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Added and revised answers in FAQ

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Greg McMullen 2016-03-08 14:34:49 +01:00
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@ -12,16 +12,16 @@ IPDB Foundation is currently funded by ascribe GmbH, but plans to become self-su
## Caretakers
### What do Caretakers do?
Caretakers play critical roles in IPDB’s operation and governance (see “How does consensus work on IPDB?”). In addition to voting on transactions, Caretakers vote to approve new Caretakers and to select the IPDB Foundation’s board of directors.
Caretakers play a critical role in IPDB’s operation and governance (see “How does consensus work on IPDB?”). In addition to voting on transactions on IPDB, Caretakers vote to approve new Caretakers and to select the IPDB Foundation’s board of directors.
### How are Caretakers chosen?
Caretakers can apply or be nominated. Existing Caretakers vote to approve new Caretakers.
Caretakers can apply to IPDB to be considered or be nominated by existing Caretakers. The existing Caretakers will vote to decide whether a new Caretaker should be added.
### Who can become a Caretaker?
Caretakers are organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to building or protecting an open, decentralized Internet. A majority of Caretakers must always be not-for-profit organizations. Caretakers are chosen to reflect a diversity of roles, geographical locations, and jurisdictions.
Caretakers must have demonstrated a commitment to building or protecting an open, decentralized Internet. A majority of the Caretaker roles must be held by not-for-profit organizations. Caretakers are chosen to reflect a diversity of roles, geographical locations, and jurisdictions.
### Who are the current Caretakers?
The current Caretakers are:
The current Caretakers are, in alphabetical order:
- [ascribe GmbH](https://www.ascribe.io/)
- [Coala Global](http://coala.global/)
- [Consensys](https://consensys.net/)
@ -35,41 +35,46 @@ The current Caretakers are:
- [Tendermint](http://tendermint.com/)
### Can my organization be a Caretaker?
Maybe! If you think you’re a good fit, contact us.
Maybe! If you think you’re a good fit, contact us at caretakers@ipdbfoundation.org.
## Using IPDB
### Who can use IPDB?
Anyone can use IPDB. You
Anyone can use IPDB. You can learn more about getting started on the Documentation page.
### How do I use IPDB?
IPDB is based on BigchainDB. You can learn about using the IPDB client API on the BigchainDB documentation page.
### How much does it cost to use IPDB?
IPDB will start out being free to everyone. Eventually IPDB will start charging its heaviest users. IPDB will stay free for most users, but we have to cover our costs somehow. We think it’s fair to have the heaviest users pay the cost while most people play for free.
When it launches, IPDB will be free to everyone. Eventually IPDB will start charging its heavy users. For most users, IPDB will remain free.
### How much *will* it cost?
We don’t know yet, but we intend to keep it really cheap. Cheap as in orders of magnitude cheaper than other blockchains or payment networks.
We don’t know yet, but we intend to keep it really cheap. Cheap means orders of magnitude cheaper than other blockchain databases or traditional exchange networks.
### Is it open source?
All the code and documentation used or produced by IPDB is open source. [BigchainDB](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb) and [RethinkDB](https://github.com/rethinkdb/rethinkdb) code and documentation are available under open source licenses.
## Technical
### What technology does IPDB use?
### What technology is IPDB based on?
IPDB is a public instance of [BigchainDB](https://www.bigchaindb.com/), a scalable blockchain database built on top of [RethinkDB](https://www.rethinkdb.com/), a big data database.
### Is it open source?
Both [BigchainDB](https://github.com/bigchaindb/bigchaindb) and [RethinkDB](https://github.com/rethinkdb/rethinkdb) are open source.
### How does consensus work on IPDB?
IPDB operates under a federated model of consensus. Rather than allowing anyone to join the network in a proof-of-work model, IPDB relies on a number of trusted entities called Caretakers. The Caretakers vote on all transactions on the network, and transactions approved by the majority are added to the database.
IPDB operates a federated model for consensus. IPDB relies on a number of trusted entities called Caretakers. The Caretakers vote on all transactions on the network, and transactions approved by the majority are added to the database. You can learn more about the consensus model in the BigchainDB [whitepaper](https://www.bigchaindb.com/whitepaper/).
### Why is IPDB better than a normal database?
For certain use cases, IPDB is better than a traditional database. IPDB brings blockchain characteristics to a proven big data database. Those characteristics are: 1) decentralized control, 2) immutability, 3) [Sybil tolerance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_attack), 4) native assets, and 5) native asset transfer.
### Is IPDB a blockchain?
IPDB brings blockchain characteristics to an open source big data database: 1) decentralized control, 2) immutability, 3) [Sybil tolerance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sybil_attack), 4) native assets, 5) native asset transfer, 6) public writability, and 7) public readability.
### Is IPDB a currency?
No. IPDB has native assets but those assets are not a currency. Instead, anyone can issue and transfer assets or tokens that represent something else.
### Can other people see my transactions?
Yes. Anyone can see your transactions on IPDB. If you want something like IPDB but want your transactions to be private, you can run a private instance of BigchainDB.
Yes, anyone can see the transactions made on IPDB. The BigchainDB software can be run as a private blockchain database but IPDB is a public instance.
### Can IPDB talk to other blockchains?
BigchainDB has already been integrated into other services (see our Integrations section). Other integrations are waiting to be created. If you have a request, or better still, if you want to help out, you can head over to the BigchainDB developer community at Github.
### Why is IPDB better than IPFS, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin…?
IPDB is not a replacement for decetralized computation platforms such as Ethereum, file storage from IPFS, or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. IPDB is *complimentary* to them. We see IPDB as filling a gap in the decentralized stack.
### How is IPDB better than IPFS, Ethereum, Bitcoin, Dogecoin…?
IPDB is not a replacement for decetralized computation platforms such as Ethereum, file storage from IPFS, or cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Dogecoin. IPDB is complimentary to them.
### Can IPDB talk to Ethereum? Bitcoin? Dogecoin? Random other coin?
Yes! Some of these integrations already exist for BigchainDB. Some are waiting to be created. If you want to help out you can head over to the BigchainDB developer community at Github.