would never spend an absurd amount of money on 'authentic' art. I don't have whatever it is in me that desires the original.

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Mead posted...

it has value as long as enough other people agree that it has value

This is the sticking point for me. People agree cash has value out of necessity. People agree goods have value out of utility. Many things weren't considered valuable until they met a set of conditions where they were both rare and people started to take it upon themselves to preserve the examples they had access to. Why would anyone think these have value?

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SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Why would anyone think these have value?

because as long as people keep buying them, they will kinda have value, the people purchasing them are validating them with their purchase

who knows maybe theyll just be some weird fad, but I feel like the idea is here to stay

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SKARDAVNELNATE posted...

Why would anyone think these have value?

Capitalism. Anything that can be commodified will be. Pokemon cards have no utility value, but they can still be worth money. Same goes for NFTs or any other thing that people collect for the sake of collecting.

Smarkil posted...

Physical art is inherently worthless too. You can copy the mona lisa as much as you want and have the same picture. Hell people can recreate paintings practically stroke for stroke. But there's a practically intangible allure of owning the original I suppose in the same way as an NFT.

But it's not the same picture, and even skilled forgers can't perfectly replicate a piece of art. But all that aside, you still have physical ownership. You're not just saying "Oh, well, I own that!" which any other schlub who also doesn't have physical ownership could say.

Smarkil posted...

I would never buy an NFT for the same reason I would never spend an absurd amount of money on 'authentic' art. I don't have whatever it is in me that desires the original.

I would have very different reasons for not buying those two things. In the case of a NFT, it's because the ownership claim is literally meaningless. In the case of an expensive authentic piece of art, there's nothing I want that badly although at least with that I see the appeal and you have clear re-sale value. NFTs remind me of those scams where people were selling parcels of land on the moon, when the claim is every bit as worthless and virtual.

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I mean I spent a hundred bucks on a comic book once

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