(This builds on my previous post, Choosing CC software 2009)
Today I released version 2.0 of my mutual credit module for Drupal. In the mania of recent weeks it has become clear to me that national currency backed currencies and mutual credit each imply different values, accounting standards, security, and features, and require different kinds of software to do it. My offering is clearly intended to meet the needs of the latter.
Currencies which can be converted to national currencies require both banking-grade security, and compatibility with the banking networks in order to convert the money in and out. In fact there is only one open source package suitable for this. It is Cyclos, There are new projects in that space, as I have blogged before about the Geneva Engine, and there's another one, The Open Bank Project. This kind of software is by nature expensive to create, and difficult to set up and manage, and for small scale projects, totally inappropriate.
Cyclos in particular is criticised for its poor GUI, and lack of interoperability with other systems, and while these and other issues may be addressed in the long awaited Cyclos 4, there are fears that it won't be compatible with Cyclos 3. No-one dares to move without a public commitment from STRO.
For the lightweight systems, the LETS, the timebanks, and the lightweight B2B barter systems, many attempts have been made, and many one-off systems produced, but IMHO only my Drupal module is the only general solution at the moment. It doesn't support things like transaction types and account types, but the big advantage is that the software is supported on many levels, is extremely extensible, is completely skinnable, has a large pool of available developers, and a solidly growing user base including Timebanks USA and Community Forge which is building a community (initially from Belgium) of users and experts who want to see this software succeed.
Outside of these two choices, I don't see any other options. CES will give hosted systems, but its software isn't suitable for other projects. The Fourth Corner Exchange software may be easier to set up and maintain, since it is a lightweight php/mysql application, but it is ancient. There is a plethora of other software designed to serve specific, and usually esoteric currency models, like Ripple, but the only other competitor in the field is GETS which runs commercial barter systems, and is not open source, or extensible.
My suggestion to the world at large then, while Drupal is strong and CC resources are weak, is to use my module! In so far as we can coordinate on this we can push forward together and diversify later. With Drupal 7 I am building a whole CC ecosystem, with public APIs which will allow other software components to specialise later. From now I shall be blogging about the Drupal 7 module as I add the features. Resources are coming available to support volunteers, if you know anyone who wants to join in.
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