Phew, just emerged from the most intensive gathering of CC practitioners. It was part of the GICC, a project run by Gill Seyfang. I won't recount all that took place but i think the official deliverable was well met, and a host of good advice was collected and I look forward to its dissemination.
I have a much better idea of what Cyclos does, after finally having sat down with a member of the team. And consequently I now better understand the role that the mutual credit module for Drupal has to play.
Cyclos is a really interesting accounting package designed to run complex complementary currency systems. It supports multiple currencies, multiple groups, and multiple business rules all working interoperably. It supports the issuance of numbered notes, and swipe cards, and many other features. It is well suited to top down projects which are complex and expensive and emphasise the economy over the community. The problem is that the software development is aimed very specifically at the projects of STRO, the parent system, and consequently, many have tried to use it, but not so many have succeeded. Over time a range of features have been added, but they don't compete with what people expect from a modern web system.
Drupal and the mutual credit module has a great niche with Timebanks and LETS which have much simpler business rules and need to be cheaper and simpler to set up. It is also useful as a component in a community application which does many more things than just accounting. It is better suited for grass roots projects which are simpler, cheaper and emphasise community building over economic growth and business participation.
But what if we could have the best of both worlds? What if there was a bridge between Drupal and Cyclos?
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