After some months working privately with agent based Altruism and Cooperation models, I am working towards initiating an experiment with with a small number regional and continental participants in creating a balanced donation and distribution system.

The system is fairly simple:

Participants list what they need, and fill mutual needs. Each person maintains a “reputation” that is based on a “thank you” that is received from the person they have donated to. A tracking system monitors the “carrying capacity” of donations. “thank you” assignments to participants are monitored, and so too are receipts of donations. Optionally, each participant may also register their own satisfaction with the system as a whole.

Total satisfaction, plus a “thank you” (which is seen in the system as individual satisfaction with what is donated) compared against satisfactory receipt of donations (where you “thank” the other person, and thus add to their rating), and a certain base level of overall needs met, would then give feedback to each user, showing that they may need to donate more, or improve the quality of what they are giving to others, in order to maintain total “health” of the system. The system should also reward those who give to those with higher total reputations.

In the United States, this is my proposal as a route for people to distribute regulated goods like food items, fuel production/ingredients, etc in way that is legal, and that avoids “market” exchanges (it is legal to donate or give items to one another in the fashion proposed above).

As local food systems, and open product design/fabrication activity is already increasing, myself and others are seeing the above as a plausible way to pool and share resources. Your thoughts are appreciated.